Henry's unique method of channeling his passion through the lens of photography.
Text & Photo: Atsuko Tanaka
The Vancouver-based photographer Henry Hwu has captured many significant moments of the current hip hop icons for the past 8 years. He recently released his first hard cover photo book “frequently alone, rarely lonely”. We caught up with him during his visit to Tokyo last month and asked about how he started his career, his memorable photo shoots, and also his thoughts about the hip hop scene.
-Tell me about your background. You were born and raised in Vancouver. What kind of environment did you grow up in?
I was born in Tokyo and moved to Vancouver when I was 3 years old. I grew up in a small town and my parents owned a sushi restaurant so I was going to school helping my parents at the restaurant and also playing a lot of sports.
-Have you always liked hip hop?
Eminem was my number one artist when I was younger and I always listened to him, but I didn’t learn about hip hop until I got older and that's when I appreciated everything. It's a little bit going backwards and maybe in 8th or 9th grade, I was in between the current hip hop which was new generation like Kendrick and Drake at the time was getting big and also I wanted to learn about older generation like Biggie and Tupac.
-When and how did you get into photography?
My dad always had a camera with him and took video of me and my siblings when we're growing up so I think that kind of translated into me. I couldn’t afford to buy a camera so I was always taking pictures with my phone camera. After graduating high school, I started working for airline company since I’ve always liked to travel and went to many places. I thought I should document these moments so bought my first camera.
-Then you started travel and landscape photography.
The reason I love travel photography is because you could do it by yourself and don't need anyone there with you, but I usually bring a subject with me so I can show scale in my photography.
-What was the most memorable shoot?
I think that’s when I went to Iceland. The first time I went was a sibling trip and we liked it so much so we decided to go back again. When you drive around there, I don’t see many people and sometimes I feel it’s just myself. I like that separation away from the chaos. Landscapes are beautiful and I really enjoyed there.
-So tell me how you got into hip hop concert photography world and build your career.
I feel like the whole industry is based off trust. When you take photos you're pretty much right in front of the artist and especially with hip hop there’s a lot of violence behind the scenes so I think it's really important they can trust who they're working with. Once you get a good relationship and the first established shoot with one artist, all the managers and the people from labels talk to each other so it's not that hard to break into the industry.
There are many different ways to get into and it's not always just to message the manager or the artist. You can go through the venue or the label or the sponsors too. But most importantly just be willing to try different things when you first start. I always tell people it doesn't matter if the artist or the band is famous or not, do whatever you can just to get experience, try different things and put your name out there. Sometimes you get a call in very last minute so just be prepared, it's important to be ready at any time because everything is moving so quickly.
-That’s true, but I believe you still work for the airline right? How do you manage your schedule?
It’s actually a very flexible schedule I have at the airline so if I need time off I can do so. Also my coworkers know I do photography and they support me so it's a good balance. When I tell photographers I meet at the concert that I still work for airlines they are always surprised because they think I'm doing photography full time.
-Have you ever thought about doing only photography?
I thought about it in the past but I like that balance of keeping my passion separate from my work. If I do photography full time, I might get stressed or worried that I have to force myself to take photos of something I don't like to just to make a living. I like being able to choose what I want to take photos of so that way I can put 100% of my passion into what I’m doing.
-I think it’s very competitive job. What do you think you need to be different and stand out from other photographers?
I think the number one rule is to know why you are taking the pictures. If you're doing it for the wrong reasons like just to post on internet and say you took photos of famous person then you have to think about it. I take photos because I want people that aren't able to attend these concerts or events to look at my pictures and feel like they were there. Also I want to look back one day and see the different stages of evolution of hip hop. Not just hip hop in general but also with my travel photography. All the social media could be gone tomorrow so I always try to build my brand outside of Instagram whether it's through my website or my book. I want to start doing more galleries this year.
-About your first book “frequently alone, rarely lonely”, how did the project start?
I actually made my first book in 2017 and it was about 80% of landscape and 20% of artists photorgaphs because it was still harder for me to take photos of these artists then but for the new book I did it like 50/50. I could have easily done all artists photography but I wanted to do a balance because I don't want to be just a hip hop photographer, I want to be a mix between the two. In this book there’s a QR code in each page and if you scan it, it goes to my website and there's the writing of the back stories of each photo. Also I have the ISO and shutter speed info on every single photo. I like to help people who wanna learn so I made everything out there to be accessible.
-That would be so helpful. Did you get any good feedback?
Yeah, people really like it. I think they like to know the back story of everything because the real life of the artists could be different from what they show in their music videos and stuff.
-You’ve been taking pictures of the artists for about 8 years now? How do you feel the hip hop scene has changed over the years?
I started taking photos more consistently about 5 years ago, but there was the pandemic in the middle and I think it changed a lot about how people listen to music. Nowadays everyone's attention span is very short so I think for artists it's difficult because they put so much time into making their music. Many years ago, people were appreciated it a lot more. There are so many distractions now.
-That’s true. Which rapper is your favorite now?
I like Travis Scott because he connected different cultures and made an impact outside of his music like Kanye and Pharell did. I enjoy taking pictures of him performing too. I like artists who are always moving and jumping around and I feel that's my job to capture them in their element instead of someone just stands still or move slower. I love challenging myself to always be better. Another artists I like listening to is Playboi Carti, Drake, Kid Cudi, Kanye and J Cole, mostly new generation but I listen to Nas’s Illmatic so many times, that's one of my favorite albums.
-What is your must-have accessories for concert and travel shoot?
For concerts, earplugs are very important. I like to make sure I have good ones for every concert so I can save my hearing in the future. When I'm taking photos outdoor I always bring a rain cover because the weather is always changing. For travel photography, I have my tripod and a good light jacket or something to keep me warm and that’s pretty much everything I need. I'm basic when it comes to shoot.
-How would you describe your photography style in one word?
It's hard for me to pick one word but if I choose a couple of words, that would be clean and simple.
-Any photographers who you respect or admire?
Pretty much all my friends I've met through photography. If I see them doing well then I'm happy for them and it pushes me to do better. So it's not just one person, anything to do with art or video or anything on TV and screens. Everything inspires me and I like to take different things and apply that to my photography.
-Tell me your thoughts about what’s happening in the world now.
I think there's so many scary things happening in the world right now. It sucks to see that because it's happening in a lot of places that are already struggling and the news is kind of depressing. They don't really show the happy parts. It's sad to see for sure.
-How do you see yourself in the future? Do you have any goals you wanna accomplish or plans?
I just want to keep showing my work whether it's in a book or in a gallery or some kind of interactive space. I want people to know that anything they want to do in their life whether it's to be a writer or an actor or a doctor or anything, they can do it if they put their mind to it. When I'm older I’d like to teach the youth and share my stories.
-Last question, what does hip hop mean to you?
Hip Hop means everything to me, I'm always listening to the music and also I get inspired from the fashion too. It's involved in everything I do. I appreciate all the generations of hip hop and look forward to see the new artists are starting to come out.