BEYOND the hustle and bustle of the capital stands a small store with a faded blue signboard that reads “Kedai Foto Pak Tai”. This unassuming facade carries deeper meaning to those in the know — the studio has weathered 58 years of history and led the glory days of photography.
The walls of the old shop that was taken over by Kok Kee Low, 81, in 1968 have borne witness to every photograph manually processed in the darkroom, up to the digital pictures now favoured.
This studio not only prints photos, but is a space for customers to record their memories from wedding shots, family portraits, to even passports.
Kok says photography isn’t mere business for him, but a responsibility to store human memories in visual form.
Photographer HARUN TAJUDIN records Kok’s determined efforts to rejuvenate the “art of light” in the small shop that is now the destination of choice among policemen for picture day, especially those from Bukit Aman.
