PEOPLE YOU MEET
G. K. Chesterton said that ".. travel broadens the mind. But you must have the mind."
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One of the most popular photography genres is travel photography, and as rewarding as seeing far-flung places, exotic lands, and tasting new cuisines can be, the people you meet are often the most memorable part of any journey, near or far. For our 18th edition, KLPA seeks portraits taken during your recent travels. Simple as it may sound, creating enigmatic and engaging portraits of strangers requires more than chance encounters, good fortune and quick snapshots.
An acknowledged nod or smile can lead to a friendly conversation, offering new insights and opportunities to gain trust, make new friends, and capture memorable photographic moments. New perspectives allow you to see the world and its people within it in a whole new light.
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We are looking for portraits that speak to the viewer on many levels, open conversations, and present an element of intrigue and uniqueness. Portraits may be posed or spontaneous, and can be photographed indoors or outdoors in any of the typical photography genres. Portraits that connect the viewer and the subject at a deeper level. Quite often, the photographer's approach and methodology are more evident than the camera and lens used. Suitable captions also assist the jurors in placing meaning and context to your portraits.
© FELIX VOLLMANN Germany - Maria
© TAMATI TE OKA New Zealand - A Coat for the Cold, Tokyo, 2024
2026 JURY
AISHA NAZAR is a Malaysian photographer based in London and currently works as an Associate Picture Editor at National Geographic Traveller (UK). Prior to this role, she was a UK-based stringer for Getty Images.
Her work explores the cultural and social narratives that shape everyday life. She is a member of Diversify Photo and a contributor to Everyday Southeast Asia, part of The Everyday Projects. In 2019, Aisha was named AirAsia & Sony Joint Ambassador following a global campaign and was later appointed a Sony Alpha Guru in Malaysia.
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Her photography has been featured in international publications including The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Wall Street Journal, Fox News, and USA Today, with commissions from Sony, AirAsia, AirAsia X, Augustman Magazine, and National Geographic Traveller (UK). Her work has also been exhibited across Japan, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Colombia.
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She is also the co-founder of Women Photographers Malaysia (WPM), established in early 2020, a platform dedicated to advancing gender balance in the photography industry through advocacy, community-building, and the creation of artistic opportunities.
AISHA NAZAR
@aishanazar
MICHELLE SANK
@sank_michelle
MICHELLE SANK was born in South Africa and settled in the UK in 1987. She is a social documentary photographer whose crafted portraits meld place and person creating sociological, visual and psychological narratives. Her photographs have been exhibited and published extensively in the UK, Europe, Australia and Mexico, South Africa and the U.S.A. and her imagery is held in private and permanent collections worldwide.
She has undertaken commissions and residencies for prominent organisation in Europe and the USA and her work has won awards in numerous prestigious competitions to include the Taylor Wessing Prize, British Journal of Photography, Head on Foundation, IPA awards, Lens Culture and The Juliet Margaret Cameron. She was recently a winner in The Portrait of Britain, the Open Portrait section in the Sony World Photography Awards and has been granted an Honorary Fellowship by The Royal Photographic Society.
Sank has five published books to date.
IVAN GABRIEL is a curator and arts practitioner from Penang, whose practice is grounded in frameworks of critical and curatorial practice and inquiry into contemporary art discourse. His work focuses on identifying emerging artistic voices and situating them within complex cultural, historical, and institutional contexts.
Through exhibitions, publications, and public programming, Ivan considers how art is made, presented, understood, and experienced, rethinking established visual and cultural conventions while shaping spaces that facilitate critical dialogue and reflective engagement.
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Guiding his methodology is a commitment to accessibility and inclusivity, realised through careful site selection, participatory approaches, and multi-sensory experiences. By drawing on educational principles alongside considered experiential design, his curatorial practice supports intellectual inquiry, public debate, and cross-generational exchange, framing exhibitions as environments for thinking, encounter, and shared cultural reflection.
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IVAN GABRIEL
@ivanalexanderfrancisgabriel
NG HUI HSIEN
@nghuihsien
NG HUI HSIEN is an artist, educator, and curator. She works primarily with photography, and through her artworks, she seeks to evoke stillness and wonder, especially towards our inner landscapes and the more-than-human world. Her practice is informed by phenomenology, one that sees our bodies as sites of knowledge and one curious about our relations with the living earth.
Hui Hsien’s work has been exhibited internationally, with solo exhibitions at Objectifs Centre for Photography and Film (Singapore), Grey Projects (Singapore), Comma Space (Singapore), and Reykjavík Museum of Photography (Iceland).
As a curator, her projects include exhibitions at The Private Museum (Singapore) and Objectifs Centre for Photography and Film (Singapore), and a projection screening for Angkor Photo Festival (Cambodia).
Hui Hsien holds an MA in Photography from the University of the West of England and a MSc in Social Sciences (Sociology) from National University of Singapore.
SHE ESCOBAR is a photographer from the Philippines whose work is rooted in a deeply humanist approach, focusing on stories shaped by culture, resilience and dignity. Her work has appeared on the front cover of Black+White Photography magazine and has received multiple Honorable Mentions from the International Photography Awards in portraiture, landscape, and photo essay categories.
Escobar’s work has also been recognised by Leica Fotografie International. She has been nominated for Hundred Heroines, an initiative by The Royal Photographic Society recognising women making meaningful contributions to photography. She began her academic journey in Pharmacy and Nursing, earning licensure as a registered nurse, and briefly studied Chemical Engineering. She lived and studied in Singapore for part of her life, an experience that deepened her appreciation for cultural diversity and widened her visual perspective. Over the decades, she has pursued immersive long-term projects, living and working closely with the communities she documents.
SHE ESCOBAR
@sheescobar
PRIZES AND BENEFITS
Open to international photographers at all levels.
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1st Prize Euros €2,000
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2nd Prize Euros €1,000
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3rd Prize Euros €500
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EXHIBITION
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The best 40 entries will have their printed and portraits exhibited in September, 2026 in Malaysia. Finalists will also be screened at international partner festivals.
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ENTRY FEES
You may submit up to 10 single images with captions, per submission. Only 2 submissions per photographer.
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1 image Euro €15.00
2 images Euro €30.00
3 - 6 images Euro €45.00
7 - 10 images Euro €65.00
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Photographers may submit through the KLPA website SUBMIT link or at the Picter.com page. Closing date for submissions : Tuesday, 31 March 2026, Midnight Malaysian (UTC+8).
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CONCESSIONS FOR ENTRY
This year KLPA are providing 5 concessionary (free) entries to photographers who are based in countries where the use of credit and debit cards is unavailable. Please complete this online form with your details by 28 February 2026, and 5 photographers will be selected at random and notified. They will be given a checkout code to submit their entry on the Picter site. Only 1 image is allowed per concession per person.​
ZONTIGA KLPA PRIZE 2026
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Exclusively for Malaysian entries, Zontiga and KLPA have come together to award three prizes to the best portraits that adhere to the theme A Stranger's Face : Travel Portraiture as selected by Zontiga. This is addition to the Main awards.
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1st Prize
RM300 book purchase value + RM100 printing vouchers + Lomo Reusable Film Camera & film
2nd Prize
RM150 book purchase value + RM100 printing vouchers
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3rd Prize
RM100 book purchase value + RM50 printing vouchers
ZONTIGA JURY
LAU WEN HUAT
@lauwenhuat
LAU WEN HUAT is the founder and director of Zontiga, guiding its growth into a hub for photographers and storytellers. Combining strategic insight with creative vision, he has developed Zontiga into a thriving photography space, a respected photo lab, and a curated bookstore and publishing house dedicated to visual storytelling.
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Lau also leads the ideation and planning of visual art exhibitions, providing artists with a platform to showcase their work and connect with audiences. Additionally, he oversees the production of photography publications that highlight diverse voices and foster creative expression. His dedication to the visual arts and talent development has been key to Zontiga’s continued growth, fostering a strong sense of community and collaboration.
Under his leadership, Zontiga remains a space where photography and storytelling come together, driven by a focus on creativity, innovation, and artistic growth.
API HUSIEN
@apihusien
API HUSIEN is a multifaceted artist who excels in a range of creative disciplines, including poetry, playwriting, acting, directing, and photography. He has authored several books of poetry and photography, and his work has been showcased in exhibitions across both Malaysia and Indonesia.
TIMELINE
24 January 2026
Open for submissions
31 March 2026
Deadline
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May 2026
Jurors meet in Kuala Lumpur
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Mid June 2026
Finalists notified and announced
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Mid July 2026
Winners announced
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September 2026
Exhibition in Kuala Lumpur
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SUBMISSIONS HOST
FESTIVAL PARTNERS
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