Navin Khianey, the chief visual storyteller for These Guys Productions Ltd in Hong Kong, visited Rye and posted his photos online, receiving hundreds of positive comments. He loved Rye and wants to return.
Your Facebook post showed wonderful photos of Rye. What brought you to our quaint and historic town?
I was in London this past December along with my wife to attend a family wedding. We had a few days to spare after the wedding and wanted to head out somewhere quaint, small and not teeming with tourists during the usually busy Christmas season. We usually like travelling to new places during the off-peak season because it gives us a chance to meet the locals, eat the local cuisine and produce and explore the town on foot at a slower pace, with fewer tourists and queues. Having fewer people around also gives me the opportunity to capture the city through my lens exactly how I intended.
Where, other than Rye of course, have you found that you really loved?
We’ve enjoyed travelling, especially post Covid. Covid taught us that you shouldn’t take travelling for granted and keep putting it off for later. This was our first visit to Rye and it completely won us over. The quaint and historic streets and architecture, the history, the pace of life, but mostly the warmth of its people. We came across some wonderful people and had great conversations. I have barely scratched the surface when it comes to photographing Rye and its surrounding areas. We didn’t get a chance to visit Camber Sands or Winchelsea on this visit. We’re definitely coming back.
Canterbury is high up on our list of favourite places in the UK. We really haven’t explored much of Europe yet but we’re hoping to remedy that over the next few years. We live in Hong Kong. We’ve explored a lot of Asia recently which includes Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. We keep going back to Thailand because of its abundant natural beauty, warm people and hospitality and great food. It is rather affordable as well and is a treasure trove for photographers.
When did you start photographing?
As a child, I would fiddle around with my Dad’s film SLR camera. I only started taking photography seriously as a hobby when I purchased my first digital SLR in 2008. I don’t have a formal education in media and photography. I started off, as many, doing a lot of street photography and landscape work; teaching myself through books, online courses and by studying the works of greats like Joe McNally and Henri Cartier-Bresson. What started as a passionate hobby eventually turned into a full-time career by 2016.
What work do you do in the media industry?
Today, I am a full time commercial photographer. My commercial work is focused on the hospitality and food and beverages sectors and includes food, interiors and architecture and lifestyle photography. Filmmaking is also close to my heart and I have been involved in various short films as writer, producer and director. I have also directed a documentary short film, Moon Bear Homecoming, for Animals Asia which managed a few accolades at the Anthem Awards 2024 in the UK.
My personal work includes a fair amount of street and travel photography with a mix of landscape and cityscapes.
What’s next on your bucket list?
I have more travels planned over the next 3-4 years, mostly in Europe and Asia. Going forward, I plan to focus on fine art photography and be more intentional with a vision to exhibit my work at galleries as well as publish my work in print. Interestingly, a couple of comments on Facebook suggested that I should look into turning my recent work from Rye into a coffee-table book. I think that is a great idea. I would probably need to visit Rye a couple of times again during different seasons to really complete my series and make it meaningful. If I had the support of a UK publisher and a local writer, I think a coffee-table book capturing a slice of Rye in 2025/26 could have a place in history and I would love to make that a reality.
How do you capture such amazing images?
I get quite a few questions asking me about how I get these images and happen to be at the right place at the right time. Good street and travel photography has more to do with research, planning and patience than with luck. Before I visit a new place I do exhaustive research on in history, geography, seasons, weather, topography and a lot more. Even where I decide to stay, what time of year I visit and what gear I carry with me is meticulously planned. I use google images to find the most popular images in that place. Then I make a conscious effort to shoot differently. I am always focused on telling a story through my work. After spending a few hours at a location and taking all the standard shots, you need to train your eye to look at your surroundings differently. Find unique compositions and vantage points that better tell your story. Moving a couple of metres left or right can completely alter your composition. And finally, you need patience. Sometimes, I can spend hours at a single location to get the right shot. Sometimes I need to come back the next day or on next visit. It is a labour of love. To the casual viewer it looks like luck. But that is exactly what a combination of preparation and skill looks like. It looks effortless.
Your photos showed such intense clarity so could you share with our readers, your equipment and your processing?
For most of my commercial work I rely on Canon DSLRs. They are built to last and their colour science is aesthetically pleasing to me straight from camera. I have recently started shooting with Fujifilm mirrorless cameras as well, especially while travelling. Fuji cameras offer a good balance between quality, size and in-camera film simulation filters which reduces time spent editing and speeds up my workflow while travelling and for social media. Surprisingly, I shoot a lot with my iPhone camera as well which can produce some high quality images and prints with the right techniques, almost indistinguishable on social media from images produced by my Canon or Fuji. I also use an array of filters such as neutral density filters, black mist filters, etc. And while travelling, a sturdy tripod and backing up your image daily are vital. I treat my images as fine art images and not documentary style and therefore, I will use colour grading, compositing, cloning and other editing techniques to create the mood and atmosphere I want the viewer to experience.
Image Credits: Navin Khianey .