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Inspiration -

The creative behind the lens: Ming Nomchong

Tell us a little bit about yourself? Where have you spent the last 5 years? 

My name is Ming Nomchong, I'm a photographer based in Byron Bay. I've lived here for the last 11 years and before that I was sailing the high seas on various boats across the Atlantic, Med and Pacific. I grew up in Sydney but escaped for warmer waters in 2008.

 

How did you get into photography? 

My mum was a photographer when she was younger so I've grown up with it around me from a very young age. I studied it at school and then went on to do a Fine Arts Degree at COFA in Sydney. Then I spent the next 3 years assisting photographers in the city before taking a sabbatical from the real world and jumped on boats. It wasn't until I moved to Byron that I picked up the camera again and started shooting all the local girls surfing. It was so much fun and I gained a lot of "surf mates" really quickly haha. But from that I started picking up a few local gigs with surf labels and then that opened the doors to the world of fashion which is where I spend most of my time these days. I still love shooting in the water, it's one of my favourite things to do (besides surfing).

 

 

 

You have been shooting Billabong campaigns for a while now, can you tell us one that has stuck in your memory and stood out from the rest?

I loved going to Bali with Billabong, that was so fun, but the shoot that sticks in my mind is the one that's just launched, which we shot up in the Whitsundays. We had the WORST weather imaginable. We got rained out on one day and the next was so windy we kept having to change locations to chase the sun and escape the wind. But besides all the BTS action, the shots turned out pretty good. It definitely takes a whole team to make the magic.

 

What is your dream shoot destination for the next Billabong campaign?

Mexico/Cuba/Tahiti - I'd take any of those thanks!

 

Any advice for budding photographers out there? 

Find your own special something that you can bring to your work that helps set it apart from everyone else.

 

 

 

What is your favourite gear to use? 

I do love shooting on film, and I actually love just my little point and shoot Contax. Lugging all the big digital gear around on most jobs and having to make sure everything looks perfect, with just the right light, etc etc, I love being able to just make do with what I've got. Keep it light and get creative with just the basics. I love the impermanence that film has and I love the mistakes and the not so perfect images, cause to me, they're perfect. 

 

Do you have a preference over digital, film and polaroids? 

Polaroids, film then digital. They all have a place and work and don't work for difference situations.

 

What place could you go back to time and time again and not get sick of? 

Fiji

 

What does the next 12 months look like for you? 

I actually have no idea. One moment travel jobs to SA, WA and NZ are booked, the next second everything is cancelled due to this ever evolving Covid situation. I'll probably just be at home, helping out on our reno we're doing on our holiday house in Yamba, surfing and working on my book (which should be out before Christmas which is exciting)