Santos KOTA KINABALU: A hobby taken up seriously in 2010 has paid off for Muslianshah Masrie from Tawau after one of his shots claimed the number one spot in a global photography contest.

His shot of a sea gypsy home in the remote Maiga Island off Semporna waters, titled "Sunrise over Maiga Islands", beat over 160,000 entries across the globe in a photography contest organised by the KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.

The winning shot features a silhouetted man standing in front of his shack built over the sea.

"The feeling is great as a Sabahan to win a top photography contest. My mission is to show the world how beautiful Sabah is and wherever I travel, my camera is with me so that I can capture beautiful scenes along the route, nature or just people passing by," he said.

The Telekom Malaysia staff cum part-time tourist guide said the shot was far from being a spot of luck, saying Sabah already has all the best locations for the keen photographer.

"It's not only the islands. Mount Kinabalu, Kota Belud and Kudat are amazing locations to do photography," said Muslianshah, adding an equally good shot had been taken by a fellow photographer named Lano, who worked part time with a national-based media organisation, here.

The 43-year-old father of four said the photo was taken during a weekend group photography outing in February this year during one his part-time work assignments in Semporna.

"I knew I won the competition in July through an email but announcement of the winners was only made on Oct 21," he said.

For the winning entry, he won 200,000 miles Flying Blue Membership points, plus a Platinum card valid for one year, which is more than enough for a round-the-world trip.

Also, the photograph will appear on the KLM's Flying Blue luggage tags worldwide along with the pictures that won second and third place, while his shot is already available on print at the KLM Malaysia 2015 calendar, he said.

"I'm going to use the miles to see the Northern Lights in Iceland as well as travel with my family," said Muslianshah.