By Eric Lim
22 July 2023 (Saturday): Before long, I found myself in another M & M session. This time, it involved [M]eeting professional golfers (‘[M]eet the Pros’) and exploring a camera [M]useum – all within a single day, and they are both hobbies that bring me immense enjoyment!
Meet the Pros
I’ve been playing golf for nearly three decades now, and it seems I’m hooked for life. It is always exciting playing in different golf courses and with different people of different skill levels. Every single round of golf is different and we are always looking forward to hitting that one big shot, like what Harvey Penick who was an American professional golfer envisaged ‘your next shot is a new experience. It might be the best shot you ever hit in your life’. So when the opportunity came to ‘Meet the pros’, I had quickly signed up in the hope of getting some valuable tips to improve my golf game and to get closer to that ‘best shot I ever hit in my life’.
Photo source : MST Golf Group Berhad
The event was held at MST Golf Arena, an indoor golf centre located at Gardens Mall, in the heart of Mid Valley City, Kuala Lumpur. Three local professional golfers, namely Ervin Chang from Kajang, Selangor, Paul San from Sarawak and Shahriffuddin Ariffin from Malacca, made their appearance in person. All three of them are currently playing in the Toyota Tour circuit. The tour was founded by the late Tun Ahmad Sarji in 2010 and was known originally as the PGM Tour (Professional Golf of Malaysia Tour). This year with the inclusion of UMW Toyota Motor and MST Golf, together with Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM), the name changed to Toyota Tour. MST Golf has established its name in the golf retail industry locally as well as in Southeast Asia. With over 30 years of experience, it is now controlling more than 51% of the local golf equipment retail and distribution market in Malaysia. The company was incorporated on 13 November 1989 as Masinthai Marketing Sdn. Bhd. and later changed its name to MST Golf Sdn. Bhd. on 22 April 1992. 20 July 2023 marked a historic milestone for the company as it premiered as a publicly listed company on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad. During the swing assessment session, fellow Kajang resident Ervin Chang gave me a valuable tip which I am now following through to achieve better swing consistency. Incidentally, three days after the meet up event, all three participated in the Supra Cup (one of the tournaments in the Toyota Tour programme) that was held at The Mines Resort & Golf Club, Seri Kembangan. Ervin Chang played well and finished tied for first place with Marcus Lim. Unfortunately, Ervin lost the play-off hole to Marcus.
Winners of the Supra Cup that was held at The Mines Resort & Golf Club.
Photo source : Courtesy of Chew Fook Keong
Museum (Camera Museum)
My first job in Kuala Lumpur was with a local company dealing with the supply of photographic, laboratory and film products. The company, located at the corner of the Jalan Tun HS Lee-Jalan Sultan intersection, was the agent for some reputed brand names at that time, namely: Chinon (camera and lenses), Eiki (16mm film projector), Hanimex (camera and slide projector), Popular (flashlight), Polaroid (instant camera system and sunglasses), Mitsubishi (film and photographic printing paper), Sunpak (flashlight), Velbon (camera tripod stand) and Vivitar (zoom lenses). This was where I started my association with photography. After four years, I left and joined a private limited company in the sales and promotion of Pentax 35mm Single Lens Reflex (SLR) camera.
Asahi Optical, the founding company of Pentax, introduced its first 35mm SLR in 1952. The model Asahiflex I, subsequently became the first 35mm SLR manufactured in Japan. And since that time on, it went on to win accolades in the global stage with a long list of the world firsts:
• 1954 – Quick return mirror mechanism (Asahiflex II)
• 1960 – Quick return mirror mechanism received 2nd Science & Technology Agency Director’s Award (Pentax is the first in the camera industry to receive this award)
• 1964 – Through-the-lens (TTL) metering system (Asahi Pentax SP)
• 1966 – Camera manufacturer to produce one million SLR
• 1971 – SLR camera with a TTL automatic exposure control (Pentax EX), and Super Multi Coated lenses (Takumar lens series)
• 1976 – Smallest and lightest SLR camera (Pentax MX and ME)
• 1979 – Incorporate the concept of push-button shutter speed control (Pentax ME Super)
• 1981 – Camera manufacturer to reach the production milestone of 10 million SLR cameras
• 1981 – SLR camera featuring TTL Autofocus (Pentax ME-F)
The company continued to win many more awards. On 31 March 2008, Pentax was defunct as it merged into Hoya Corporation and in 2011, Ricoh acquired all shares of Pentax Imaging Corporation from Hoya Corporation. On 1 August 2013, the company name was changed to Ricoh Imaging Company Limited.
Asahiflex II model / Photo source : Wikimedia Commons
When a friend sent an article from a local social news site that read ‘You probably didn’t know but there’s a Camera Museum in Bukit Bintang with free entry!’ I couldn’t resist but to plan a visit.
Nestled in busy Jalan Bukit Bintang, the Camera Museum lies within the Gold3 Boutique Hotel, located at the side of Fahrenheit 88 shopping centre (formerly known as KL Plaza). Once you enter the hotel, it is beyond a shadow of a doubt that you have reached the right place as cameras and accessories are decorated on the wall behind the reception counter. As a courtesy, inform the staff at the counter that you are there to visit the camera museum and you would be directed to take the lift to Level 2.
Cameras and accessories decorated on the wall. Photo source: Eric Lim
The setting of the camera museum is in the form of a retro camera shop-cum-photo studio. And interestingly, setting the scene at the right corner underneath the neon sign are some old props, namely a close-to-extinction payphone, a paint faded letterbox, an old barbershop pole lamp and an old bicycle. The bicycle is no ordinary bicycle, it is an American-made Schwinn Bicycle.
In 1895, Ignaz Schwinn and Adolph Frederick William Arnold, both German American, founded the Arnold, Schwinn & Company in Chicago and started building bicycles.It was during the time when bicycles were the craze in America. The company continued to strive even with the advent of automobiles at the start of the 20th century, survived the Great Depression period, competed with foreign-made bicycles like the English Racers / Roadsters from Great Britain and Germany and lightweight models from Japan and Taiwan. The company went into bankruptcy in 1992, and since then, Schwinn has been a sub-brand of Pacific Bicycle which was later acquired by Dutch conglomerate Pon Holdings.
The old bicycle on display is a Cruiser bicycle. The model was conceived by Frank W. Schwinn, son of Ignaz, after he came back from a field trip to Europe. It was designed to imitate a motorcycle and targeted the youth’s market. It was introduced to the market in 1933 as the Schwinn B-10E Motorbike. The following year, it was given an upgrade and was renamed Schwinn AeroCycle. The added features include balloon tires (2-2.5 inches / 51-64 mm wide, large-volume, low-pressure tire), streamlined fenders, imitation ‘gas tank’, chrome-plated and battery operated headlight and a push button bicycle bell. It became popular throughout the 1930’s to the 1950’s and popular with paperboys and bicycle couriers. It faded into oblivion when the English Racers / Roadsters were introduced to the American public.
Wall-sized display cabinets / Photo source : Eric Lim
The front section of the retro camera shop-cum-photo studio is guarded by wall-sized display cabinets that are filled with black and white photographs of old Kuala Lumpur (front, right) and vintage cameras, photographic accessories, old movie projectors and photographic film rolls (front, left and centre, right). I found several twin-lens reflex cameras on the shelf (Chinese-made Seagull and Yashica), big cameras with lenses mounted on extendable bellows, compact cameras and portable cassette players, radio, black and white portable television set and even an old typewriter. At the centre left section, located behind the cash register, is a showcase that is packed with a line-up of Polaroid vintage instant cameras like the popular SX-70 series (models like SX-70, nonfolding Presto and Pronto / year 1972 to 1978), 80 series (EE44, EE88 / year 1976 to 1977), 600 series (OneStep 600, Quick 610 / year 1983), Pocket camera (I Zone / year 1999) and Studio / Portrait camera (Minipotrait, Studio Express).
Showcase filled with Polaroid vintage instant cameras / Photo source : Eric Lim
The next section is where the memories of special occasions such as anniversaries, graduation, festivities are captured. The photo studio is fully equipped with a studio camera at the centre, lighting at strategic corners, backdrop and props. And the final piece to complete the jigsaw is the darkroom. It is stored with all the necessary chemicals, printing papers, trays, meter, weighing scale, water basin and dim lighting.
Studio and the darkroom / Photo source : Eric Lim
Whether you are a camera enthusiast or not, this camera museum is worth a visit. You are basically walking through the history of photographic cameras and accessories. It brings back sweet memories of the era before the digital age.
‘Life is like a camera, focus on what’s important. Capture the good times. Develop from the negatives. And if things don’t work out, take another shot’. – Zaid K. Abdelnour
References
1. Toyota Golf Tour
https://www.toyota.com.my/toyota-tour/
2. MST Golf Group
https://www.mstgolfgroup.com/
3. About Pentax , chronology
https://web.archive.org/web/20071224170918/http://www.pentax.co.jp/english/company/company/history.html
4. Schwinn Bicycle Company – Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwinn_Bicycle_Company
5. Cruiser bicycle – Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruiser_bicycle
6. List of Polaroid instant cameras – Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Polaroid_instant_cameras
Museum Volunteers, JMM 