Honorable Mention / 2024 / Portraiture / Culture

• Photographer
  Joseph Lai, Taiwan
• Website
  https://www.honchowlai.com
• Instagram
  @honchowlai

I spotted these two friends strutting their stuff in condiment-inspired fashion in Tokyo. The one on the left wore a mustard-yellow kimono with salt-white boots, while her friend wore a ketchup-red kimono and black pepper boots. Their outfits added some spice to the mix on a miserable rainy day.

This color combination exemplifies the Japanese culture and its love for vibrancy.

The street photography god was looking out for me that day.

Joseph Hon Chow Lai explores the interplay of light, motion, and form through street, narrative, and fine art photography. Born in Taiwan and raised in New York, he draws from both Eastern and Western cultural influences, which shape his perspective and artistic voice. His street photography captures fleeting urban moments with depth and contrast, while his fine art images transform movement and texture into expressive visual forms. United by a fascination with shadow and illumination, his work invites new ways of seeing.

Awards 2023 New York Photography Awards - Silver, People Photography, Street.
2023 New York Photography Awards - Silver, Nature Photography, Sunset.
2023 Annual Photography Awards - Honorable Mention, People, Streetlife.
2023 Tokyo International Foto Awards - Honorable Mention
2024 PX3 Prix de la Photographie Paris - Honorable Mention.
2024 Annual Photography Awards - Honorable Mention, People, Streetlife.