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Gideon de Kock, Photographer, Hong Kong



Every single day we allow thousands of experiences flow through us without really acknowledging them. With #breatheGAHSP, we aim to focus on those more subtle experiences and try to find inspiration in them. To our knowledge, one of the best people to use the mundane as a muse is @gideondk1 . And so we asked him to capture his everyday through a series of film photographs.



01

I’ve always enjoyed seeing umbrellas come out without rain. I try look at an image like this as two the shape in focus, and the negative space surrounding it - breaking it down into something exceptionally simple and graphic. Beyond that I loved the glow from the umbrella onto her shoulder.


02

We have immediate focus on the central point. I liked the shadow-play, but needed to wait for someone to get in frame to make it more interesting. Appropriately enough we have a man in frame with a mask, and though common in Asia long before COVID-19, it’s a subtle nod to where we are in 2020.


03

Another focus on the aforementioned umbrellas. There was a boldness to the shapes, sizes, and colours on display which attracted me to this. I liked that the individual under the umbrella was obstructed, as was the umbrella itself. Again, I’m looking at 3 shapes here, the vehicle, the umbrella, and the negative space surrounding them.



On the eternal quest to extract the beauty and inspiration from the mundane, @gideondk1 captures the unintentional compositions that serve as metaphors for some larger truths and universal experiences.



04

The colour pulled me in here. The angular lines worked to create some interesting patterns to frame the subject. To put it simply its admiration of another person's ecosystem, possibly habit, manner and way.


05

A band-aid to help us remember. Angular lines play another big role here.


06

When you take away any real world context, one is left with bold colours on display. Each colour takes on its own shape, and reminds me of something akin to abstract impressionism.



The chances are spilled chaotically around the everyday and spell out ‘destiny’, Things randomly come together and lead to unexpected discoveries; it might be a note that flew out of someone’s window and landed in front of you or a marble lost by a kid on a busy street. Such details, that seem obscure at first, can serve as sources of inspiration and endless stories, as highlighted by @gideondk1 ‘s visual diary for #breatheGAHSP .



07

I really got into shooting into vehicles, though this is predominantly focussed on what makes many of Hong Kong’s dashboards so interesting and unique to the owner/driver. This gives you a sliver of a view into the environment, but this time, its contents are left up to the viewers imagination.


08

Another hyper focused look at insignificance. I liked the reds and yellows against the blue of the truck, the boldness and importance of the subject.


09

I’m a big fan of finds like this. I love the marriage of chance and habit, leading to something that seems considered, but was likely a wholly accidental choice. Here we have structure, framing and light, that all played a part in creating another found piece of art - the artist likely oblivious to this.

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