Nabila Azlan | 14 July 2025
Visual artist Jeffrey Lim Jew Chin (47) started his Kanta photography project in 2012 building box cameras from found and waste materials, and then making portraits of the urban society in early 2014. The sort who loves to delve in multiple social art projects, Lim’s portfolio also boasts his cycling advocacy work (“Cycling Kuala Lumpur, Bicycle Map Project”), to urbanist initiatives (i.e. the “Improving Streets of Downtown Kuala Lumpur” report) as well as cultural heritage and documentation work. Today, Lim is building up Kanta.Studio as a portraiture studio, providing hand-printed silverprint photographs revolving around a restored, antique studio camera, which is also a part of the studio’s heritage.
Born in Kuala Lumpur, he recalls: “My earliest memories of the city are like a reel of moving images from the bus window as my father took me around. We'd visit kopitiams, chapati houses, and wet markets along roads paved with cockle shells. Some of my fondest stories – ones that later sparked a deeper rediscovery of KL – came from dad’s own youth: walking along railway tracks to get to High Street School … the first school ever built in Kuala Lumpur, parts of which still stand at the end of Jalan Tun HS Lee. Dad also once worked the front desk at the Railway Hotel in the old KTM Station.”
To Lim, Kuala Lumpur is “a city made up of little cities – a tapestry of communities, each layered with the changes brought by time. It’s small enough to hold intimate secrets and pockets of micro-ethnic enclaves, yet large enough for many to find space in which to thrive. Cultures overlap, identities blend and diversity shapes its everyday life.”
Lim’s recommendations for city shots with a difference:
“This is not easy for me, as I’m more inclined to social documentary subject matters but if I were to use my camera for documentation, I would look into social patterns, cultural practices, issues and typological studies. You can find alleyways and five-foot paths fulfilling community needs, building histories and narratives.
We are a city that has its name rooted in rivers. As an environmentalist, I would follow and trace the rivers, sometimes to its source, documenting the inter-relationship between nature and the built-environment. Through my research with old maps and references to rivers, I have mapped out forgotten or hidden streams, mapping and collecting data along the way.”
His tips:
1: Stay for the magic hour.
It’s subuh (dawn) and senja (dusk). The rise and setting of the sun when the light throws a beautiful glow. The colours of the sun provide a colourful, dramatic setting for any photo.
2: Create leading lines for the eye to follow.
Composing your shot with perspective lines naturally draws the viewer’s eye through the frame, creating depth and a sense of motion that brings the photo to life.
3: Trust your instincts.
We tend to think that photography is very technical, and although that is crucial, what’s equally important is to follow your gut. Our visual intuition is something we need to train ourselves to listen to and trust.
Want to check out what Lim’s been up to? Check out his projects and connect via Instagram.
Twenty-nine-year-old Alia Soraya Feizal’s foray into photography in her early 20s was purely driven by her love for the craft, especially fashion photography, which she studied as part of her degree. Over time, her work expanded into launching Mulazine Magazine (she is the virtual magazine’s Editor In Chief) and now, she teaches fashion at Raffles College KL. Alia says, “It's a blend of passions for me and I'm lucky enough to be doing this full-time, combining my work in photography with my role as an educator.
“KL’s always been more than just a city to me. It’s all these little moments, layered over time. Familiar, messy, nostalgic – and somehow, it always finds a way to pull you back in,” says Alia about how she was first introduced to the city. “It’s through my parents and my aunt, really. We’re city people. KL was never this big, far-off place – it was just where life happened. My mom used to take me to Petaling Street and other places in the city when she went fabric hunting. We still go to one of the same shops, Isetan on Lebuh Pudu. It’s wild how some places just stay exactly the same, like a little time capsule. Then there also were the small things – like when my sister and I would get those wooden plaques at Central Market and decorate our names with neon marker pens. That felt like the coolest thing in the world back then.”
Alia’s foolproof experiences in the city, tips included:
1: For food, I’d say make a stop at Jalan Alor or Cozy House Great Eastern Mall. If you're near the Lake Gardens, take a walk down Jalan Tanglin – it's lined with colonial-era buildings and has this almost cinematic stillness, especially on weekend mornings.
2: If you're into photography or just want to experience the city’s slower rhythm, bring a film camera and wander around Lorong Bellamy. It’s just a short drive from the Lake Club and feels almost forgotten by time – old bungalows, lush greenery and just enough decay to make it feel real.
Scroll through Alia’s lens and connect via Instagram.
Muhammad Zairul Mohd Puad (36) may be a man of few words, but his surreal cityscape shots speak volumes. You may have come across some of his work without even realising it – his bold, patriotic visuals have made their rounds on social media. Based in Kuala Lumpur, Zairul has over a decade of experience in the creative industry, and since 2022, his full-time profession has been complemented by a growing pursuit in content creation.
Unwilling to trade his vocation for anything else, he shares: “What I value most about the journey of photography is the continuous learning – refining my craft and capturing meaningful moments that tell a story.”
Zairul knows the city like the back of his hand – from hotspots and explore-worthy angles to the perfect techniques for reproducing that golden-hour spill of light. “As a cityscape photographer, I love how this city merges historic buildings with modern life. I’m never short of new ways to capture its unique stories, thanks to the rich shapes, lights and views it offers,” he says.
Zairul’s go-to experiences in the city:
“If I have an hour to take a visitor to KL, best chances are I will take him or her to Bukit Ampang to enjoy the sunset view overlooking the KL skyline.
For most cityscape shots, the trick is to come on a weekend morning during sunrise. An hour before sunset gives off similar vibes. These are time pockets when the natural light is softer and warmer, making everything look more magical. What makes this spot special is the straight road leading down the hill, it creates the illusion that the road goes straight to the Petronas Twin Towers while in reality, they are not that close at all.
Also, turn on the gridlines in your camera – place your subject (be it a building or person) along one of the gridlines or at the intersections to make your photo more balanced. This visual technique is super beginner-friendly yet it works like a charm to produce pro-looking shots.
I also highly recommend Taman Tugu, an urban forest trail with lush greenery, located right beside Perdana Botanical Garden. It’s free, quiet and gives major ‘you won’t believe this is KL’ energy.”
Zoom in on Zairul’s creations and connect via Instagram.
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