Tag: Street Captures

  • Depth of Field Demystified: A Beginner’s Guide to Depth of Field for Food and Cafe Photography

    There is a particular kind of photograph I often notice in cafes: the coffee is sharp, the table disappears gently behind it, and somewhere in the background there is just enough suggestion of the room to tell me where I am. Nothing feels accidental. That, more than an aggressively blurry background, is what good depth…

    Written by

    Ethan Chua
    Photographer using a DSLR camera to capture a tabletop meal with seafood, leafy vegetables, mushrooms, dipping sauces, bowls, and a tabletop grill.

  • The Photo Essay: How to Tell a Story With Photographs

    One strong photograph can hold you on its own. You stop, you look, you feel something, and that is enough. But a photo essay asks a different question. What happens when several photographs are expected to work together, and what does a story told primarily through images rather than words look like? A photo essay…

    Written by

    Ethan Chua
    A sunny outdoor market street lined with tall palm trees and shops selling goods, with shoppers walking along the wide walkway between storefronts and signs.

  • Best Camera Lens for Street Photography Beginners in Singapore

    The photo that made me fall in love with prime lenses was taken with a borrowed one. A friend had left his 40mm prime camera lens on my mirrorless camera body by accident, and I spent an afternoon in Chinatown with it, not knowing any better. No zoom lens. Just my feet. I walked closer,…

    Written by

    Ethan Chua
    Close-up of hands holding a professional DSLR camera with a large lens, with the camera strap and controls visible on a desk, in a softly lit indoor setting.

  • Singapore Photography: How to Photograph Shophouse Architecture

    Singapore is a small country with rich buildings and pretty streets. It was a wet morning on Koon Seng Road in Joo Chiat, one of the favourite photo spots in Singapore for capturing pastel Peranakan houses. I’d woken up early, hauled my camera down there, and then the sky opened up. My first instinct was…

    Written by

    Ethan Chua
    A sunny pedestrian street with colorful buildings on both sides, arched murals along the walls, people walking, and a golden-topped tower in the distance under a blue sky.

  • The Essence of Singapore Photography: Documenting The Culture of Hawker Stalls

    It was a Tuesday morning at Old Airport Road Food Centre, one of the favourite photo spots for street photography in Singapore. I’d gone there to shoot char kway teow, the usual glistening plate, the wok hei, the kind of picture most tourists and photographers take, the kind the world wanted to see. But my…

    Written by

    Ethan Chua
    A food stall counter with diners standing nearby in a covered walkway.

  • Ethical Street Photography Explained by Street Photographers

    The first time someone confronted me, I was standing outside a provision shop in Chinatown. I’d just lifted my camera toward an old uncle stacking oranges into a pyramid. The morning light was gorgeous, soft, gold, sliding along the shopfront. I got greedy. I stepped too close, framed his face too tightly, and pressed the…

    Written by

    Ethan Chua
    A row of traditional shophouses with gray shutters lines a street with modern buildings in the background.

  • How Cafe Design Influences Photography: A Guide to Singapore Cafes for Coffee Lovers

    The first time I understood this, I was sitting in a heritage shophouse café in Tiong Bahru. It was an ordinary morning. Natural light came in sideways through the tall windows and settled on old wooden furniture and a worn wooden table. I ordered a latte, lifted my camera out of habit, and started shooting.…

    Written by

    Ethan Chua
    Bright cafe interior with colorful chairs, woven pendant lights, exposed brick wall, and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking outdoor terrace.

  • Cafe in Telok Ayer: Finding Singapore’s Most Photogenic Coffee Corners

    I keep coming back to this Telok Ayer cafe stretch, camera in one hand, coffee cooling in the other. There is something about this pocket of cafes in singapore that rewards slowness. It is easily accessible from the east west line, yet it feels miles away from the rush of marina bay sands. This is…

    Written by

    Ethan Chua
    Latte with latte art and black coffee in brown cups on saucers beside a cheese-topped pastry on a white plate with fork and knife.

  • Understanding Film Grain: When Noise Improves Restaurant Photography

    The first time I tackled restaurant photography at an omakase dinner in Singapore, I almost deleted my best photo of the night. I was sitting at a tiny counter near Tanjong Pagar, where the chef works in a pool of warm light and the rest of the room melts into shadow. I had pushed my…

    Written by

    Ethan Chua
    Hands holding a camera over a table of assorted food and drinks.

  • A Beginner’s Guide to Candid Photography for Date Ideas in Singapore

    The first time I tried to do a couple photoshoot in a date night, I ruined the whole thing in about ten seconds. I had a friend and his partner sit down at a little wine bar near Keong Saik Road, and the moment I lifted my camera, I said the deadly words: “Okay, now…

    Written by

    Ethan Chua
    A man and a woman smiling at the camera while wearing backpacks and standing outdoors next to a white structure with intricate green patterns.