Shutterbugs vie to enter Asean photo contest

PHOTOGRAPHY enthusiasts in the country went for an outing to sports fields and complexes in search of photo opportunities yesterday in the hopes of being selected as Brunei's representative for the Asean Young Photographers Award in Singapore this August.

The outings are part of a special competition, jointly organised by the Youth and Sports Department under the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports and Brunei's Photographic Society, whereby participants are required to take sports-themed shots in line with the theme, "Spirit of Asean Through Sport".

The day began with photographers attending a short briefing before heading out on their first outing towards the National Stadium. There, they were given the opportunity to photograph Brunei teams who were training for the Sukma Games later this year.

Sites that photographers visited included the hockey stadium, tennis courts, chess halls and the swimming pool for photo opportunities. Organisers also said that if the opportunity presented itself, they would also take participants to areas where sports events were taking place such as the track and fields in Berakas and Bandar Seri Begawan.

This included "Pusat Belia"or Youth Centre in the capital city, where badminton games are regularly held in addition to the swimming classes at its pool.

"We will also visit the multipurpose hall at the National Stadium where Brunei Shell is organising a futsal competition," said Pg Norahalim Pg Hj Abd Rahman, the event administrator for the Brunei-Muara District.

Also present at the briefing was Shamsuri Hj Ismail, head administrator for the competition. President of the Photographic Society, Hj Mohd Yusof Mohd Yassin, was also on hand yesterday to provide some useful pointers to the photographers.

The Asean Young Photography Award is considered to be a prestigious event with photographers arriving as early as 7.15am to register for the event.

The competition is still open with the next outing scheduled on March 21, 2010 for avid participants.

According to the organisers, the age requirement is limited to photographers as young as 18 years old to 35 years of age.

The winner of the competition will represent Brunei amongst other Asean member countries.

The Brunei Times