By Azanis Shahila
GOMBAK, 11 April 2018: A photography competition with the theme ‘Photograph of Your Life Story’ recently held at the HS Square, IIUM, to showcase students’ works, was aimed at inculcating the spirit of journalism and encouraging students to go into the field.
Organised by IIUMToday in conjunction with News Day on 9 April, the event was an open contest for IIUM students.
All photographs snapped and displayed at the exhibition were captivating. From sweeping landscape scenes to powerful portraits captured by individuals, the photographs represented a full-exposure of thought-provoking and a visual display of creativity, skills and professionalism.
A total of five partitions at the exhibition displayed top 24 photographs.
The panel judge from Creativeimage Production Sdn Bhd, Mohamad Zaidi Hashim said, “Every photo submitted for a contest needs to be examined from the scene captured and crafting of an image that meets the criteria for perfect photos and captions.”
“If a photograph doesn’t convey attention or intent, then it’s not going to win. Judges can feel the intent of a photo or the lack of it. The job of the photographer is to carry the emotion of the art creation, and we can feel if a photograph is missing that intent,” he added.
He said overall this competition and exhibition served as an eye opener for students, especially for journalism students, and for those interested to join journalism as they were exposed to skills and knowledge of photography.
The winner of this photojournalism competition, Anas Kariyankattukavil said, “The primary benefit of entering a competition is the opportunity to grow and develop photography skills.”
Anas said that the photo he submitted for this competition holds a meaningful narrative of a father who put his kids’ needs before his own by carrying them on a crowded train for about two hours without complaining. And this has made his photo different from others.
Exhibition’s programme manager, Mahadhir Monihuldin said, “I feel proud of the achievement as we have worked very hard to organise this event to meet the objective.”
“A photo contest is one of the wonderful ways to challenge yourself in journalism. Even if you don’t win, the experience to make you a better photographer is worth it,” Mahadhir added. ***
