January27th
I love shooting in the rain. If it’s a weekend and it’s raining, you’ll probably see me with an umbrella on one hand, and my camera on the other, walking (sometimes running) around Orchard Road taking photos of strangers as they run from one mall to another. Often times, it’s an adrenaline rush for me. As it turns out, the same can be said to the ones on the other side of the lens.
Read More »
December19th
I was emailed by Margery a few weeks ago, saying “My husband and I need a Christmas photo, but are not the type to pose in matching sweaters in a studio. All we really need is one good shot of us in the midst of the chaos that is Orchard Road. We are after a photo that is casual and captures us in the heart of Singapore.” I was instantly interested and took the job.
See more photos »
December12th
One of my dream projects when I started my interest in portrait photography was to shoot different people in different parts of Singapore. It was one of those ideas that I had at the back of my mind that I wanted to eventually pursue as a personal project. Fortunately, I got to do exactly that on a commissioned shoot.
Read More »
November14th
A few months ago, I got a message from Kelly, a project manager of a design agency in San Francisco – Tolleson Design. They were interested in buying a couple of photographs from my Portraits of Strangers set to use for a project they’re doing. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any release forms for any of the portraits, so using it for commercial purposes wasn’t possible. So instead, they commissioned me to create a new set of portraits with the same aesthetic.
Read More »
September7th
Just recently, I had the opportunity to experience a 3-day intensive photo essay workshop organized by Leica, conducted by famed Magnum photographer, Abbas. I’ve learned about it on short notice, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to meet and learn from a master who’s been doing it for 45 years.
Read More »
August30th
Stranger #77 was one of the most strikingly beautiful face I’ve photographed in my Portraits of Strangers project. So when I decided to do this “Strangers Revisited” project, she was an obvious choice. And when Atika agreed to do a photo shoot with me, I was so ecstatic yet pretty nervous at the same time.
Read More »
August9th
I’ve always wanted to dive into portraiture, and my previous Portraits of Strangers project served as my personal transition from candid street shooting to portraiture. Looking back at project, I later decided to create a new series of photo shoots by revisiting some of the strangers I photographed. Thanks to my facebook page, I was able to contact some of them.
Read More »
August1st
A couple of months ago, I was invited to join the Adobe Influencer Program where I get to connect with folks from Adobe as well as other creative professionals and enthusiasts. One of the perks of being in this group is getting access to their latest releases for review – I was offered the Adobe Creative Suite 5.5. Being a web designer and photographer, I chose the Adobe CS5.5 Design Premium which includes the latest version of Photoshop. After a couple of weeks of using this, and playing around with its sexy new features, this is my review.
Read More »
June23rd
A few days ago, I got an email from friend and blogger David Lee Tong saying someone just accused me of photo theft! On the comments section of his blog where he feature me in the past, this guy claimed I stole his friend’s photo – that of 2 girls running barefoot in the rain. He further stated that his friend has the original raw file to prove it, ending with the words “danny is a copycat.”
I was shocked beyond belief.
Read More »
June17th
Photo above taken by photography hobbyist Paulo Legaspi
About a month ago, I was invited by street photographer Eric Kim to be a guest writer for his blog. He wanted me to write a few tips on shooting street portraits. Although I’ve already blogged about my thoughts and experiences while working on my Portraits of Strangers project, I haven’t really provided any direct tips on how to work on a project like this. So I started writing down a few quick tips based on what worked for me. I’d like to share this article with you guys. Hope this helps :)
Read More »
February28th
I love shooting strangers under bad weather. And for a while now, I’ve always wondered how it would be to shoot bad weather at night. I could only imagine how dramatic the shots could be with the combination of heavy rain and the night lights. Just a few nights ago, I’ve had the chance to do just that.
Read More »
January31st
While I was working on my Portraits of Strangers project last year, I got an email with the subject: “Hey there… a mail from Ad-Land in Singapore.” Much to my surprise, the email was from Steve Elrick, Regional Executive Creative Director of BBH Asia Pacific. He came across my portraits series from a link in Facebook which lead back to my blog. He asked if I could drop by to have a chat and “see if there’s a project we could perhaps get you involved with in the future.”
I went “holy sh*t…”
December21st
Every time I’m out in the streets, I would often encounter faces that make me look twice… faces that just stood out of the crowd without even trying… faces that are by no means ordinary. They range from the exquisitely beautiful to the strangely wonderful. Sometimes I would try to steal a shot without being too intrusive, most times I just stand there wishing I had the balls to just approach them and ask for their portrait. Thanks to my lucky stars … I eventually grew those balls to do so.
Read More »
December10th
I miss shooting in the rain. It’s been a while since I last walked around in heavy downpour, holding my umbrella on one hand and my camera on the other. I miss it so much that every time rained and I’m stuck in the office, I can’t help but think of all the bad weather shots I’m not shooting. And it frustrated me more that as I excitedly anticipate for the rain in the proceeding weekends, it just never came. Until last week… after a long time, I once again caught the devil’s luck.
Read More »
October20th
Every year, the F1 race in Singapore always makes big waves making it one of the most hotly anticipated event in the country. About a week prior to this year’s race, I received a call from Fadilah who works for a PR firm. She asked me if I could shoot an exclusive party they were holding the night of the F1 race – the Johnnie Walker Jet Black F1 Party. It was going to be held at One on the Bund, a pretty posh resto bar in Clifford Bay. I’ve never done any event photography before, but I couldn’t resist a chance like this. When I said yes, I was nervous and excited… mostly nervous.
Read More »
October13th
I was walking along Orchard when I saw her walking towards my direction. She was wearing a simple one-piece dress, and was quite tall almost towering over most of the people around her. I wasn’t decided yet if I wanted to shoot her, but as I got closer, I knew I had to – she had this subtle angelic charm. My heart started to pound… it always does whenever I’m about to approach a stranger for their portrait. I stopped her and asked if I could take her picture. She smiled and said "Oh, street style." I chuckled a "yeah…", relieved that she understood what I was doing. She said yes. After I took a few shots, I thanked her and she went on her way. I noticed my hands were slightly shivering. It’s funny because she’s my 100th stranger and I still get the shivers. Maybe it was because it’s been almost 3 weeks since I last approached a stranger. Or maybe it was because I knew I had a keeper shot.
Read More »
October11th
Just got featured in Singapore’s August Man magazine in their annual photography issue. They asked me to pick one of my street photographs and say a few words about it … and I happily obliged. Of course I chose the rain shot I took of the lady with the shawl walking in the rain smiling, which I also featured as my ‘Keeper of the Month’ last May. I’m so excited about this feature. I actually didn’t expect that it would take a whole page :) Big big thanks, Ci’en! :)
August Man is a Singapore-based men’s magazine that features all things cool. As they say, it’s “Singapore’s Definitive Men’s Journal” Check out my feature in page 176 ;)
August23rd
Henri Cartier-Bresson is the father of modern photojournalism and widely revered as the pioneer for the art of street photography. I was watching one of his documentaries and one of his quote struck me; referring to his timeless street photographs, he said “It’s always luck. It’s luck that matters. You just have to be receptive, that’s all.” Nothing can be more true about street photography. Of the 2 short years that I’ve shot in the streets of Singapore, I do not deny how luck dictates if I get a keeper or not. No matter how good a photographer you are, if lady luck is not on your side, you will end up capturing boringly normal street scenes that we can all see everyday anyway.
Read More »
July29th
One of the most important habits that any photographer should have is the relentless search for inspiration – this applies to both newbies and veterans alike. So I decided to create a series of articles that features some of my sources of inspiration from when I started shooting up until now. My first feature is a group called Seconds2Real.
Read More »
July15th
I was recently interviewed by SlashMaraud, a blog based in Boston. One of the questions was “What are some unwritten rules of street photography according to Danny Santos?” Well, my answers were really more like tips than rules, and they’re not according to me but more like stuff that you will just learn eventually the longer you shoot. I decided to share my answers here and expand further. There are a lot more useful tips you can find online, but I believe these 5 tips is a good place to start with. So here goes…
Read More »
Danny Santos II is a weekend photographer who likes to shoot strangers in the streets of Singapore. He's been shooting street for about 2 years now. By trade a graphic designer, he's been working in the creatives industry for over 10 years.
