Tay Kay Chin a renown Singapore-based photographer shared his thoughts in SingTel Home Without Wallsphoto sharing session. As a photographer, I feel Mr. Tay has shared his experience on how we can improved ourselves to be a better photographer and create powerful message in our photograph.

Recap: What is Home Without Walls?

Home Without Walls is a photo contest campaign by SingTel  to encourage Singaporeans to make time for real and meaningful connections with the people who matter, with the aim of creating homes where there are no communication barriers, and connect from the heart.

Kay Chin’s talking points:

“The most ordinary things are the things that we always take for granted.”

Kay Chin first felt a desire for photographing Singapore as his home when he was moving away to Missouri. Not believing that he will be back, he ventured around Singapore taking photos of people and places he wanted to keep as memories. The series of photos which he took of Singapore, “Panoramic Singapore” were to him the most ordinary things we take for granted. ‘Panoramic Singapore’ went on to win him the prestigious ‘Hasselblad Master’ award.

“Taking photographs of my family, has proven to be the most difficult thing”

In his journey of learning and training to be a photographer, ‘Home’ was never something Kay Chin wanted to photograph until he realised that he wanted to capture milestone family events as memories. Struggling with learning how to be objective behind the lens, he has often wondered if he was being too intrusive.

His rationale is that he has a genuine intention to capture stories which he can pass down to the younger generation and they are a documentation of history. Now, he takes photos of people and things that are important to him, and is less concerned about the commercial value and technical aspects of the photograph as these photographs tell a story that is worth more than money can buy.

“When I looked at that picture, I wanted to be a father. That to me, is how powerful photography is and it became one of my goal in life – to make people want to do something.”

Kay Chin once came upon a photograph of a newborn infant which is etched in his mind’s eye to this day. It has influenced his philosophy of using photography not to win awards or copy trending styles, but to explore what is close to the heart for the photographer and capture stories with visuals that have the ability to move people. In that way, a photographer who does not blindly follow in the footsteps of others has a better chance of owning an original style. Similarly, for the “Home Without Walls” photo contest, he will be looking for a photograph which powerfully conveys a real and honest expression of family.