As a mother of two young boys, I often don’t get time (the right time) to take street photos. However, once a year, I make sure to take a trip solely for my street photography. Last year I visited Kathmandu, and this year in May and June I spent a long week in and around Istanbul, where I took this photo. Spending a full week in hyper-focus mode to take photos is a true break from my everyday life. During these trips, I always try to follow a photography workshop, for example, with Maciej Dakowicz, or to meet up with local photographers who know their own city best. On the day I took this photo, I had the pleasure of being out shooting with the amazing Turkish photographer Timurtaş Onan. [We left] Istanbul for a day and explored a sleepy fishermen’s town at the Black Sea. During the summer months, fishing regulations keep the fishermen ashore. They spend their days mending their nets, drinking tea, painting their boats, and having a quiet conversation. The nets are lying all around, amazingly not getting tangled. These dark-coloured nets seem to absorb all daylight, creating a dark and beautifully textured backdrop. In this particular scene, there was a strikingly white (yet slightly dirty) plastic sheet on top of some fishing nets. From the corner of my eyes I saw the stars aligning with the white and black cats and I took this one photo.

[The] key to my approach for my street and documentary photography is finding the beauty in every day, mundane moments and places. It has become my photographic goal to take beautiful pictures of, in essence, boring things instead of taking boring photos of beautiful things. When photographing the streets, I do not go out premeditated to capture a particular scene. Instead, I literally follow the light and the lines and go where the scene takes me. This is also why my photography style is very diverse, as a scene, location, moment or particular light might inspire me to photograph in a different way. Even my own mood will affect how I photograph.

So many things compel me to click the shutter. It could be a quick fleeting moment, which, to be frank, might often lead to a rather messily composed photograph. And sometimes, when not much is happening, a quiet corner that just happens to be struck by a beautiful light beam might make be press that shutter. When out taking photographs I do not restrict myself to one style or subject. I photograph anything that I find beautiful, interesting or that I believe needs to be remembered.

I admire an immensely broad range of photographers. To name a few, I am amazed by the skills and success of Alan Schaller. His striking black and white photos, and how he’s been able to bring street photography to a wider audience amazes me. I had the pleasure of photographing in Tokyo with him last December and he seems merged as one with this camera, on a level I have not seen before. Another photographer whose work I admire is Timurtaş Onan, who applies artful composing, mood and light to meaningful- and focussed photo essays. His dedication to capture his city Istanbul is admirable and has resulted in a beautiful set of photography books. These happen to be two talented black and white photographers, but I also admire photographers that photograph in colour, but still manage to keep the photographs minimalist and artful. For example Annette Lang, who has focused on one particular type of scene and location, taking striking minimalist photos. Another inspiring photographer to me is Julia Coddington. Her ability to create artful captures in the busiest places is truly unique. And also her dedication to promoting women street photographers is inspiring. She manages Women in Street and the Unexposed collective, giving a stage to photographers that might not (yet) have gotten the attention they deserve.

I’ve always loved taking photos on trips, and looking back I did ‘street’ photography even before I knew that was a thing. Yet in 2020, I lost my corporate job and COVID hit, changing my life immensely. In an impulsive moment, I signed up for a part-time photography course. Here I didn’t just learn photography and meet some amazingly talented budding photographers, I also learned what genre and approach would be truly mine. One of the first assignments was ‘follow the light’, shooting in black and white to learn to use everything but colour. That week, however, I was stuck in the house with my sick kids and had no other choice but to photograph them. These photos became the first step towards my photography, focusing on capturing the daily and the mundane. It was also the spark that started my family documentary ‘Day in the Life’ business, where I create visual stories for families, capturing the beauty of their daily lives. I still felt I needed mentorship and someone to remind me to keep going on my photographic journey. I was able to find an inspiring mentor in photographer Nienke Koedijk, who was able to guide both my photography and the commercial side of my family photography business.

What really helped me on my way in my street photography journey specifically was the Women in Street Singapore community. Through this community I was able to develop my photography but also opened my eyes to my passion and talent for photo curation and exhibition planning. My fellow managing member of the WiSSG community, Marie Gouëz-Dailey, has truly been my partner in my development as a street- and documentary photographer as my support, my critic and friend. I can recommend any photographer to find a formal or informal mentor or community. Being a photographer can be lonely sometimes, even though we are photographing people and are among people and crowds all the time. Finding someone to offer critique and support and an occasional kick in the behind to keep going.