{"id":159478,"date":"2020-06-12T06:42:14","date_gmt":"2020-06-11T22:42:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thehoneycombers.com\/hong-kong\/?p=159478"},"modified":"2025-01-20T15:01:27","modified_gmt":"2025-01-20T07:01:27","slug":"tricia-darling-street-photographer-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thehoneycombers.com\/hong-kong\/tricia-darling-street-photographer-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"We caught up with street photographer Tricia Darling to chat about her love for visual storytelling"},"content":{"rendered":"

Creativity in Hong Kong is going from strength to strength, with a number of Hong Kong artists<\/a> starting to gain the recognition they deserve for their works, including Zlism<\/a> and Kylie Chan<\/a>. As a street photographer, Tricia Darling captures unique moments across the city, as she explores Hong Kong on foot. We recently sat down with her to chat more about her passion for photography and her work with new gallery Bamboo Scenes.<\/p>\n

An interview with street photographer Tricia Darling<\/h2>\n

Hi, Tricia. Thanks for sitting down with us today. Tell us a little about your background and how you ended up in Hong Kong.<\/h3>\n

I\u2019m originally from a very small town in southern Western Australia. \u00a0While I adore Australia, its lifestyle and unique beauty, I always desperately wanted to see the world and live in cities. \u00a0In 2001, at 26, I left for London with just a backpack, and I have never lived permanently back in Australia.<\/p>\n

I met my husband in London, and we then moved to Dubai with his company. \u00a0In Dubai, we had a son and stayed for three years, and then we moved to Hong Kong, where we had a daughter. \u00a0We have now been here just over seven years, and I\u2019m besotted by the city and the wonderful community here.<\/p>\n

Where and how did photography make its way into your life?<\/h3>\n
\"Tricia
Darling finds inspiration from the colourful streets of the city<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My father is a keen photographer, always taking me down the beach to photograph storms and nature. \u00a0He has a great collection of cameras and Polaroids. I increasingly took more street images when I moved to London and began commuting and walking around the city. \u00a0When we moved to Dubai, much of the city was still being built, so I enjoyed shooting the construction scenes and bright shiny new buildings, especially the Burj Khalifa. \u00a0When my baby was born he became my muse, and I would take photos of him every day and starting to take photos of my friends’ children.<\/p>\n

What inspires you most about Hong Kong streets?<\/h3>\n

A walk in the streets of Hong Kong never ever fails to surprise me and make me feel inspired. \u00a0I love the ever-changing nature of things, bamboo scaffolding, the construction, the confusion of delivery trucks, taxis and trolleys. \u00a0I\u2019m in awe of how so many of us live here in such a small space but everything seems to work, mostly. Add the heat and rain and the tourists and the weather and Hong Kong is just a beautiful mash-up of colour and moments. \u00a0I’m also so inspired by the graffiti and street art scene here, and I really applaud the work of HK Walls in giving artists such a fabulous platform.<\/p>\n

How do you engage with subjects on the street?<\/h3>\n
\"Tricia
‘Super Cool’ a work by Tricia Darling<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After all these years, many locals and special characters know me, and we have our sweet little ways of saying hello and asking each other about our days in my bad Cantonese and their snippets of English. \u00a0Because of our relationship these locals are happy to be in my photos. All of my other photography on the street is candid; if anyone appears bothered or takes offence I am happy to show them the photo and I will always offer to email them a copy of the photo. \u00a0This scenario really doesn’t happen often. I would never shoot someone homeless or disabled or in distress. I also use a 50mm lens which brings me close to subjects and not at a zoom lens, which could be considered kind of paparazzi creepy.<\/p>\n

Tell us about your involvement with Bamboo Scenes.<\/h3>\n

I became aware of Madelon De Grave and the Bamboo Scenes movement at the same time as noticing the amazing work of Jeff Rotmeyer<\/a> and Impact HK. \u00a0Madelon’s vision of bringing beautiful and contemporary art into people’s homes is so exciting and I was impressed with her modern approach to a gallery. \u00a0She also donates 10% of profits to Impact HK. I teamed up with my good friend and amazing photographer Michael Kistler and we developed a collection together as a duo called Envy. \u00a0\u00a0We have used the iconic Hong Kong taxi as our hero in this collection and there are twelve images in total.<\/p>\n

How do you think the creative scene has grown in Hong Kong since you first arrived?<\/h3>\n
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A post shared by Trish Darling (@triciadarlingartist)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n