The photo above is not the work of a seasoned professional photographer. It was also not taken after weeks of planning to get just the right burst of sunlight for maximum effect. It was, in fact, snapped by 19-year-old Tommy Lee Yan Shan (Nilai University College Foundation in Science) on a spur of the moment during a trip to the Thean Hou temple in Kuala Lumpur.
Seeing the silhouette of the dragon perched on the edge of the roof in the brilliant sunshine, Tommy decided to experiment with differing shutter speeds and apertures. To his great satisfaction, the result is the picture above which he submitted to the recent Petronas Chinese New Year Photography contest. And he was absolutely gobsmacked when his entry grabbed the top prize.
"Many people think this is a black and white picture. It isn't. To me, it seems to show that the dragon has soul. I found out about the competition on Facebook which coincidentally had the theme of 'reimaging energy' which I thought was a perfect fit for the picture," enthuses Tommy.
"I consider myself a novice photographer. I initially got an entry level DSLR camera for video purposes but got more into photography as people complimented me on my pictures. This award has certainly given me plenty of confidence and encouragement to improve as a photographer," smiles Tommy, who is also President of Nilai University College's (Nilai UC) Photography Club. In fact, he says being voted as president has meant a lot to him as it shows his peers value his talent as well as his leadership and organisational skills.
"One of the things I like best about Nilai UC is that it's not about books and continuous studying 24/7. The lecturers are constantly stressing the importance of extra-curricular activities and the need to build up our soft skills," says the soft-spoken KL-ite. "I was very pleased there are a large number of clubs and societies for us to join, in particular a Photography Club which is my main interest."
Although Tommy has always been active in extra-curricular activities in secondary school where he was a president of the computer club and a Boy Scout troop leader, he says being head of Nilai UC's Photography Club has a lot more responsibilities. "It's quite a challenge to find ways to boost membership and to encourage passion in photography. Along with my committee members, we are constantly scouting for interesting locations for photo shoots. It's been really good fun," says Tommy.
His extra-curricular activities coupled with an impressive showing in SPM led to Tommy being offered a Nilai UC Merit Scholarship. He plans to pursue Nilai UC Degree in Computer Science once he has completed his Foundation programme. "I am happy here at Nilai UC. There's the right balance between work and play. I am totally enjoying my time here and my next project is a competition for students to capture their best Nilai UC moment," declares Tommy.
Nilai UC administrators recognise the importance of extra-curricular activities in developing well-rounded graduates. Hence, school leavers with impressive extra-curricular credentials can apply for scholarships and financial aid from Nilai UC. Its 105-acre campus in Putra Nilai is also a hive of activity with over 50 clubs and societies offering students a myriad of sporting and social pursuits. For more information, please go to www.nilai.edu.my or call 06-8502338 / 03-79603089 / 07-2262336 / 088 238811.
