Gavin Gough and I officially start our 2012 Thaipusam workshop tonight, here in Penang. So yesterday met several of the families we have arraigned for our participant to follow and photograph during the festival. We also did a pre-workshop run through with the models we have secured for our participants to photograph.

We have found three lovely models, none of them are professional, but each one is beautiful in their own right. Not only were they beautiful on the outside, each had a something special on the inside as well and were a real joy to work with. I want to thank Victoria for bringing her skills as a makeup artist to play. (But Victoria, I think you had an easy job with such lovely ladies )

The young lady in the back outfit, called a kebaya nyonya, is Cindy Ong. I think I am going to take her home and give Jessie a big sister! Cindy not quite 18 years old is full of drama and is a natural at this modeling stuff. The next Jayshri Mennon or just Jay. Jay was not only a wonderful model but a huge help this week in prepping for this event. She has recruited most of her family as subjects for our workshop participants to document as they perform these important Hindu rituals. Thank you Jay. Speaking of Jay’s family, her sister Shri is making the orange sari look so beautiful. Between Cinday, Jay, Shri and Victoria how can we help not take a good picture?

The prep work for this event did not start yesterday, but months in advance. Sometimes I think people think all you have to do to make a successful workshop happen is just show up and teach. Far from it. Gavin and I have been working with the help of people here in Penang for close to a year to make this happen. We are excite to develop a unique and exciting workshop for our participants. Maybe in 2013 you can join us?

It’s that time again, time to register for the WorldWide Photowalk. I love these walks. It’s a time when fellow photographers both professional and hobbyist can gather together and just have fun. No pressure, no real rules, other than be safe, a time when photographers encourage each other with camera in hand.  And best of all, it is FREE! Every  participants will have the opportunity to win dozens of prizes worth thousands of dollars. There are hundreds of photo walks that will take place on July 24th. (Editors note: Maybe you are a little unclear about what the heck is a photo walk? Check out this well crafted overview HERE.)

But the one photo walk I’m most concerned about, is the one I’ll be leading. You can find it’s page HERE to register.  There is only space for 50 photographers. You’d think that would be plenty, but every year it fills up in a matter of days. This year we’re focusing in on Forgotten Penang. We will be walking in and among many historic buildings as well as many derelict buildings. It’s the derelict buildings that offer some of the real photographic possibilities. I chose 7 am as a start to allow us time to shoot the Campbell Street morning market for people shooters like myself. I also have a arranged a special opportunity for our walkers. I have invited a shooter from the UK who’s living here in Penang to join us. His name is Mark Hall and he specializes in panoramic images. They’re pretty amazing and he is excited to be able to share his tricks and skills with the rest of us. So for about 30 minutes we’ll have a free pano workshop that Mark will be leading. He is bring his pano tripod head, as well as other gear, and offering you a chance to use it, hands-on. How fun is that?

So the route this year will be roughly from E&O hotel to Jalan Phee Choon in one direction and Jalan Transfer over to Lorong Love the other direction. Confusing? Just look at the map below.

Remember, there are only 50 spaces available. Sign up today. There may not be any places left by tomorrow! See you at the walk.

View 2010 Worldwide Photo Walk in a larger map

A very short (and late) post today.  This morning I went out with two friends scouting for locations for the July 24th Scott Kelby Worldwide Photo Walk. I think we found a very cool route. Starting off at a historic colonial cemetery in Georgetown, here in Penang. Spent way too long walking around, but had a lot of fun with my buddies Hariman and Dave Ray.  Those of you that live in this area, I hope you will join me for this walk. Keep July 24th open.

Living in Penang has been fun and compared to Kashmir quite easy. But, the one sad part for me is I feel I’m here just in time to see a lot of the culture that is so rich in Penang disappear. Remember The Last Lantern Maker that I shot pictures of a few months back? I went back to continue the story and he’s gone now. His building has been gutted and nothing but a shell remains. Maybe he set up shop somewhere else, but my guess is, he’s done.

About the same time I was covering the last lantern maker, I was told of a man who makes traditional Malaysian hats and that he is the last of his breed as well. The hats are traditional Malaysian caps called Songkoks. They’re made of stitched paper, satin and velvet. To be sure, there are other Songkok makers in Malaysia, but he’s the last one in Penang. When I went by his shop there was a sign was posted saying he was “Out of Station” in India. His name is Haja Mohidin and he is a Mamak or Muslim Tamil and has been doing this trade since the early 60s. Last Wednesday I was with a friend walking in old Georgetown and noticed that his shop is open. We stopped and fortunately I had my camera with me, however I only had my 50 f1.2 with me. I suppose if you are only going to have one lens on your camera and walk into a 12′ x 12′ shop to photograph a Malaysian hat maker, that’s the lens to have.

It was the first time I’ve ever used this lens. I have to say it does have a significant margin of error, not as bad as the 85 f1.2 but there were plenty of unfocused and soft images after I was done. Of course, that may say more about me than it does about the lens I was using. I went back yesterday and recorded some audio and shot a few more pictures of him with my 17 – 40 f4. I ended up only using one of the 17 to 40 images in the essay, the rest of the images are all from the 50 f1.2. I hope you enjoy this short essay on the Last Songkok Maker of Penang.