KUALA LUMPUR: New Straits Times photographers are most often at the forefront of world events and crises — their pictures "speak" to readers and are representations of the time and events.
More so for photographers who cover major sports events, they have a large following — and many a time their pictures have captured precious, unforgettable moments.
Former NST executive photographer Loh Chok Heng, 69, who retired in 2015 after 35 years, recalled the time he was tasked to cover the Moscow Olympics qualifying playoff match between Malaysia and South Korea at Stadium Merdeka on April 6, 1980. He had only joined the newspaper a week earlier.
"I did not think twice, I knew that despite being the newbie in the photo room, I had an important task. The entire country would be watching as it was the first time Malaysia qualified for the Olympics football tournament. I had to capture the best moments. Those days there were no mobile phones, no Internet for live streaming or social media. The pictures would have to tell the story.
"When James Wong scored the winning goal in the 85th minute, the packed stadium went wild. With my then manual focus camera, 50mm and 85mm lenses which were heavy, I had to run fast to keep up with our players as they marched around the stadium celebrating so that I could get the best pictures," shared Loh, or C.H. Loh, the moniker he is popularly known by.
As the story went, Malaysia earned its place for the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Russia (two others that also qualified were Kuwait and Iran).
But due to the United States-led political boycott, Malaysia and Iran did not play in the final tournament and were replaced by Iraq and Syria, respectively.
Loh said as photographers, they would go to great lengths to get the choicest pictures for the paper because, just like reporters, they also always sought to give the readers their best.
"When covering sports events, we must understand the game, how it's played and what's at stake so that we can capture the essence in our pictures. Before an assignment, I would usually walk around and observe my surroundings.
"In 1992, during the Thomas Cup final at Stadium Negara, I was able to capture some memorable shots of the second doubles match between Cheah Soon Kit and Soo Beng Kiang against Ricky Subagja and Rexy Mainaky.
"Our Malaysian shuttlers won the pulsating match to secure the winning point for us to lift the Thomas Cup on home soil. That was the last time we won it," said Loh, adding that the match was one of his most memorable sports assignments.
"I was ecstatic when Malaysia won the Thomas Cup that year. I considered myself lucky to have been able to help document such a historic feat and achievement. And one of the pictures I took was recognised as the best sports picture by the Malaysian Sports Institute," he said.
Another memorable event was the 1998 Commonwealth Games that Malaysia hosted, said Loh. He and another photographer, Kamarudin Ahmad, were assigned to cover it by NST's then group editor, the late Datuk Ahmad A. Talib.
Loh and Kamarudin were also entrusted with overseeing and managing the photography of the world sporting event.
"Yet again, I reminded myself that we had an important job to do. We could not afford dramatics. We had to be calm and in control of our emotions in order to get good pictures.
"I remember we were based at a nearby hotel. Throughout the two weeks that the Games was held, we were busy with not only taking pictures, but overseeing and managing the other photographers, processing the film and negatives, and transmitting them to the photo department at Balai Berita.
"At that time, it was the beginning of the digital era — we were in the transition period (from manual and analog to digital) — in all areas of news reporting and photography.
"The Commonwealth Games was our ticket to the digital world. It was an eye-opener for all of us, photographers included. I believe the NST photo department was the pioneer in digital equipment during the Games," he said.
They managed to deliver up to 60 rolls of film for processing and sifting through the pictures for selection during the duration of the Games.