Seoul, South Korea
My photography is rooted in observation. I like to capture the small unregarded moments that happen naturally within everyday life. Im drawn to people, streets, gestures, clothing, relationships, and the atmosphere of a place. In other words: the subtle art of people watching. I use the camera as a way of documenting culture as it is lived rather than staged. I find that street-style photography doesn’t interrupt the moment, allowing expressions and interactions to remain spontaneous. When a photograph becomes more direct or personal, I approach the person and ask. In the editing process, I try to preserve the sense of immediacy while giving the images a distinct warmth. I work with rich, sun-warmed tones, gentle contrast, and a subtle sense of texture to create images that feel tactile and lived-in. I try to move away from the clean and clinical look. I find it beautiful when a photograph retains the rawness of the moment; the light, heat, colour, movement, and imperfections of the street. The result is a visual diary of people and places; candid fragments of everyday life. What makes ethnographic photography so memorable is precisely that dynamic between the ordinary and the unknown. What may feel familiar and unremarkable to the people living it can, through a different lens, reveal an entirely contrasting way of seeing the world. Perhaps that is what photography can do best: make us look again at what we thought we already knew. By allowing us to see beyond our own perspective, it helps us exercise the crucial trait of open-mindedness.
Seoul captivated me through its layers. The city carries a strong sense of history within an intensely modern landscape, and I was drawn to the moments where those different worlds appeared together. I found myself especially fascinated by the temples, traditional buildings and quieter architectural spaces scattered throughout the city. I became interested in capturing these contrasts; not simply as a difference between old and new, but as a way of seeing how a city can hold onto its past while continuing to evolve.
