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Boon Yang
@hybridyang
Best of the week 12 at #nomadict 2020
My name is Boon Yang, I was born and raised in a small village in Penang situated just northwest of Peninsula Malaysia. Having grown up in a village area I was blessed to have nature surrounding my home and to be able to enjoy it. Thanks to my dad and his favorite TV channel National Geographic, which we often watched together, I found myself being fascinated by the wonders of cultures, animals and the beauty of nature in this world. Back then, almost everything I learned about the world came from the programs at National Geographic.
"When I got my first job, I worked hard and was very frugal on my spending. I wanted to save up for the travel I was dreaming of doing."
As soon as I got enough savings, I managed to get myself a camera and started traveling to countries around South East Asia. Now each time I travel, it’s exciting for me to wonder about what is to be discovered, but it was my trip to Nepal that really awakened within me a passion for travel and photography. Being a foolish brave, I decided to hike Annapurna mountain by doing the Annapurna Circuit trek. It was my very first witness of the grand architecture from mother Earth. I was blown away by the towering height and the colossal mountain range. The hike was grueling but definitely worth it. From there on, my thirst for adventure and photography just kept coming. I felt wonderful for being able to share a little of my adventure with my friends and family by sharing photos.
"And these adventures make me reminisce the feeling of excitement I had in my childhood when learning about the world through the documentary on TV."
"My passion for photography was mainly driven by the ability to capture the implicit stories from my personal viewpoint."
I always wanted my photos to able to tell stories to my audience, to be able to have them feeling connected to these stories and to be able invoke their interest to be there themselves. In order to make that happen I was always watching YouTube tutorials and looking at work from others on Instagram, analyzing the photos and learning that way. I always tried out new things when shooting or editing, however learning the technical aspects of photography to become better or to get somewhere wasn’t my objective. I just wanted to share my experiences in the best possible way with my friends and family as they don’t have so much chance to travel that far. My goal is to inspire people to have interest in the beauty mother Earth has to offer and to make them aware about the importance of preserving it for the future.
"If I can leave a small impact on others with my photos, I think my job is done."
Of course traveling far isn’t necessary to find beauty. In my case, I come from a very diverse country. As Malaysia was formerly colonized by the British, it has always been a melting pot of culture both in terms of ethnicity (mainly the Malays, Chinese and Indian heritage) and religion. Because of the diversity of Malaysia, there has been intermixing of cultures throughout hundreds of years among the people, making Malaysia so unique. The diversity was instilled into me, and therefore provide me with the sense of being appreciative about the wonderful diversity that we have all over the world. I could not image how dull it would be for all of us if what you encounter on other parts of this planet were just about the same. Some spots here that I particularly appreciate are Georgetown, Penang, because it’s rich in heritage sites and a center of a cultural mixture. Then Sabah, for its mount Kinabalu and its gorgeous seaside at Semporna.
And so I did when I traveled to Faroe Islands this winter, where the winning shot was taken. It was at the tiny little island of the coast of Vagar called Drangarnir, a place I wanted to visit ever since I first saw it on Instagram. I was amazed by the view of Drangarnir sea; the island Tindholmur can be seen right across from the headland Sørvagur. The hike took about two and a half hours, having very narrow paths leading towards the shore. By the time I took the shot the area was empty; it was only me accompanied by friends. It was a peaceful moment and I sat down for a while to admire the spectacular view, while observing the seagulls flying above the sea and listening to the sound of waves hitting against the shore.
"At some point I made my way down to the water and found that the lower perspective produces the most dramatic effect when the waves hit against the rock."
The shot was captured using my Nikon D7200 coupled Tokina 11-16mm wide lens without the ND filter. The skies were cloudy on that day, and I was fortunate for being able get the shots with the smallest aperture increasing the length of the exposure for the moving waves. With seagulls flying into the viewfinder when I pressed the shutter, live was brought into the photo, adding a story.
"Traveling has brought me further. Not just in my photography, but also from a personal perspective."
The moment I decided to quit my job and stepped into the unknown, I embarked on a journey to explore the world. I learned about culture by experiencing it. I learned to capture nature’s beauty, but first I had to see it to appreciate it. When you spend a lot of time with nature, you will fall deeply in love with it. You will respect it and feel the desire to protect it. The beginning of my journey was uncomfortable at first, scary sometimes, but I trusted in myself and my capabilities while facing all the ups and downs throughout my journey. I never really thought of myself as a creative person. Travel and photography have really helped me to discover and develop a side of me I never knew existed before. Along the way, I only got more self confident, pushing further my passion to travel the world and capture my wonderful experiences to share with others. And meanwhile, I got involved in different projects and commercial shootings, providing me with new challenges and opportunities. All this allows me to keep traveling.
"It makes me want to be a better version of myself every day. To be better at taking photos and to stay true to what I love to do."
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