Henry & Co.'s Perfectly Minimalist Views of Taipei

Welcome to Hero of the Week, an ongoing series sharing stories from some of the best photographers in the Pexels community.

Photographer Henry & Co. is an expert when it comes to minimal photography. Based in Taipei, Taiwan, Henry works in marketing, using his spare time to snap incredible detail shots of Taipei's streets.

"I like to observe things and people, especially figuring them out in a noisy surrounding," says Henry. The challenge of recording quiet moments in hectic Taipei appealed to him when he started off with photography.

Shooting with the FujiFilm X-T10, Henry's photos often zoom in on a detail that others might not notice while walking through a busy urban environment, frequently discovering unexpected patterns on walls and roads, especially making use of shadows and light. His color palette is dominated by shades of grey, but occasional well-placed pops of primary add interesting contrast.

Says Henry: "I enjoy creating still moments within a noisy surrounding. Taiwan is, in fact, a very crowded place. Unlike other countries, you can always see people walking by you easily, even when the location is not in the urban area."

Henry's philosophy is that noisy spaces make it harder to see and photograph the "true inner selves" of city dwellers. He was drawn to minimalism for its ability to view the world in a simpler way.

Urban areas are Henry's favorite location to shoot in. He enjoys the challenge of documenting such complicated spaces in a uncomplicated way. "The best part of being minimal is crafting the shape of things and scenes without changing them," he says. In his photography, Henry tries depict real, unaltered elements of the environment around him — but from a new and different perspective which offers a new story to the viewer.

Henry finds inspiration through other photographers on Instagram, which is home to many talented minimalist photographers — maybe the square grid layout of the app works particularly well for the geometric lines of minimal shots. Henry mentions @gshkarupilo, @baljarek, @nikolator, and @alyx.khxidir as a few key influences.

Asked to share a favorite Pexels photo, Henry points to the one below as his very first experiment with minimal photography. He shot this in the sports field where he usually runs. It's a great example of the way in which unexpected inspiration for photos can be found just about anywhere in your everyday routine, if you look for it.

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