New York-based street photographerBilly Dinhhas amassed a large and loyalInstagram followingthanks to his talents.
Read on for My Modern Met’s exclusive interview.
How did your love of photography begin?
Photography has always been in my life since as early as I can remember.
At first, the photos were more personal and were captured on my mobile phone.
Ive been obsessed with photography ever since I decided to take it seriously.
What specifically attracted you to street photography as a genre?
I started my early photography career capturing landscapes and cityscapes.
Initially, it was because of the appreciation of diversity.
How different, interesting, and beautiful people looked in their own way from all around the world.
But soon, I became more interested in how people lived and not just what they looked like.
How they interacted with each other and their surroundings.
How does your photography change the way you live and move through the city?
Its for sure changed so much in the way I live.
I find I would explore parts of places I never cared about before or even knew existed.
Ive gained a whole new appreciation for constantly observing and being present wherever I am.
I can say photography has given me a whole new appreciation of life.
Its a combination of things.
I think if I can sum it up into four categories, it would be the following.
First, the visual element.
Things that are appealing to the eye.
The second category I look for is whats happening with the subjects.
I look for interesting and unique interactions between people and objects in their surroundings.
I enjoy having a story element and hidden messages in my photos.
I enjoy photographs that make you think and wonder.
The third is the overall feeling of what I see.
I love movies in the way they often take real-life scenes and make them feel like theyre not.
I particularly gravitate to this when I am out shooting.
You’ve had a lot of success on social media.
What have been the positives and negatives of that success?
Its also allowed me to meet some amazing people and provided me with some great opportunities.
Its one of the greatest feelings.
On the other hand, though, theres a lot of pressure with social media.
While I’ve been much better with this, it’s definitely a problem I see today.
AI is such a hot topic now.
Its an interesting question.
I think this is where AI is excelling in my opinion.
The main concern I have with AI is not so much that it will blur the line with photography.
AI can never achieve that.
My biggest concern with the whole thing is trying to pass off AI as actual photographs without mentioning it.
This is where my concern is.
Ive been getting asked more and more frequently over the last few months if my photos are AI.
What’s next for you?
I am also in the early stages of putting together ideas for my first book.
I want to actually release something Id be proud of, so Im taking my time with it.
