MICHAEL KISTLER

Over half the world’s population live in urban areas with this figure growing constantly. Combined with the exploding accessibility to smartphone cameras, it is no wonder Street Photography is one of the most popular genres of photography today. However, achieving success within the art form is extremely challenging.

A street photographer is both an observer and a hunter, seeking out these fleeting moments like trophies. A street photographer exercises patience to capture these moments. Compiling a cohesive body of work excelling with a unique style and vision often takes a lifetime.

Street Photography has long been associated with black and white images such as those shot by Cartier- Bresson, Winogrand, Moriyama and Fan Ho, but Kistler prefers shooting Hong Kong in colour. A city so intense and highly saturated with its dazzling lights alongside bright ads and racing traffic - it flashes intense colours at its inhabitants relentlessly. Kistler’s favourite subjects include a textured blend of street art and architecture with the blurred movement of Hong Kong’s iconic taxis, buses, trams and the day-today hustle of people.

In addition to this chaos, Hong Kong is a city famous for its shiny and reflective skyscrapers and Kistler seeks out these mirrored reflections in glass and puddles. Layers have an important role in his work, if not naturally present on the street, he frequently opts to create in-camera double exposures to realise this vision. This kaleidoscopic effect echoes the experience of moving around the metropolis while being bombarded by noise, motion and reflected light. It is also worth noting that Kistler uses no photoshop or digital manipulation in his images - everything is done in camera with minor edits in post processing.