Eye Candy: We Chat with Prashant Ashoka, Travel Photographer Based in Mexico City

PUBLISHED October 3rd, 2016 02:36 pm | UPDATED March 14th, 2018 03:27 pm

Born and bred in Singapore, Prashant Ashoka has travelled around the world and have taken stunningly beautiful pictures that will melt everyone’s hearts. In this edition of Eye Candy, we speak to him about all things photography and his upcoming travel plans.

Hi Prashant! What made you go into photography?

My dad is a great photographer and let me experiment with his cameras when I was younger. This was before the first digital cameras came out, and using film was quite a tedious affair. However, the beauty of film is that it forces you to study the framing and composition of your shot. I’m by no means a tradionalist when it comes to photography, and I am very happy creating on a digital format these days – but I think my early years experimenting with film were crucial in helping me shape my aesthetic.

However, photography goes far beyond aesthetic, beauty, or the need to create for me. The act of collecting photographs makes me feel truly present with the moments that I am experiencing. I have learnt to become more sensitive to my surroundings, and I feel that I now engage with people or my environment on a deeper level. To create is to be present, both in the moment and with yourself.

What types of photographs inspire you the most?

I am inspired by quite a few genres of photography. For example, though I do not shoot fashion photographs, I am very inspired by the aesthetic of the genre and I incorporate a lot of that into my documentary photography. I am also very moved by landscape photographs and the ability for nature to conjure up such powerful emotion.

I personally most enjoy shooting portraits, and I grew up with a great love for the works of Dash Snow, Nan Goldin and Diane Arbus to name a few.

What is the most important tool a photographer should have, and what equipment do you use?

People often ask me a lot of questions about equipment and I have to say I’m embarrassingly probably the most technically inept photographer I know! I’m always calling up my friend Afiq Omar (who runs Colossal – a fantastic photo agency) for advice on camera equipment. I only have one mid-range digital camera and two lenses.

Without wanting to sound trite, I really feel that the most important trait or tool a photographer should have (and this goes for most artists) is to be a truly empathetic person. When you are able to put yourself in the shoes of other people, to feel their joy, pain, anger, frustration, then you are able to connect with them. Also when you are an empathetic person, people trust you with their secrets.

I really don’t feel like my portraits are a product of any great skill that I have honed. When I look at my portraits I remember each moment as a story that someone else has entrusted me with. My photographs are gifts given to me by people who have trusted me and allowed me into a small part of their world. So if you were to ask me what my greatest talent is, I would say that it is that I really enjoy the company of others and I’m able to get people to trust me with their thoughts!

You’ve travelled to many places in the world, where’s the most memorable for you?

Travel has played such an important part of my life, and I think I’ve spent a cumulative of over three years on the road. I couldn’t pick moments over others because there have been so many things, both good and bad, that have impacted me in very powerful ways.

But to answer this question in some capacity, I’ll say that Vanuatu holds a very large part of my heart. I spent some incredible weeks there, and was treated so kindly and I saw some of the most mind-bogglingly beautiful sunsets ever!

Other than photography, what else do you dabble in?  

I’m a Content Strategist by profession, so I’m usually writing a lot and helping brands and companies communicate to their audience in an authentic and clear way. Oh and I’m also dabbling in some filmmaking! I was on expedition in Siberia earlier this year, and was living with the Nenet nomadic people, who herd reindeer. I took shot some video of them on their migration as they traveled up into the Yamal Peninsula and I’m excited to put that film together!

Your upcoming travel plans?

I’m going to Morocco with my mom next week so i’m super excited about that, and she is too! And I’ll be in Paris for a bit to catch up with some people after.

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Follow Prashant Ashoka on Instagram for his photography.