Photographer LTA (NS) Mark Teo will go to any length, depth and height to immortalise extreme sporting athletes in picture.
Lieutenant (LTA) (NS) Mark Teo is a bona fide storyteller. Watching him recount his harrowing experiences with animated hand gestures and dramatic sound effects, one can almost relive vicariously those terrifying moments.
He narrated an incident in Sri Lanka where he was attempting an underwater shoot at a surfing competition: "I took a jet ski out and jumped into the sea with my camera. One wave crashes down on you, and by the time you come up for air, swoosh! another one is coming. I thought I was going to die!"
With such a knack for recreating experiences, it is no wonder that the 32-year-old, who heads Mark Teo Photography, has a passion for telling stories by holding time still through his photos.
Life on the edge
LTA (NS) Teo's love for extreme sports began early, when he was a teenage aggressive inline skater and took pictures and videos of him and his friends performing tricks.
To date, he has photographed a wide variety of extreme sports, from skateboarding and downhill mountain bike racing to Motocross and Parkour. His favourite sport to shoot is breakdancing, which showcases the athleticism and showmanship of B-boys (breakdancers).
"Extreme sports is about pushing the envelope and breaking boundaries and that's what I love about it. It encourages creativity," said LTA (NS) Teo.
This childhood hobby became a springboard for his budding photography career. In 2009, Red Bull picked up a photograph he had taken at a breakdancing event. He became one of the first Asians to join Red Bull's pool of photographers, capturing Red Bull athletes in extreme sporting events around the region.
Going to the extremes
Last year, LTA (NS) Teo received another big break when he was selected to participate in a special project by Red Bull, together with other international photographers. In March this year, he flew to Tibet and spent six days photographing the nomadic horsemen of Renbo Town.
It turned out to be one of his toughest shoots yet. On top of the high altitudes and freezing Tibetan winter, the language barrier was something LTA (NS) Teo's five-man team also had to contend with.
"The riders didn't know what I wanted, so they just kept going around doing their own thing. Otherwise, they would pose and smile at the camera," he said with an exasperated chuckle.
The horses were also scared off by the equipment. "I wanted to shoot with flashes so that I could get really vibrant colours. But the moment the flashes went off, the horses freaked out. In the end, I had to trick them: I would keep my distance but just as they neared I would dive in to get the shot."
All that hard work paid off, and the photographs of the elusive horsemen were featured on the Red Bull Photography website in May. No mean feat for the young photographer, who nearly became an engineer.
"I really wanted to show that a Singaporean city boy could hold his own among these photographers, most of whom I've looked up to since I started shooting for Red Bull," he added.
Coming together for a cause
Capturing the perfect action shot is a collective effort, and LTA (NS) Teo is thankful that his time in National Service has taught him to work well with others.
"You need everybody to play their roles properly to accomplish any mission. Being patient, and understanding when to step back and when to take charge helps," he explained. "This was especially so in a setting like Tibet, where many things were happening and everyone was tired and cold. You could not lose your cool even when you were not getting what you wanted."
The infantry officer also recalled his jungle survival training fondly: "I was starving and to stay sane, I took out my black book and started writing down the things I wanted to eat when I got home: chicken rice, laksa But it's nice to look back and know that you have done it and received the badge, which is unique to us infantry officers."
Fans of PIONEER will know that LTA (NS) Teo also shoots for the Backpage segment of the magazine. So which is more difficult, shooting extreme sports or extremely good-looking people? "Shooting extreme sports is harder. With the models being made up by the stylists and make-up artistes and looking good, half the work is already done," he replied modestly.
And with inexperienced models, he has his storytelling to fall back on: "I just talk nonsense to put them at ease and when they start laughing, I snap!"
