#KLPF2022

It was very rare that Anita wanted to follow me to photography exhibitions. But since she had some free time, she decided to come along to the KL Photography Festival held in Viva Shopping Mall - the same venue as last year.

Our timing was perfect as the talk on offer was about the use of mobile phone for photography. She was mesmerised.

After some food, we then sampled some of the works on show. The number of entree appeared similar to last year, but still well below what the festival was during the earlier 2010s. There were hardly any big vendors participating this time. And if you are a purist and was just there for the show, I guess you won’t be missing much as the talks were rather good.

The event was held over 3 days, and the day we went was the final one. Things had begun to wind down then. Plus, the location also meant that you had to make an effort to travel in order to see the show. When it used to be held at Mid Valley, you could find all sort of excuse to come.

As for the venue, it was not purpose-built for an exhibition. Rather the main atrium were converted into a display hall with one end propped up with a stage. The photography exhibitions were held into one of the old shop unit which was vacant. Therefore, the flow of the show was confusing. Added to that, since most of the food outlet at the moment had closed since the pandemic, finding food was tricky. The organiser brought in vendors at pop-up stores at the perimeter of the show, but they had limited seatings for the visitors to enjoy their food.

After looking at the exhibits away and listening to the talks, Anita planned to use her mobile to explore the town and I must say, she did great. Looks like she might start taking up photography. But as a left-hander, she still felt awkward using a camera. She planned to stick to her phone for the moment.

On a personal note, I have been visiting KLPF every year without fail and will continue to do so to support the local photography developments. There are a strong movement with film photography which is the rage at the moment. It remained too tedious for me to join but certainly that movement have hit the local scene. I hope that the KLPF will continue to grow ...