Steven Yee Pui Chung, born 1979

Masters of Business Administration, University of Bradford , UK
Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical), Nanyang Technological University
Fellow of The Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain (FRPS)
Fellow of The Photographic Society of Singapore (FPSS)
Fellow of The Photographic Society of Malaysia (FPSM)
Honorary Fellow of The Photographic Society of Malaysia (Hon.FPSM)
Honorary Fellow of Kedah Camera Club (Hon.FKCC)
Artist of International Federation of Photographic Art (AFIAP)

“I live what I do and I do what I like” --- Ralph Lauren

This quote forms the basis of how Steven Yee lives his life, to the fullest. Steven Yee, CEO of Sandven Group (www.sandvengroup.com), photographer, trained in engineering and business administration, Fellow of several photographic associations, is often featured in magazines with his articles and images. He is also the founder of Photovivo.com and a popular photography coach.

Specializing in travel photography, he often leads photography tours to other countries. He currently provides photographs and article for Nikon's FOCUS, Silkair's Silkwind and Valuair inflight magazine. His photography clientele base also include MINDEF, Mediacorp, Taj Hotel in India etc. He also does commercial, wedding and event photography. His recent projects include photographing for the calendar for Nanyang Technological University and shooting for the cover of “Paradise Found: Journeys Through Noble Gardens of Asia” as well as an image being selected to be published in this book alongside the foreword by H.R.H. The Prince of Wales.

Steven Yee has, through his recent achievements, established himself as one of Singapore 's most prolific and versatile new-generation photographers who has great competency in digital technology.

His works, many of them influenced by “computer art”, have been widely accepted for display at major exhibitions both in Singapore and overseas. These works have garnered for him numerous awards and honours, doing both his art and his country proud.

In a short span of seven years, Steven has also held six solo exhibitions. This is considered a remarkable feat for one so young, but it clearly demonstrates a level of maturity equal to, if not surpassing, those more experienced in the field of photographic art.

In 2003, he achieved the distinction of being the youngest to be admitted to the Fellowship (Professional and Applied Section) of The Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain (FRPS). In addition, his achievements have been recognized by the International Federation of Photographic Art and several photographic societies in the region.

It is easy to understand why such eminent institutions have acknowledged his talent. Steven possesses not only technical skills but also the sensitivity of an artist. Honing his craft through the years, he has developed keen visual awareness and a feel for design. His works show an excellent sense of lighting, colour contrast and composition.

Steven's versatility has enabled him to cover a wide range of subjects. Equally important, by translating them into striking images, he has shown a strong desire to communicate his observations to a discerning audience.

Without compromising the message he wishes to convey, he comes up with a final product that is as beautiful or as disturbing as he wants it to be. It is this rare skill that distinguishes an ordinary photographer from an excellent one.

Steven Yee Pui Chung began shooting with film in 1989.

In the years following, Steven Yee participated in numerous photo competitions and exhibitions locally and overseas. In 1999, at age 20, he became the youngest photographer to be elected Associate of The Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain (ARPS), and The Photographic Society of Singapore (APSS), respectively. In his quest for excellence in photography, Steven Yee went on to be the youngest to achieve the coveted Fellowship (FRPS, FPSS, FPSM) – a distinction in recognition of outstanding ability in a specialist field - in 2003.

In the same year, Steven Yee launched his first book, "Reflections in the Bamboo Grove: Suntzu". The publication chronicles stills featured in two of his six solo exhibitions: "Images from my Heart, my mind and my soul" (2000), and "Reflections in the bamboo grove" (2003). His works, described by a local arts critic as poetry within photography, depicts a fusion of ancient philosophy and poetry with imagery. His other solo exhibitions being “Imagery of the Trusting Heart” (2003), “EYES – Golden Myanmar” (2004), “EYES – Trail to Lost Horizon” (2005) and “Sensual Illusions” (2006).

Steven is constantly in search of ideas and inspiration for new projects, looking at ways to “recreate and reinvent”. His aim is to come up with a different series of works each year. In recent years, Steven Yee has been focusing on travel photography. This has led him to come up with a series he titles “EYES” . During his solo exhibition showcasing images of Myanmar , Steven Yee received compliments on his unique approach in capturing the “fleeting moment”. His signatory unique style of travel photography has become his trademark.

Specializing in travel photography, he often leads photography tours to other countries. He currently provides photographs and article for Nikon's FOCUS and Silkair's Silkwind. His photography clientele also include City Developments Limited, MINDEF, Singapore Police Force, Singapore Prisons Services, Mediacorp, Taj Hotel in India etc. He was photography coach to Hong Kong actor Alex Toh and Taiwanese actor Jason Lee in 2 of Mediacorp's drama productions.

At the international level, Steven Yee has clinched several awards, notably the several Gold Medals from The Photographic Society of America and the International Federation of Photographic Art (FIAP) respectively. Some of his works now form part of the permanent collection in the contemporary section at the International Photography Museum (MIF) in Spain as well as the first to be featured on the Nikon Gallery (www.discovernikon.com). Several have been displayed at venues in America , Europe and Asia; including a group exhibition in Greece as part of its 2 nd International Festival of Artistic Photography.

In keeping up with technology, Steven experiments with the digital media. He is currently the official instructor for the Nikon D50/D70/D70s/D80 camera workshop. An Honorary Fellow of The Photographic Society of Malaysia and the Kedah Camera Club, he was instrumental in influencing the local photographers to embrace digital technology. He is also the oversea advisor of Kedah Digital Photography Club.

Steven is a MINDEF Nexus commissioned photographer for the “Total Defence 2005” project. Previously, he sat on the committee for projects such as ClickArt World Journalist Meet 2003; Photo & Imaging Asia 2001, 2003, 2005 & 2006; Secretariat of “To Singapore With Love” Project which commemorates Singapore's 40 th anniversary and Picture Editor of the Chingay Photo Book. Steven has served on the Council of The Photographic Society of Singapore since 1998, and was its Honorary Secretary and photography course coordinator.

He left in 2007 to set up Knowledge Bowl which is a photography school and PhotoVivo ( www.photovivo.com ) which is a photography community which organizes photography related activities. This allows him to continue his passion in sharing his knowledge to budding photographers and organize photography activities for them. As of November 2008, PhotoVivo has the support of more than 2000 amateur photographers.

Besides sharing his knowledge through photography workshops in Singapore and Malaysia , Steven also conducts photography courses. He is on the judging panel of many photography competitions both on local and international scale.

A Mechanical and Production Engineer by training from the Nanyang Technological University , his final year thesis at the University was an in-depth research on the creativity, innovativeness and technology of photography in Singapore . This is the first ever research of this scale. His MBA from University of Bradford saw him doing a photography related thesis, being strategies for a camera company to implement customer relations management..

More about his works can be found on www.stevenyeephotography.com and the Volume One Collection of Discover Nikon www.discovernikon.com . He is the first to be featured in Discover Nikon website, which showcases some promising photographers who are Nikon users.