Tag: Urban

PHOTO ESSAY : LAYERS OF THE CITY

December 14, 2025
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TEXT & PHOTO: PUTTIPONG NIPATUTIT

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This series was created through in-camera multiple exposure, a technique that lets me view the city from an angle that feels unfamiliar. The intention was never to drift into fantasy. Rather, it is to suggest that urban life contains more strata than what we usually allow ourselves to see: roads cutting across towers, strangers passing one another, and the interplay of light, color, and sound that unfolds all at once, without choreography. 

By layering these moments into a single frame, the technique becomes a way of recording both the city’s daily commotion and the small, almost imperceptible rhythms of order that sit quietly beneath it. 

What I hope for is simple: that the familiar city might be seen again, but felt differently. 

All photographs in this series were taken using the multiple-exposure function, with no digital retouching. I began exploring film-based multiple exposure in 2020, long before realizing that many digital cameras offered the same capability. That discovery eventually led me to experiment across both formats, and I continue to work with film and digital today.

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Puttipong Nipatutit (Amp), a passionate photographer and owner of a small digital print studio.

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PHOTO ESSAY : TOKYO NUDE

August 16, 2025
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TEXT & PHOTO: RUMI ANDO

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I have fainted one or two times on the street every summer for a while since moving to Tokyo. Whenever I fainted, I couldn’t help but get scared imagining myself drowning in the crowds, the swirl of information, and heat of the city that seemed unable to escape from. At one point, those things inspired me to create the different landscape of Tokyo. 

The work’s theme is to have the ‘fictional Tokyo’ appear in a photograph by digital photo editing. Based on the rules I set for my work, I remove conspicuous visual noise such as windows, electric poles, advertising, people, and trash. The act of removing visual elements that bother as much noise as possible seems to have Tokyo stripped down to its real figure = nude. 

Today, humans’ sense of community has shifted to the online world. Under such circumstances, I felt some sort of nostalgia in the landscape of Tokyo outside the walls. This sense of nostalgia motivates me to make works.

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Rumi Ando is a photographer and retoucher. After graduating from Tokyo University of the Arts with a degree in Advanced Art Expression, she has been creating works mainly using photographic media. Incorporating image processing techniques, she produces photographs of urban landscapes that blend reality and fiction.

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PHOTO ESSAY : LOOK AROUND YOURSELF

June 22, 2025
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TEXT & PHOTO: SANTAWAT CHIENPRADIT

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Buildings, temples, parks, and other structures are created by humans for a reason. Temples used to serve as the community center, not only for ceremonies but also to celebrate festivals such as Songkran, auspicious occasions or even New Year’s Day. The temple of each commune took on the role of the key organizer who brought these ceremonies and celebrations to life.

Over time, the number of people in the community has grown. A lot of people move into the city, often in search for good business opportunities . The big, tall buildings started to overshadow the trees on the ground. There will no longer be one business building but there will soon be more neighboring buildings that will have the same function too, along with train stations and shopping malls. Then, all of a sudden you’re surrounded by tall buildings.

Another change in many buildings nowadays are the design function and the way facilities are used. The buildings need to be designed to stand out or maybe have hybrid functions. While the aged buildings stand still, keeping the neighborhood’s old sense.

What you will see around you might be a shopping mall building along with a business building with office spaces. The British Council Building (1980) is an example of this – it has been transformed into a fashion warehouse and is now surrounded by new buildings. The Temple is now nestled between a bustling city and the park is also surrounded by high-rise buildings.

Look around and see for yourself. There are many things that are often unnoticed. Every little detail is next to you, hidden in plain sight.

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Santawat Chienpradit is an emerging photographer with an interest in architectural and still life photography.

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PHOTO ESSAY : SHOP CATS OF HONG KONG

June 14, 2025
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TEXT & PHOTO: MARCEL HEIJNEN

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When Dutch photographer Marcel Heijnen moved to Hong Kong in 2015, he was delighted to find that many of his neighbours were of the feline variety. It was only natural for him to make friends with the local shop cats and their owners, taking photos as he went. And this series is the charming result.

Against a background of Hong Kong ’s bustling dried goods trade, dusty shelves groaning with traditional products, the beloved cats either stand out as shop mascots or magically melt away behind boxes and jars. Marcel aims to capture a world in which it seems that time stood still, a reminder of simpler times, ongoing warm stories not far from Hong Kong’s glistening skyline. A place where a true symbiotic relationship between human and animal still thrives. 

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Dutch photographer Marcel Heijnen lived in Asia for 3 decades. He now divides his time between Europe and Asia. At any one time he is working on a number of photo series, from feline to fine art and everything in between, capturing different aspects of street life in Asia against a background of urbanisation and impermanence. When it comes to cats and their many layers of meaning, we suggest you to  see his ‘Chinese Whiskers’ series via Instagram.

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PHOTO ESSAY : HONG KONG SOLITAIRE

February 22, 2025
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TEXT & PHOTO: PATRICK KASINGSING

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Hong Kong captivates me like no other city. From my first visit in 2017 to my most recent stop last September, this 1,108km² pocket of contrasts keeps pulling me back. Every trip feels like uncovering another layer, where something familiar is always just a little different. It’s a place where glass-and-steel skyscrapers soar above streets that still hold the grit and character of another time, where the sharp edges of a modern “Asia’s World City” soften into traces of its past as the Fragrant Harbor.

Hong Kong hums with urgency: fast, loud, relentless. But every so often, it pauses, exhales, and shows you its quieter side, rare moments that I wanted to capture in this series. A solitary figure standing in the shadow of towers; a woman in green, lost in her own thoughts along the Avenue of Stars; a Yau Ma Tei street stirring awake as the day begins. These quiet moments, nearly missed amidst the city’s rush, are the ones I always seem to gravitate toward, the small, human glimpses that, to me, make up the real Hong Kong.

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Patrick Kasingsing is an art director, photographer, writer, and Philippine architectural heritage advocate. He founded @brutalistpilipinas and @modernistpilipinas, platforms celebrating the country’s architectural legacy, and launched Kanto.PH, an online magazine covering design and culture in the Philippines and Southeast Asia. Previously creative director of architecture magazine BluPrint, he revitalized its identity and oversaw creative direction for multiple One Mega Group titles. As art director of adobo magazine, his contributions to its rebrand earned a Philippine Quill award. Patrick’s writing and photography has also appeared in publications from Birkhäuser Verlag, Braun, DOM Publishers, PURVEYR, and Vogue Philippines among others.

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PHOTO ESSAY : SPECTRUM OF SOLITUDE: A TAPESTRY OF URBAN LIFE

March 23, 2024
by Ketsiree Wongwan
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TEXT & PHOTO: CHEVAN LIKITBANNAKON 

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In “Spectrum of Solitude,” a captivating series of photographs, the lens delves into the intricate dynamics of urban existence, capturing moments of connection, introspection, and cultural immersion amidst the backdrop of parks, museums, and bustling streets. Each image is a brushstroke in the larger canvas of urban life, revealing the nuanced interplay between solitude and companionship, culture and art.

The series opens with scenes of people basking in the warmth of companionship, laughing, and sharing stories in the verdant embrace of city parks or cozy cafes. Friends and lovers alike find solace in each other’s company. Their joy is palpable against the backdrop of urban landscapes. Yet, interspersed among these moments of camaraderie are glimpses of solitary figures lost in thought amidst the hustle and bustle of city life. These solitary moments offer a poignant counterpoint to the vibrant energy of communal gatherings, inviting viewers to contemplate the beauty of introspection and self-discovery.

As the series unfolds, cultural immersion takes center stage, with photographs capturing the diverse tapestry of traditions and expressions that define urban landscapes. From the hushed halls of museums, where art and history intertwine, to the vibrant streets pulsating with the rhythms of different cultures, each image is a testament to the richness of human experience found within the city’s embrace.

“Spectrum of Solitude” is more than just a collection of photographs; it is a visual symphony that celebrates the multifaceted nature of urban life. Through the lens of street photography, viewers are invited to explore the delicate balance between connection and solitude, culture and art, discovering beauty in the everyday moments that shape our urban experiences.

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With a background in filmmaking, Chevan Likitbannakon is a Thai-Egyptian passionate visual storyteller, particularly through the visual arts – painting, photography, music videos, and filmmaking. There are fleeting moments where I glimpse the essence of the subject(s) I capture. That is the story I tell. And I become part of that story by being behind the camera and documenting that particular moment. It could be a feeling, or a thought, or a look, that is revealed in the captured moment – one that was perhaps previously unseen. 

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