Andrew Chew on Street Photography

On getting started with street photography…

I did not know much about street photography until I took a serious interest in photography a few years ago. I started reading books on improving composition and came across photographs from Robert Frank and Henri Cartier-Bresson. These pictures were of ordinary life but they were very powerful as I was drawn to them. It got me started wanting to know more, to discover how it was captured and that led me to street photography. I initially thought it was more like taking snapshots or being lucky with your shots. However, having spent more time exploring this, I feel this is one of the most challenging and difficult photography to master.

On monochrome and color…

When I started street photography, I had monochrome in mind. I read that a monochrome pictures help put a focus on your composition and that color may create a distraction for the viewer. I took all my pictures in color and would convert them to monochrome during post-processing. However as I analyzed some of my photographs, I realize not everything works well in monochrome and some images are naturally more powerful with color. Currently, I don’t have a preference and am still studying what would make a good monochrome and what would lead to color.

On travel photography…

Over the years, I have traveled to more than a dozen different countries but my current favorite place to visit and shoot must be Japan. I have returned there at least four times over the last couple of years visiting a different city or town each time. I am fascinated by the many facets of its unique culture and traditions. The creation of the cosplay culture and the fascination of the anime characters are just a few of its uniqueness. It is a mix of the ultra-modern and traditional in one package. For travel photography, it definitely offers a great variety of architectures, landscape, people, food, culture and seasons.

On the story behind an image…

This picture was taken in Bangkok, Thailand. I was on a small boat on a river ride through the boat markets. It was my first time experiencing this unique market in Bangkok. The vendors practically sell anything on these riverboats from food, souvenirs, and more. You can have your lunch served to you on these boats. The market was so crowded and packed with boats beside, front and back of you and we were caught in a boat traffic jam. The exhaust of the front boat was literally in my face. I told the shot to capture the moment to remember the fumes of the exhaust, the smell the river, the crowd, the tourist, and vendors around me.

On lessons learned from street photography…

I used to walk swiftly and focus on my destination without paying too much attention to my environment. While I am waiting, standing or sitting in public, I would be on my mobile like what many others would do. Street photography has taught me to slow down, have patience, observe and enjoy the moment. I look less at my mobile and spend more time observing my surroundings and the people around me. Occasionally when there is eye contact, I would bring a smile and acknowledge that we both exist. It has shown me that there is beauty in the simplest of gesture, motion, and action. In street photography, it seems that we can create a ballet of motions or choreograph acts in a split of a second in time that in reality is some chaotic normal activities we performed in life.

Editor’s Note: You can see more of Andrew’s work by visiting his Flickr photostream. Andrew was selected from our Flickr group (Street Photography Magazine) where we regularly choose photographers’ work to be published in our magazine.