Humanities by SkyChen
Setting myself up as a third party in the world to view the world is my unique way of healing. I enjoy this time of being a transparent person. I walk aimlessly around the streets with my camera and record what I find interesting, which makes me feel incredibly fulfilled. And most importantly, the outcomes are also great.
01
The Dilapidate
Without the Focus
October 10, 2023
Nikon FG, Proimage 100
The abandoned factory seems to have developed its own ecosystem, with weeds thriving and discarded tires covering the floor. The rusty iron staircase creaks under the gentle breeze, adding a faint sound to the desolate scene.
As humans step into this ruins, they appear out of place, as if entering a parallel timeline or stepping into another dimension.
I try not to disturb the silent arrangement of these relics, merely acting as a spectator exploring the landscape and using my camera to capture this suspended moment in time.
02
Sky's Sky
March-April, 2023
Shot on Sony a7iii
Although my name is "Sky", I never seem to look closely at the Sky.
After graduation, my busy work life made me feel breathless for a long time. I looked up at the sky one day and felt that I had never looked at the sky seriously before, so I got the idea of taking a set of sky photos.
Just like the sun rises every day, the sky is there every day. When I thought the sky was set in stone, the sky was actually not the same at any moment. As the sun goes down, the sunset will become more and more orange and the sky will turn purple. With the wind blowing, the clouds will also float to different places. The infinite possibilities of this rapid change are undoubtedly the charm of nature, of the sky.
03
Hebrew Benevolent Cemetery
December 11, 2022
Shot on Olympus OM-4, Film HP5plus
Hebrew Benevolent Cemetery is a cemetery established in 1851 north of Chicago. The cemetery is home to hundreds of spirits, from the elderly who have passed away to children who have lived in this world for only six years.
The dirt ground was a little soft after the rain, and I walked cautiously through the cemetery step by step, like a tourist visiting among the tombstones. Some tombstones had fallen and no one had picked them up, and some were already crawling with vines and moss. All these reminded me of Coco's line: "The real death is when there is no one in the world who remembers you."
Here I feel how fast time is passing, I can still "meet" with people from the last century two hundred years later. At the same time, I also feel the slow passage of time, my time is continuing, while the time of the deceased has long been stagnant, or in the slow fading.
Life is so interesting, some people say that life is tenacious, and some people say that life is fragile. And I just know that life is not easy to come, as for tenacious or fragile, you need to consider it yourself.
04
The B&W World
July 12-16, 2022
Shot on Canon A-1, Film HP5plus
The busy streets of New York are filled with people immersed in their world. I slowly walked into the middle of the crowd, recording their every move and smiling with my film camera. After focusing slowly, I pressed the shutter, as if discreetly freezing time.
05
New Yorker
July 12, 2022
Shot on Sony a7iii
The superficially glamorous new New Yorkers have homes filled with expensive skincare products and luxury bags. But in fact she lives in an old apartment, and all the furniture is second-hand. The new New Yorker is used to appearing perfect to the outside world, but in fact her personal living environment is a mess.
06
Lifestyle
May 1, 2022
Shot on Sony a7iii
Human observation has always been a pleasure for me. People are all struggling to live their lives in their different spheres. I love to document their lives, and each photo has its own complete story.
07
Structure
April 5, 2022
Shot on Sony a7iii
There are always structures and details in life that you miss. But by slowing down a bit，there are surprises to be found.
08
Ice Magic
April 23, 2022
Shot on Sony a7iii
I never realized how artistic ice can be until I took this set of photos. The ice formed by the water after the temperature dropped drastically seems to be random and full of magic at the same time.
09
Natural
May 1, 2022
Shot on Sony a7ii
The definition of nature is something that the earth forms itself. But it seems to me that the nature now is a product of human intervention. Of course not all interventions are destroying. Nature is a gift from the earth, and we need to study more to make use of this gift.