Behind the Scenes: Perhentian Island Photography Journey for a National Photo and Video Campaign for an International Brand.

It was my first time visiting Perhentian Island, and thankfully, I managed to catch a glimpse of its beauty before the monsoon season hits. This Perhentian island photography journey turned out to be one of those rare assignments that felt more like a reward than work.

To be honest, Perhentian had never been on my list of places to visit if not for work. Partly because of its geographical location — getting there is not exactly straightforward. But perhaps that’s also what makes it special. The effort it takes to reach the island often discourages many to keep the nature from being overly tampered with.

For this national-level photo and video assignment, I decided to take the more energy-saving route — a flight, followed by a private taxi, and finally a boat ride to the island. It was far more efficient than driving 7 hours all the way there myself. However, this also meant I had to figure out how to pack extra light. I’ve never flown alone for an assignment before, mainly because I could never carry that much gear on my own. But for this project, a small crew is crucial for its execution.

To make it even more challenging, this was a photo and video project, which meant more equipment. Everything I brought had to fit into a large check in bag and two carry-on bags at most, under strict flight weight and battery restrictions. In the end, I managed to figure out a way that cross leverage equipments and squeeze everything into a single 30kg checked-in case and two 7kg carry-on bags — one of which was purchased just to accommodate all the batteries.

That said, this experience reminded me that I should start exploring a more modular setup — something that allows me to separate batteries from the devices instead of built-in batteries so I can leave the heavier part of the gear in the checked-in case without breaking airline rules.

The hassle in packing was a rather rewarding. Because I had the time to process my thoughts in the airport and took a few frames while waiting — perhaps out of habit, but also to remind myself of something simple. The act of composing a shot is mostly a subconscious process of isolating frames from a larger scene — in this case, whatever we see (infinite possibilities) combined with an idea. I’ve always believed there are no strict rules in composition, only guidelines to help you navigate. Work on your subconscious observation skills and you’ll already be 90% there.

On a side note, what if we had an imaging format that lets us crop directly from a full scene — wouldn’t that be the same thing?

Original Frame

Only birds are truly free

天眼, sky eye

That being said, the team I worked with was fantastic, and the weather couldn’t have been better despite a minor kickback. Everything went smoothly, and we were even treated to delicious meals prepared by a private chef who came all the way from Kelantan — because, as I learned, getting proper food on the island can be quite a challenge.

Looking forward to my next trip here that is not for work to have enough headspace to enjoy the sceneries. Also more images for myself. Until then these are all I had until I can release the campaign images and video.

For those who are interested in fine art prints that went through a tough curation process. Do visit here.