Relentlessly Craving.: Danny Santos II - Shooting Strangers in Orchard Road

Une note en anglais aujourd'hui. Les francophiles auront qu'à regarder les images :)

I first stumbled upon Danny Santos II's photography thanks to his portraits of strangers.

I was blown away by the absolute beauty of these portraits. Were all the people in Singapore beautifully photogenic?

I then read his description and was all the most surprised to see he described himself as a "weekend photographer".

Hm.

"I am a weekend photographer", I thought.

He certainly was above that - way above me, that is.

Therefore I dug up a little more.

If two years ago he certainly began shooting random people in the streets just for the fun of it, he is now a true professional, published, hired for commissions...

Well he's not anyone!

What I like about this project :

- He asks his subjects not to smile. To keep it sincere, not fake. He thus obtains a stunning intensity from their looks

- He asks portraits to everyday people. Because yeah, the truly beautiful people are here, right under your nose and not on red carpets or on catwalks

- Yet, it is NOT a street fashion blog. Don't get me wrong, I have been a true sucker for street fashion ever since I set hands on a FRUiTS book many years ago. But it is NOT the point here - and thank god. He shoots faces, allures. NOT clothes and trends.

- I've always wanted to go & see people on the street and ask them for a portrait. But hey I never had the guts! So I'm glad someone did this for me. Especially as he is quite honest about the story behind his first portrait :

"She was the first girl I’ve approached for this project. When I asked “Is it ok if I take your picture?” she comfortably said “Sure.” I was pleasantly surprised, but was still very nervous. As I took this photograph, I was actually struggling.. thinking: “Steadyyy… man, I hope she doesn’t notice my camera shaking.”

- He has declined his project in a lot of other sub-projects, such as:

"5 sec. faces" ,