A River’s Pulse

What’s new in your life since we last spoke?
I recently became one of Canon’s EOS Xplorers and was featured in a video by them.

The shoot took place in Australia when I was there at Fashion Week shooting for Vogue, and it was pretty intense since I don’t really enjoy being in front of the camera. Thankfully, the videographer was a friend of mine, and she was super fun to shoot with.

We ended up shooting for five days, whenever we could slot in free time in our busy schedules, and managed to capture the essence of my photography journey.

You previously mentioned that JJ Lin was one of the most memorable people you’ve photographed. Has anyone else of note come along since?
Yes, I photographed the Taiwanese actor, Jasper Liu!

It was at a Louis Vuitton show, when the Kpop group BTS was an ambassador of the brand. There were also other celebrities like Jackson Wang, JJ Lin, and MediaCorp artiste Desmond Tan, so imagine the crowd!

I caught Jasper Liu walking by and it seemed like other photographers hadn’t noticed him, so I shouted out to him and managed to get some shots in three seconds. I was using a heavier camera back then so I was trying so hard not to shake (laughs).

Jasper is honestly the nicest guy, really shy in person, and super shuai (handsome). He was so genuine and even asked me if the photos turned out okay. Oh my god, he’s the best!

What are some of the challenges you face as a street style photographer?
If you thought Fashion Weeks were crazy before, it’s a lot crazier now! These days, many brands want Korean idols as their ambassadors.

Let’s say Jennie from BlackPink is at one of these events, she’ll be accompanied by thousands of fans and paparazzi crowding the venue. It makes it hard for photographers like me who are trying to work.

But of course, it adds to the thrill of it all, which is very fun.

Where will you be heading for your next shoot?
I’ll be in South Korea for Seoul Fashion Week, shooting for Grazia Singapore before moving on to France for Paris Fashion Week later in September. I’m also working with a few international brands, so it’s going to be an intense few months.

You’re an avid traveler, where’s a favourite place that you’ve visited recently?
I recently went to Kazakhstan for a business trip and I cannot recommend the country enough.

To be honest, I was very skeptical at first since I didn’t know anything about Kazakhstan. I even brought cup noodles from home because I thought the food would be bad (laughs). But I was blown away because everything there was amazing! The sights were so pretty, the weather was nice, the place was really clean, the architecture was beautiful, and I swear, horse meat tastes better than beef.

There weren’t many tourists there too, so it felt very raw to experience a place that’s untouched by tourism. And did you know that Kazakhstan has the second largest population of wild flamingoes in the world? I think we must’ve seen about 3,000 of them this trip!