South-East Asia has a rich history of photography

Thai photographer Prateep Suthathongthais work In Mind’s Eye, which is also the cover image of the Photography In South-East Asia: A Survey book. Photo: Prateep Suthathongthai

Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah from Terengganu, the fourth Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia, was an avid photographer. In 1958, he was the first Malay photographer inducted as Associate of The Royal Photographic Society in Britain, and he was the patron of the Photographic Society of Malaysia.

By most accounts, the late Sultan Ismail was a salon photographer; salon photography has been a popular movement since the 1950s that emphasises beauty and atmosphere in the work. This label, argues Zhuang Wubin, author of Photography In South-East Asia: A Survey, is a limitation.