Street Photographer Interview #1

Jul 7, 201510 min read

Deviation Actions

hosagu

Published: Jul 7, 2015

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Hi all Fellow Deviants
Welcome to the first interview of a series of interviews which will be given to any street photographers who will have received a Daily Deviation in Street Photography category.

Hi Jinnger AKA Jinn, would you please tell us about yourself and who your are as an Artist Photographer?

My name is Leow Jinn Jyh (Leow being my surname) and I grew up on the island of Penang, Malaysia but have spent the last 5 years living in Melbourne, Australia. I've just completed my degree in Architecture and am awaiting graduation. La la la la
I'm not sure if I'll call myself an artist photographer; I feel that the moniker is much more deserving for someone of a much higher calibre than me. I photograph casually as I am walking among the "life" of the cities I live in or visit. I simply enjoy photographing moments and snippets of them, capturing the fleeting scenes of unknown people going about their day. I guess I seek out the specialness of everyday life, as it is them that makes the city and give it character.

Jinn, what are the feelings which make you sensitive to what you call "fleeting scenes of unknown people"? I understand the mood in which you can be and the city around you might influence your shots? If it is the case: how would you define the link between the people you shot and your and their immediate environment?

When I was first introduced to Street Photography here on dA, I am blown away by the photographs where people unconsciously creates a scene with their surroundings, and nobody's aware of it except for the photographer. I admired their wit, power of observation and quick reflexes to capture that moment.

Too Loud it is, too loud! - Practice, you shall! by Mark-Allison

That's when I started to really observe and see what's going on around my city. I guess that feeling also grew out of my studies, in which I personally believe that architecture (and by extension, the built environment) is nothing without people using it or living in and around them. The environment in some ways dictates the behaviour of the people in them, but people are extremely creative in altering/going around it to suit their own needs. In that sense, the environment is the "unstaged" stage and the people the unwitting subjects as they respond to it in their own ways. I see and I shoot.

Would you please give us three words which come to you naturally when you think of your photos?

Place.

Luck.

Puns

How do you educate yourself to take better pictures?

It’s mainly through practice and looking at other photographers’ works. I’m still learning to read light and compose quickly in the frame. My aim is to one day to no longer feel the need to crop and edit my photos. I’ve also looked at some more technical stuff on how the camera works etc but nothing beats going out there, shoot, and learn from my mistakes.

Whose work has influenced you most?

Elliott Erwitt, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Walker, Mary Ellen Mark, Jesse Marlow to name a few, and my fellow AWESOME photographers here on DA who had given me a lot of support when I first started out. I hope you don’t mind a shout-out here! (there are so many of them here I’m afraid I might miss a few, which in case I apologise in advance: 1pen, arslanalp, batmantoo, burningmonk, Batsceba, Canankk, djailledie, ActiveShooter, e-l-a-n-i, Earth-Hart, Elerko, Ikarisou, IrynaFedorovska, JACAC, jrockar, myraincheck, MARX77, niklin1, noahsamuelmosko, PatrickMonnier, sagi-k, StamatisGR, splendidofsun, Treamus, Vermontster, ZiaulKareem

What kind of gear do you use?

A Nikon DSLR (D3100 with Nikkor 18-55mm zoom lens) that I had “borrowed” from my sister about 3-4 years ago.

Do you post process, if so, what is your workflow?

I do, but I try to keep it to a minimum. I first decide whether to keep it in colour or convert it into BW, then adjust the brightness/contrast, sharpen and then crop if necessary. If I had to post-process a photo a lot, I consider it a failed shot.

What do you enjoy the most about your own DA experience?

To share snippets of the life around me and seeing other people’s view of their part of the world. It’s just fascinating waking up to new photos every day.

One of your shot has been featured as a DD. Do you approve the choice, and if not, if you had to such feature one photography among your works, which one would it be and why?

Of course I do! It is one of my personal favorites! This is one of the few times in my shooting experience that I felt a sort of jolt when I saw the scene and knew that something good is going on. I’m very glad how it turned out :) (Smile)

What would you expect in the future about your art?

To continue to improve and expand of course. I hope that I will still be shooting for many, many years down the road. :D (Big Grin)

What advice would you give to a beginner?

Just grab your camera and get out of the house (or perhaps just look out of your window; there might be a shot right there right now!)

What is your actual project?

thesis and just recently went back to shooting again. I might be doing a color series of night street photos because I have not really shot at night before and would really want to try that.

What is your favorite personal quote, or proverb?

Off the top of my head, a Tolkien quote in The Lord of the Rings:
“Many that live deserve death. And some die that live deserve life. Can you give that to them? Then be not too eager to deal out death in the name of justice, fearing for your own safety. Even the wise cannot see all ends.”