A Strange Realisation

Russell Wong visited the studio recently. Starstruck doesn't quite cover it.

For as long as I can remember, his name has meant photography in Singapore. Long before I ever picked up a camera seriously, I already knew who he was. So there was definitely a moment where I had to pause, take a breath, and remind myself this was actually happening.

But honestly? That's not even the thing I remember most.

We were talking about photography. Not in a fan-meeting-someone-they-admire kind of way. Just a small group of us talking about the craft, the business and the work. The kind of conversation you have when you're all in it.

And at some point, it hit me.

I wasn't on the outside of this conversation looking in.

I was in it.

That sounds simple. But it didn't feel simple then.

Because for a long time, longer than I'd like to admit, I think I still saw myself as a brand marketer who happened to be good at taking photographs. Someone who'd left one career and was trying to build another. Still finding her footing. Still figuring out what this was.

Yet there I was.

In a photography studio. Talking photography with someone whose work had shaped this industry long before I ever arrived.

And for a moment, I saw myself differently.

Photography is no longer something I hope will become part of my life.

It already is.