One of the most photographed cities in the world, Hong Kong is not always an easy place to capture with both meaning and originality. One New York-based photographer, Daniel Greer, however, has been giving it a good go over multiple trips to the city spanning several years.
Part of the Brooklyn Collage Collective – a group of artists taking various approaches to the idea of collage – Greer tries to be as eclectic as possible when it comes to his subject matter, letting the environment lead his lens.
“While shooting, I try to adopt the eye of a photojournalist to scope out the story behind what’s happening in front of me”, he told Coconuts HK. “I attempt to use my subject matter as symbols to reveal the bigger picture that’s often difficult to represent with typical imagery. In other words, my photos attempt to reveal the who, what, where, why, and how of every day life while still maintaining essential information to tell a bigger story than the subject itself.”
After graduating from film school at Fairfield University in Connecticut, Greer learnt the art of shooting still images, especially within cities, while working as an assistant for successful architecture photographer, Michael Weber. It was on Weber’s various assignments that Greer found himself frequently travelling to Hong Kong, and able to explore with his camera during his downtime in the city.
“After a while, my many trips [to Hong Kong] started to feel welcoming; returning to what must be the most vertical city in the world. New York and Hong Kong actually share a lot of similarities when it comes to basic city elements like extremely high population density, efficient metro systems, tall skyscrapers, and copious banking institutions.”
Greer’s work walks a thin and swerving line between street art, fine art and travel photography. But no matter how one-dimensional some images may appear, he claims his pictures always have something to say.
“A photo of a vacuum sealed cob of corn sold at a 7-11 tells the overt story of man taking control of nature to provide convenience to society. It also tells the story of something as natural and simple as a vegetable overcome by ideals of science and technology – a perfect allegory for the triumph of capitalistic ideology that has swept the world.”
You’ve gotta love artists and their explanations of their work!
