By Badrolhisham Bidin

Pole dancing was the trend in the 90s, but it was deemed illegal by the authorities for it usually featured scantily clad girls, hired by nightspot owners. Places that featured this “event” were usually very strict about people bringing in cameras.

At this particular spot, bouncers were at the door to check bags of patrons, primarily to prevent them from taking photos of these pole dancers.

I got wind of the activities from Pak Samad (Tan Sri Samad Ismail) who was known for his no holds barred words. I was called in and he specifically said it was an exclusive for The Malay Mail then. “Kau check, kalau ada kau buat story, kalau kau missed story ni, balik nanti aku sunat kau.”

You know not to mess with the assignment. Needless to say, I smuggled in an SLR and got photos of the girls in action in the nightspot, went back to the office, and two days later, it was on the front page of The Malay Mail!

The nightspot owner, fumed by the report, threatened to sue me and paper for the report, saying I entered the place illegally, I showed the lawyers the entrance fee receipt, they backed out.

Needless to say, the outlet management had a tough time with City Hall then.

I took the photos myself because I love taking pictures.

It started with a RM5 pocket camera when I was in high school, upgraded to a simple SLR, later on to a more sophisticated SLR before I could afford a DSLR.

The pocket camera worked well, even the roll of film was more expensive than the equipment, took some pictures in school, got them printed and sell them to schoolmates and teachers.

Once, we went on a trip to Pulau Besar in Malacca. Cameras were expensive then, I went to a shop that rented out cameras, got one for RM5 a day, with two rolls of film, the memories were forever embedded in us.

My first SLR was a Yashica FX3, the photos turned out to be much better. I love taking candid photos, so I got myself a tele-lens then. I had fun taking all the candid photos from afar at weddings and got paid for the photos.

It was really fun, and soon when I started writing for the now-defunct newspaper Warta Tebrau, I took my own photos, which were printed with my byline.

I later “upgraded” to Canon that came with an 80-200mm telephoto lens, (I was beginning to enjoy taking candid photos) and brought it around for the assignments.

When I was a rookie reporter, I had requested for a photographer for an assignment, but the photo chief then vehemently refused to assign me one, saying it was not an important assignment. Well, fine. I took photos and the one of it was selected to be published. The photoroom was abuzzed with news that a reporter had taken photos using his camera.

The chief then said he was joking and pestered me to send a pix chit next time. It was too late, so I was given “cut film” (a roll of film cut in a dark room and the remainder still intact).

Once I had also asked for a telephoto lens for an assignment but was rejected. A call to the “big boss” cleared the matter. My pictures of foreign children begging and pestering house owners in Ampang was on fthe ront page of The Malay Mail.

At one point, the NST Online Desk received 10 Samsung cameras with a powerful 100X zoom. Reporters were however reluctant to use them, preferring to use their camera phones instead.

I took possession of one and had taken lots of pictures using the camera. It could even capture a close-up of the moon, I am a selenophile and got loads of pictures of the beautiful moon.

It was surrendered back to NST when I finally left the building. But I got a Canon pocket camera with a 100X zoom capability.

That was until Samsung introduced the S series phones, S22, S23, S24 and now S26 Ultra. The zoom capability is astounding. I am currently using the S25 Ultra. The pictures of the moon and the sun were taken using the phone camera.

Sometime back, I acquired a DJI Pocket 2 from Japan. It is so easy to handle I don’t need a stabiliser, the video is good and the photos are decent. I haven’t fully realised its full potential, yet.

I also own a Hero 4 GoPro camera which I bought in 2017. I would bring it to the beaches, for astounding underwater photos. With proper accessories, you can take photos of turtles, fishes or even sharks.

With my S25 Ultra, I don’t really need a camera, but I would bring my Hero 4 whenever I go back to my wife’s hometown in Marang, Terengganu. It’s fun to take underwater photos/video using the Hero 4. It is still in excellent working condition.

Only this time, it is only for family fun, since everyone is a photographer now!