Editor’s Note: While hunting down the most inspiring photography on the Web, we recently stumbled across the work of Frank Yang: a graphic designer, architecture student, and imagemaker—that last term is important.
Frank doesn’t consider himself simply an “enthusiast photographer,” because the reality he captures only exists in his head. He explains his approach better than we could, and so we asked him to talk about his workflow, his approach to creating imagery, and what photography means to him.
Scroll down to see some of his favorite shots, read his inspirational captions, and find out more about this emerging artist.
If the world we perceive is simply an illusion, then let me create my own versions of it.
This statement accurately sums up the overarching theme for my gallery. I want to let my audiences know upfront that the images they are about to see do not completely reflect the reality. For that reason, I consider myself an imagemaker, not just simply an enthusiast photographer.
Before I started to take photography seriously back in 2013, I was practicing as a graphic designer. Coming from that creative field, I constantly have a desire to create things and enhance them so they’d appear the best that they could be. I believe that is the strongest influence for leading me to become a visual artist.
Moreover, being a full-time student studying architecture at the University of California, Berkeley has also played a prominent role in shaping my visuals. After all, my studies in architecture constantly force me to reimagine my surroundings. Similarly, I apply this type of creativity and critical thinking into my photos.
My workflow has been fairly consistent, and it is broken down into two stages: I’d capture images of landscapes or cityscapes like any photographer would, and then I intentionally set out to distort those images.
Some people edit their photos for sharpening or color grading in order to closely capture what is reflected in the reality; what sets my work apart from others is that I go far beyond simple enhancement.
When it comes to post-processing, my ultimate goal isn’t about perfectly capturing the reality. I don’t try to hide the fact that I edit my photos by going for a subtle approach. That’s the exact opposite of what I strive to achieve in my work. I’m basically using photography as if it were a blank canvas, and then utilizing technological software to create a new form of artwork that is a representation of the world inside my imaginations.
I think this is why my work intrigues so many people: when viewers see my gallery, they are not looking at a picture of what nature has created; instead, they are looking at something that I have made, and this is the only place to view it.
It is extremely rewarding to think about it this way, and it is also the driving force that motivates me to continue to produce more work in the future.
At the end of the day I just want to create inspiring photos for people to enjoy; hoping that the vibrant colors of the photo and motivational words of the caption could brighten up someone’s day or simply inspire others to go out and capture beautiful moments through their own unique perspectives.
Frank recently set up a 500px account, but hasn’t had a chance to upload anything yet. Follow him here to see his first post as soon as it goes live! In the meantime, you can find more of his current work over on Instagram.
Leave a reply