thedwaynefoong

Hey, I’m Dwayne. I’m a former fashion photographer turned lens restorer based in Malaysia—and I spend most of my time chasing cinematic flares with vintage Soviet lenses.

I didn’t start out this way. I came up through the usual route—high-end DSLRs, sharp commercial work, clinical clarity. But somewhere along the way, I realized I was craving something different. Something more real, more organic, like the 120 black and white films that I inherited from a friend.

That shift started in 2019 when I mounted an old Soviet lens—the Helios-44M—on my camera for the first time. The softness, the swirly bokeh, the way the light flared unpredictably… it felt real. And just like that, I was hooked.

During the pandemic, I started servicing old Helios lenses for fun. I wasn’t trying to start a business—I just wanted to understand how these pieces of glass worked. But once I cleaned up a few and sold them to fellow filmmakers, I realized there was something here. Not just the lenses, but the story behind them. The character they bring to an image. The slower, more deliberate way of shooting. And the satisfaction of restoring something that would’ve otherwise left collecting dust or end up in landfills.

Today, I only shoot with vintage Soviet lenses—like the Mir-10a, Mir-1b, Helios-44-2, Jupiter-9, and Helios-40-2. I also restore them full-time, making sure they’re ready for real-world filmmaking: smooth focus, reliable mechanics, clean optics, and a properly centered lens confirmed by a technical test chart. Everything I ship is something I’d personally use on a client shoot.

Why go through all this effort? Because I believe tools shape the way we see—and I want other creatives to experience what it feels like to shoot with lenses that is so “dirty”, it feels illegal. Lenses that challenge perfection. Lenses that create the “film look” that we grew up with.

Whether you’re here to pick up a lens, watch some sample footage, or just explore, welcome. I hope what you find here inspires you to create something that feels a little less polished—and a little more organic.

Let’s connect. My inbox is always open.

— Dwayne

THEDWAYNEFOONG.COM is operated under the legal business name “24 FPS FILMS”, a sole-proprietorship business (reg. no. 202003071201/003089510-K) registered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.