Callan Tham (ctham)

I am a working photographer based in Singapore, and have been photographing full-time since 2010. I am also a founding member of Singapore-based photography collective, 5ive Foot Way. My foray into photography was first inspired by Richard Avedon and Henri Cartier-Bresson, and groomed into love by the work of Robert Frank, William Eggleston, and Andre Kertesz.

I do not believe photographs are an objective observation of reality, because good photographers, like all artists, should always put a little of themselves into their photographs. Our worldviews and opinions and emotions and experience alter the reality of our subjects, and photographing them transforms them into something more. I photograph because that is my innate response.

I do not expect my viewers to share that same viewpoint, that same story, that I want to portray in my photographs. The viewer will bring his or her own worldview, experience, emotions, and opinions to bear, and that is what I want — to provoke the viewer into at least thinking about the photograph.

If my photographs at least leaves an imprint on your mind, or provoke you to think “what the fuck is going on here”, or provoke any thought at all, I’ve succeeded.

You can visit my personal website and blog here, see more of my work here, or follow me on Twitter.