Nature lover triumphs in World Environment Day photo contest

PETALING JAYA (July 29): A candid shot of a father and his daughter at play paid off in a big way for nature lover Tan Kai Ren when he took home the grand prize in the S P Setia-TheEdgeProperty.com World Environment Day 2016 photo contest at the prize giving ceremony yesterday.

First time’s the charm for this 21-year-old ecology and biodiversity undergrad of a local university, who spends his spare time honing his photography skills.

“I feel great because this is the first-ever photography competition that I’ve entered, and I won the first prize,” he told TheEdgeProperty.com.

He took home a Garion Foldable Bicycle worth RM1,299.90.

Tan said winning the prize has motivated him to pursue his passion for photography more earnestly and be more concerned about environmental protection, he said.

The shutter bug, who got into photography four years ago, participated in the contest because of the theme — “A Better World That Is Close To Nature”.

“If you want to preserve and conserve the environment, you will find a way to do it. My way of doing it is to capture nature and the environment in pictures,” he said.

Runner-up Maizurah Ariff, who owns a travel agency, was thrilled to win a prize in this competition — she won a GoPro HERO+ camera worth RM899.

“This award will definitely push me to become more creative when taking photographs in the future,” she said.

She added that her win has spurred her to take photography more seriously and enter more contests.

“I would like to express my utmost gratitude to the organisers for organising this competition, which has encouraged photography enthusiasts like me to take even better pictures in future.”

Meanwhile, consolation prize winner Darry Lum Wai Him lauded the judges for their decision.

“The judges did not just look at the photographs but also the captions, so I think they did a good job,” said the lecturer in graphic design who received a HyperGear Outdoor Bag worth RM200.

There were five winners in total — the second runner-up Yap Chui Leng and the other consolation prize winner Syed Najib Shah Syed Ahmad Kamal were not present at the event.

Yap will receive a FitBit Charge HR Smartband worth RM799 while Syed Najib will also receive a HyperGear Outdoor Bag.

S P Setia Bhd executive vice-president Tan Hon Lim gave away the top prizes.

The online contest which ran from June 5 to 30 received more than 200 entries.

Here are the winning photos: