Photowalk with Robin Wong

Starting the morning off with a quick brief

I had some free time lately since the turn of the year. I read that Robin Wong had a photowalk organised for Sunday morning which he was running on behalf of Olympus Malaysia. Although my E-M1 had been in the cupboard for some time now, I decided to chance it and contacted him directly.

Did my morning round early and had the whole morning to myself.

Kasturi Walk

Waiting for the full complement

Testing! Testing!

Dayabumi, under a clear blue sky

Around 25 participants turned up at the starting point by the entrance of Central Market. I was there 30 minutes earlier, having breakfast. Most of the participants were new to photography with the majority learning of the walk from Olympus when they purchased their equipment.

The walk started promptly at 9.15, and after a quick introduction, Robin went through the basic controls of the camera, and we started shooting. 25 is a sizeable crowd, and since some of them were still struggling with the basics, I decided to help out as well. Since I was not familiar with the menu systems and controls of the Olympus, I left the technical stuff for Robin while I follow along and encouraging the younger member of the crowds who felt intimidated to ask questions.

Trying out my panning technique

Shooters in reflection

Looking up …

The route which Robin chose took us from Central Market towards Lorong Panggung, bypassing Chinatown. We were blessed with a nice sunny day, and since it was still early, the place was not too crowded, adding to a relaxed session with plenty of subjects to train our cameras on.

Robin shared some techniques with the group on colour balancing and getting the right exposure. He also thought through panning technique and shooting for sunburst effect, which everybody seemed to enjoy.

Trying out the Classic Negative film emulsion. Akin to the good old Superia, which used to be my favourite.

That friendly cat at Lorong Panggung

Laughter right till the end

But the highlight of the whole walk must have been the newly redeveloped Lorong Panggung and the surrounding area. I must say that I got excited as well. The place deserved another entry on its own, and I shall save it for later.

I have been to Leica and Fuji event before when they launched a new camera system and invited the early adopter for a “sharing” session. But none of them was this intimate. On the whole, Olympus Malaysia got the balance right, and this should be part of their after-sales service commitment and will help develop brand loyalty in the future. Robin did well as well ... and he has another evening walk scheduled for this Saturday evening. I might join that one as well ...

Apart from the first photos taken on iPhone 11 Pro, the rest of the shot were taken on Fujifilm X-Pro3 with XF 16-55 mm f2.8 zoom lens