Recognition for his talents and works as one of Borneo's outstanding photographers has not come readily to Dennis Lau. This is a man who has used his camera to good effect in capturing people's lives in his 40 years of dedicated photography in his home state of Sarawak.

It is probably not untrue to say that much of his work has been just a labour of love. From his extended travels into Borneo's interior, he has accumulated a huge collection of black and white photographs of indigenous communities. Foreign publishers and editors have constantly approached him. His works, usually in black and white, have been published in some of the best-known magazines throughout the world. It is not uncommon to find his mark on Borneon photography in in-flight magazines of some regional and international airlines.

Travel writers never have second thoughts about using Dennis Lau's photo illustrations. There is no superficiality but only authenticity and simplicity in his approach to ethnography. His record with the museum more than testifies to this. His collections are a life-time treasure, painstakingly created at much personal sacrifice of time and money over the years.

That Dennis Lau has become a household name in special photographic works on Borneo and beyond the shores of Sarawak should not therefore surprise anyone. It is perhaps no exaggeration to say that apart from the legendary KF Wong, he ranks among the best known post-war photographers from Borneo. Now that he has retired from teaching, he has probably more time to reflect and continue pursuing what is essentially to him just as much a labour of love as making a little profit out of it.

Dennis Lau has teamed up with Wayne Tarman and Mike Read (both have done considerable travel writing in Sarawak) to create a unique pictorial account of Borneon people. It has a perfectly simple title "Borneo - A Photographic Journey" and contains some of his finest selections of the indigenous faces of Sarawak and Sabah. And there is one thing that must be said about it: the cheerful faces as people go about their work reflect the kind of society Malaysia is today. Here we are talking of course about the Bidayuh, Chinese, Iban, Kajang, Kayan, Kelabit, Kenyah, Malay, Melanau, Penan and Sebop in Sarawak and the Bajau, Kadazandusun, Murut and Rungus in Sabah. It is a pity though that Indonesian Kalimantan is not included otherwise it would have been a complete Borneo catalogue. Perhaps the next project?

To be sure, Dennis Lau's works will soon become rarities. He has done so much over the years to show lives as he saw them since he first clicked the camera at a young age. Soon with modernisation, many of the scenes he has shot will remain etched only in the memories of most people. Take, for example, his picture of the Orang Ulu traditional hairstyle and haircut. Or the Kayan mother and daughter enjoying ice cream for the first time in Bintulu during the 1952 regatta celebrations. Or the young Iban woman taking a bath in the river. Simple, yes but the black and white photographs in the pictorial book published by Travelcom Asia Sdn Bhd tell more than what they show. And this is something truly wonderful about Dennis Lau's photography and it is certainly something to behold. Strangely though, as someone personally acquainted with him over the years, I know for a fact that Dennis Lau has not been given more credit - and the recognition - that he deserves for all his contributions to society.

As Tribune feature writer Nikki Luggun's account of him and his works clearly suggests, the early days of photography were never easy. Travelling to the ulu would have meant slugging literally tens of kilos of equipment on one's shoulders when crossing the rough terrain. Today, the photo-journalist is much more fortunate: if he or his company can afford it, he carries along what is called a digital camera, and the pictures are sent electronically by modem through a PC using a telephone line to the office. In the old days, the gears usually included a mobile darkroom for film processing and printing. This would have meant taking an enlarger along with all the chemical solutions and the trays. To-day, photography is made much much simpler: remove the exposed film from the camera and run to one of those instant processing labs in town. The only difference is the prints are invariably in colour.

Dennis Lau's classic collections of works on Borneo and its people is in black and white. That makes a difference too as such photos are becoming sort of a rarity these days. - SCC

Sunday Tribune, 31st October 1999