Tony Van Le
When I’m out on the street, my mindset combines looking for the out-of-the-ordinary with having a blank mindset. By clearing my mind and being fully attuned to my surroundings, I’m more open to the photographic potential of what I encounter.
When I finally find a moment, my approach becomes purely about aesthetics, respecting the people I photograph, and being as unobtrusive as possible. At this point in the process, the actual meaning of the photo is an afterthought. Still, somehow, my personality manages to seep into these images.
On the face of it, these photographs are an ode to the charm of everyday life and remind us that the strangers around us have lives and histories as complicated and nuanced as our own. Yet, the photos go beyond documentation and somehow become representations of the ideas I’m contemplating and the issues I struggle with.
