Both natural landscapes and cityscapes have stories to tell, when photographed correctly. Malaysian photographer Rizal Bin Omar tells Sharuna Segaren how he captures stories through his evocative photos.

For 40-year-old Mohd Rizal bin Omar Baki, photography is a passion that he enjoys alongside a full-time job as an administrative officer. Hailing from Rawang, he dubs himself as ‘someone who loves movies and nature’.  He is also the father of four children ranging from four years old to fifteen years old.

He said, “I discovered my passion for photography when I was 29, through my love towards nature, beautiful scenery, and cityscapes. Taking photos became a way for me to capture the beautiful moments and scenes around me, and it’s just something I love to do. I didn’t have any professional training, I am a self-taught photographer, learning from fellow photographers who share my passion.”

Telling Stories Through Photos

Rizal’s photos may depict landscapes and cityscapes that aren’t exactly off the beaten track, such as KLCC. But just because we’ve seen these landscapes before, doesn’t mean they can’t take on a new perspective, which is what Rizal strives to do, by offering viewers a ‘story’ of a common scene.

He explained, “To me, one of the most important aspects of taking a good photo is the composition. A good photo must have the main subject and the elements which can support it. To make it simple to explain, a building may be just a building, but you need to add the leading line which draws the viewer’s eyes toward the building ,which is the main subject, and that particular moment capturing the building supports the subject and tell you a story about that building. Every day is a different story as you can no longer imitate the moment that was present during that day. The main subject might be similar, but definitely the moment is not the same as the moment of each day is different.”

Simple aspects of nature which we take for granted, such as a gloomy sky giving way to a beautiful sunset, makes Rizal smile and want to capture these kind of moments. “Playing with nature tends to make you remember how small you are in this world and there is someone else that have the power and controls over all things. Love your nature and try very hard to preserve it, since you are just someone who borrowed it from our children and the future.”

Rizal said that he really enjoys capturing landscape photos in Malaysia due to the sheer beauty of the natural environment as well as our cityscapes. “Malaysia has very beautiful landscape, to name a few; we have beautiful seascapes especially in Terengganu and Sabah, cityscapes in Kuala Lumpur and paddy fields in Selangor and Kedah. I have a plan to compile all my shots and make a photobook for my own collection. Another project I would love to do is to organize a collaboration with other landscape photographers to come up with a compilation of beautiful landscapes in Malaysia.”

A Learning Process

As for his camera equipment, currently Rizal is using Fuji XT1 and Fuji XT2. “I love the camera because of the quality of the picture it produces and the tones are something that I love. One of the important things in landscape photography is that the camera must be able to handle the different dynamic range of exposure really well and both cameras has served me that purpose. I usually shoot in single exposure and play around with shadow, contrast, and colour in Adobe Photoshop CS.

“Rizal’s photos may be of professional quality but he still considers himself a greenhorn in the field. He often works and travels with other photographers who share a similar passion. “Normally when we capture landscapes, we move in a small group not only for security reasons but also, so we can share and exchange our experience and knowledge among ourselves. There are so many things that I need to learn and relearn. It is interesting that you can learn so much from others, and sharing knowledge and tips make us all better photographers. Also, knowing that fellow photographers are willing to share their experience and techniques is something I treasure closely to my heart and I strive to return the favour by sharing with them all that I have learned as well.”

This article was originally published in Senses of Malaysia (January-March 2018)