Memories are like rocks on the shore, their rough edges smoothed against the waves of time.
Viewing Kenneth Tong‘s photography is like looking directly at the past. Everything is natural and familiar. Nothing is posed. His shots are like a palette where he patiently mixes the colors of life. “My work embodies distant memories, so hazy and afar in the past that it’s hard to revisit in its entirety,” he says.
Though Tong has never received formal training for photography, he’s always been a visual person, and discovering photography has helped him break out of his shell. “I’m an introvert so I always kept my feelings to myself,” he says. “Ever since I got my first camera, photography has been my main form of self-expression. It’s allowed me to harness my creativity and construct a universe without boundaries.”
美好的回忆是海边石头，在经历过时间浪花的淘洗后，当初的棱角被圆润和斑斓代替。看汤璟恒（Kenneth Tong）的照片，像是回首曾经的往事，没有刻意的痕迹，一切看起来自然又熟悉。那些照片成了画板，缓缓地调配着生活的颜色。“我的作品镶嵌着记忆，那些画面停留在过去难以挽回，朦胧又遥远。”
出生并成长在香港的汤璟恒并不是摄影专业出身，自称不善言谈的他从小时候起，便钟情于美好的画面。他说：“我是一个内向的人，总是将感情隐藏在自己心底。自从获得第一台相机之后，摄影成为自我表达的主要渠道。这种方式带来的满足感，使我想要打造另一个没有边界的世界。”
In his photography, Tong presents an untroubled world. The washed-out colors of his images aren’t tinged with melancholy, carrying instead a sense of tenderness and tranquility. Each snapshot feels like a movie still, evoking a poetic loneliness that calls to mind scenes from Wong Kar-wai’s films.
放眼望去，汤璟恒所打造的世界即梦幻又美好，即使在昏暗的色调下也并不会让人觉得悲伤，照片上一切事物温文尔雅，宠辱不惊。把它们连在一起，则像是一部赞美记忆的电影，带一点王家卫式的文艺与孤廖。
Having moved alone to the US for his studies, Tong learned to enjoy his own company, and it felt liberating. A sense of freedom and solitude are recurrent themes in his photography, which depict different slices of American life: neon-lit diners, pier-side amusement parks, small-town youths loitering on curbsides. “I don’t consciously focus on certain themes or topics because I don’t like to limit myself,” he notes. “Going with the flow of my thoughts and emotions keeps me creatively motivated.”
他的大部分作品在美国一个人拍摄完成，你会在他的相册里发现很多美国怀旧元素，比如沙滩上的游乐场、快餐店霓虹招牌、报废汽车、以及坐在马路牙子上的小镇青年等。独自一人游学在海外的经历也让汤璟恒的作品带着个人情绪，带给观众留白、孤独甚至是自由的感受。他说：“我的拍照没有特定的主题，因为我不喜欢被限定在某个特定的领域。思想与情绪为我的摄影提供着动力与创造力。”
In recent years, Tong has traveled extensively, shooting cities all over Europe and Asia. On these trips, he doesn’t shoot with specific agendas, preferring to capture moments spontaneously. “Being in an unfamiliar place can spark an excitement to explore new things,” he says. “Every new location is a new scene for me to shoot. It’s a feeling that’s hard to describe.”
过去几年时间，汤璟恒还曾去过欧洲和亚洲的数座城市旅行，但他并不喜欢带有目的性的拍摄，他认为照片只为保存片刻珍贵的记忆，他说：“陌生环境可以激发探索新事物的热情。对我来说，每一个新的地方就是新的拍摄场地，那种感受很难形容。”
The best fantasies often stem from our fondest memories, but living in the moment doesn’t mean we can’t still appreciate the past. It’s an ethos that Tong captures perfectly in his work.”People sometimes miss out on the beauty around them,” he says, “whereas I often pick out those moments. The things that escape notice are what I’m most drawn to.”
也许真正的梦幻是由美好的回忆所造，我们活在当下，但那并不意味着过去的美好会被人遗忘。“人们有时会忽略身边的美好，而我却时常把它们拾起。对于我来说，那些不惹人注意的事物，却是最吸引我的。”
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Instagram: @kennethtongphotography
Contributor: Pete Zhang
