BIOGRAPHY
Andy was born in the beautiful city of Kuching and brought up in a humble family. He fell in love with the art of photography when he was working as a volunteer onboard the humanitarian vessel, MV Douglos. He is self-taught in the art of photography. Leaning from all that he had which is Nikon camera catalogs and UK photography magazines from the 1960s. He started shooting with film back in 1997 with his first fully manual film camera which cost only RM 899.00 the Nikon FM10 + manual kit lens Nikkor 35-70mm f/3.5-5.6. Couldn’t afford a flash he shot everything on available light until he borrowed a really old manual Minolta flash a year later which only has the setting of Low and High power output. With that he shot numerous actual wedding days, corporate events and fashion shows. From there he saved up and bought more used equipment, mostly manual focus lenses.
“Back then the only film I could afford was the Agfa VISTA ISO200 which cost RM 6.00 a roll for 36 frames. To me every click counts! ”
In 2008, after working in an oil and gas corporation for over 4 years as a systems analyst, he went full time as a professional photographer. Andy Kho is currently based in Kuala Lumpur and has done countless assignments that range from the mundane to the spectacular, including overseas weddings, beauty pageants, international events (such as conventions, music festivals, concerts, clubbing events), editorial assignments around the region for numerous magazines namely Leisure Travel Magazine and HELLO! magazine.
Andy Kho is a TV host of Wa! Journey, a Fuji TV Japan travel show introducing Japan to the world. His images have been featured in numerous airline magazines such as Singapore Airline, Scoot Thailand, Scoot Singapore, Malaysia Airlines, Tiger Air, Cebu Pacific and Jetstar. He has done 3 solo photo exhibitions on Japan, organized by Fuji TV Japan and sponsored by Epson Malaysia ( 2017 – 2018 ) and Photobook Worldwide ( 2019 ). He has photographed Prince William and Kate, Prince Albert of Monaco, Her Majesty Supreme Lady Queen of Malaysia Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah and many other celebrities. He’s even shot a portrait of Hollywood actor Robert De Niro and his documentary work has been published in the National Geographic Travel website.
Behind the scene photo from Wa Journey – Japan By Sea. Fukuoka, Japan. Sept 2017.
PHILOSOPHY
I work with basic gear as I believe that the greatest images are captured by the heart and soul through the artistic eyes of the photographer and in the most decisive manner possible, not by the most expensive and up-to-date equipment. I love shooting people shots, especially when they are unaware. This really allows me to capture the emotions and their natural expressions. I always shoot with the widest aperture that my lens will allow. It gives me shallow depth of field, which draws the viewer’s attention to the subject and emphasizes the emotions and expressions on the subject’s face.
I aim to capture the extraordinary out of the ordinary and keeping to my motto “the world is my studio“. And I pray that the images I create will have life changing and positive impact on people’s life.
On assignment in Maldives. June 2016.