it's the trees of this day that i do battle with for the light

A few days ago, I found out about the amazing photography of Amiko Li after seeing this on my tumblr feed:


(excuse me while i spend the rest of my life staring at this photo)

His photos are refined, romantic, nostalgic, and always beautifully filled with a longing for something-

1. Why do you take photos?

In the beginning I just wanted to take photos of beautiful people, their faces fascinated me; and later I thought of photography as a diary. 

2. How did you discover photography?

I really can't remember, maybe at first just looking at some Japanese photographer when I was in middle school? I also influenced by Shunji Iwai's movies too back then.

3. Who are some of your favorite photographers and how did they influence your work?

Anna Shteynshleyger, Hellen Van Meene, Rinko Kawauchi, Angela Strassheim, Yola Monakhov, I also have a group of photographer friends who are very inspiring. 

4. What is your favorite piece of yours and why?

I think each image in my series works together, you need to look at them all at once to get this sense of sophisticated beauty that lies in between youth and adulthood. So I don't know my favorite piece yet.

5. What do you want people to feel after looking at your photos?

I want my photographs to slow their pace, make them have a quiet moment, so then maybe they can think about their own childhood and memories too.

6. How has your life influenced your photography?

My photographs are all about my personal experiences, memories, histories. Each photograph is a distillation of a larger narrative or part of my life.

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7. How has your photography impacted the way you perceive the world and think about your life?

I literally grow out of the teen who had a very naïve perspective about love, reality and surrounding. This process is so exciting, painful and magical, it's very difficult to explain in words, but my photographs experience it together with me.

8. Would you say that the majority of your photos are taken in the spur of the moment or are planned?

All my photographs are taken without being planned out first, there is only one photograph is planned which is the portrait of my parents. I always dreamt of them wanting me to go back home in Shanghai, in this ideal afternoon sunlight.

9. Are your photos taken for yourself or for others?

My photographs are all taken for myself. I never did anything just for someone or assignment or commission (yet), so I was quite surprised that people who don't necessarily know my stories can find themselves connected to the photographs. I guess that's the beauty of this medium.

10. What advice would you give to anyone interested in photography?

Always have a camera with you and photograph anything that interests you, and when you go back then consider why you took them.

All photos by Amiko Li; his work is available here