Bobby Chang is a multi-talented analogue artist from Hong Kong. He has been involved with visual arts from an early age and has worked as a cameraman in the past. Currently shooting mostly with disposable cameras and black and white film he manages to photograph raw and beautifully real pictures of anything that gets his attention.
KALTBLUT: What kind of things do you like to photograph?
Bobby: I like to photograph many things. I see many images and they are becoming snapshots in my mind and I need them all. I like to photograph people that inspire me, that bring out strong emotions for me. And buildings, I like those very much too. Not only for the architecture but also for their symbolic value and what I can imagine or what feeling I get from them. But nature also. Anything. When I don’t have a camera with me I always see something amazing or coloured or strange or a pose and I’m so pissed off I can’t grab this shot.
KALTBLUT: Why do you often choose to use disposable cameras?
Bobby: I like disposable cameras because you can have them with you everywhere. They are small, they don’t break easily, they got a flash, they are trash that takes fantastic pictures, you just aim and shoot at anything. I like how they are not “professional” because moments in time are not about being using this or that expensive camera. It’s unbelievable how great photos you can take with something designed to be used and thrown away. But sometimes I don’t throw them away, I manage to load them with black and white rolls. Of course I have some other cameras too. They are great as well. Hehe.
KALTBLUT: You obviously love black and white, tell us a little about that.
Bobby: I love it yes. I like colour, too. Black and white is the essence of photography. A great picture must be great in black and white, if it stands the black and white test it’s a really great one. I like the raw feeling of black and white and the roughness it brings with it. For me it makes things look more real. Nothing distracts from the real thing. Colour range is limited, but the black and white shades are endless, deeper. And it is sometimes helpful, because many buildings have ugly colours, it’s good to have the option of showing what you want and not showing what you don’t want.
KALTBLUT: What’s your latest project about? Are you working on something?
Bobby: I am always shooting. Now I am working on a zine. Mostly in black and white. It will be with poems and notes I write and pictures I take and some sketches. Also, in spring I will be having an exhibition with some other very talented photographers I admire: ROKOVOY and Callikrati Vuyuk. I’m working on this too. I can’t reveal too much because I don’t know if I am supposed to!
Interview by Emma E. K. Jones
