Please introduce yourself and tell us a bit of who you are.
Hello everyone, I am Simon. I was born in Korea, spent years in the United States and the UAE, and eventually found myself settling in Vancouver, which feels like home in a way none of my previous homes fully did.
I do not place myself in a strict genre of photohraphy, but most of my work lives somewhere between street, travel, and lifestyle. Outside of photography, I work in marketing for a hotel and restaurant group. That overlap shapes a lot of my day-to-day. One moment I am shooting for myself, the next I am capturing hotels, resorts, and restaurants for work. It all blends together into a rhythm that feels natural.
Can you tell us about your journey as a photographer and where it started for you.
Similar to the question “where are you from,” which is complicated for me because of my TCK background, pinpointing when I started photography has never been simple. There were many possible beginnings. My parents handed me a Canon digicam at the Grand Canyon (I was 8). The Kickstarter phone grip I bought for my iPhone 6 because I thought it would help me take better photos. My first mirrorless camera, the Sony A6000, which I bought before a trip to New York about ten years ago.
All of those moments nudged me forward, but the part that felt like a true beginning happened in the fall of 2023, when my girlfriend bought me a Fujifilm X100F for my birthday. I started shooting constantly with it. Weeks passed, my storage kept filling, and I realized I was not just capturing things I saw. I genuinely enjoyed the act of finding moments and holding onto them.
From there, the path became clearer. I started to notice patterns in what I was drawn to, and slowly a sense of my own style emerged. That led to more opportunities, more projects, and eventually photography became part of my career as well. It was not a straight line. It was more like a series of small sparks that finally caught fire.
What kind of topics or subjects did you start out photographing?
I started out shooting street, although my focus then was very different from now. I was drawn to geometry and architecture more than stories or light. Clean lines, corners of buildings, the Guggenheim staircase in New York, small scenes that felt minimal or aesthetic. I shot instinctively. If something looked cool, I pressed the shutter.
What are your favorite topics to photograph now? How have they changed over time?
These days my interests lean toward light and people, even if those words sound broad. I am drawn to moments that carry emotion or a small story, whether a person is in the frame or not. I focus more on the feeling of a moment that might disappear a second later. Those brief passages of time matter to me, and photography gives me a way to keep them from slipping away unnoticed.
What are a couple things about photography that kept you coming back to it?
Photography taught me how to notice. Then appreciate.
My daily commute repeats itself. Same train, same time, same faces. Yet it never truly repeats, because something always shifts. The weather, the season, the mood of the city, or even my choice to take a slightly different route. When I catch something that feels worth framing, it changes the day. That simple act keeps me connected to the world around me in a way I do not want to lose.
You have recently started shooting film. How did that come about and what do you enjoy most about it?
Many of my friends influenced me to try film, but my curiosity was already building. I was drawn to two things: the unique look that different film stocks create, and the experience of making a film photograph. Light becomes something physical instead of a digital file. It feels intentional.
A lot of us have wondered about the glow of Cinestill 800T or the look of Portra 400, so I decided to try it myself. What surprised me was how much I enjoyed the slower pace. You stop, frame carefully, adjust your settings, take the shot, and then wait. That waiting changes the whole experience. When I want to slow down and enjoy the act itself, I bring out my film camera.
What is your go-to film camera and film stock?
My main film camera is the Canon New F1. I usually pair it with Kodak 200, 400, or Cinestill 800T for color. For black and white, I go with Ilford HP5.
Can you tell us about your Busy Creatives project and your goals with it?
Vancouver has a reputation for being a no-fun city where it is difficult to make friends or build connections. As creators, we rely on personal motivation, but we also rely on community. When I started posting consistently on IG, I realized how important that sense of community was. I met people who understood why I cared about certain kinds of light or certain fleeting moments. It felt like meeting people who speak the same language.
Over time, the circle grew, and it became clear that we could build something larger. Busy Creatives aims to create meaningful spaces for photographers and creators to meet, learn, and explore together. That includes brand collaborations, photowalks built around specific themes, workshops, and other events that encourage people to actually shoot and share. My hope is simple. I want everyone to find at least one friend who supports their creative path, the same way I was supported along mine.
To see more from Simon, click here, or to check out Busy Creatives, click here.
