Ongoing Long-Term Projects: Japanese Aesthetics

I explore the integration and continuity between life, nature and beyond. I do hope my photography can evoke that connection and express its beauty, make the ordinary special.
As a simple everyday moment can be surprising and unpredictable, my images are authentic shots in a documentary style where I don't influence the scene.

Selected Images Inspired by the Japanese Philosophy

Kacho Fugetsu (花鳥風月かち ょう ふう げつ) ["ka-chi yo-u fu-u ge-tsu"] — The Beauty of Nature

The term consists of the kanji (characters) for 'flower, bird, wind, moon,' and is collectively referred to as the "beauties of nature." This philosophy is considered one of the most important concepts in Japanese aesthetics about natural beauty and art.

Brazilian painted lady (Vanessa braziliensis) butterfly lands on cow dung, Pindamonhangaba, SP, Brazil. (Credit Image: © Andre M. Chang) Brazilian painted lady (Vanessa braziliensis)
Banyan fig (Ficus benghalensis), Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Credit Image: © Andre M. Chang) Banyan fig (Ficus benghalensis)
Canna flower with seed pod, Canna indica L. var. orientalis (Rosc.) Hook. f., Hualien, Taiwan. (Credit Image: © Andre M. Chang) Canna flower (Canna indica L. var. orientalis)
Canna flower budding, Canna indica L. var. orientalis(Rosc.) Hook. f., Hualien, Taiwan. (Credit Image: © Andre M. Chang) Canna flower (Canna indica L. var. orientalis)
White fig tree Ficus virgata (Reinw. ex Blume), Taitung, Taiwan. (Credit Image: © Andre M. Chang) White fig tree Ficus virgata (Reinw. ex Blume)
Sunflowers (Helianthus annuus), Hualien, Taiwan. (Credit Image: © Andre M. Chang) Sunflowers (Helianthus annuus)
Pebbles beach, Hualien County, Taiwan. (Credit Image: © Andre M. Chang) Pebbles beach
Swinhoe's japalura <i>(Japalura swinhonis, Diploderma swinhonis)</i> tree lizard, Hualien, Taiwan. (Credit Image: © Andre M. Chang) Swinhoe's japalura (Japalura swinhonis)
Common water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes)</i>, Hualien, Taiwan. (Credit Image: © Andre M. Chang) Common water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes)
A mangrove buckeye (Junonia genoveva)</i> butterfly feeds on nectar from common lantana (Lantana camara) flower, Asuncion, Paraguay. (Credit Image: © Andre M. Chang) Mangrove buckeye (Junonia genoveva) butterfly
A pair of grasshoppers (Coryacris angustipennis) mates on leaf, Asuncion, Paraguay. (Credit Image: © Andre M. Chang) Pair of grasshoppers (Coryacris angustipennis)
A white peacock (Anartia jatrophae) butterfly feeds on nectar from common lantana (Lantana camara) flower, Asuncion, Paraguay. (Credit Image: © Andre M. Chang) White peacock (Anartia jatrophae) butterfly

Wabi-Sabi (侘寂わび さび) — Appreciation of imperfection, impermanence, and incompleteness

Refers to a Japanese philosophy that values rustic simplicity, transience and imperfection of life. The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete.

Urban street art graffiti, Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Credit Image: © Andre M. Chang) Urban street art graffiti
Rays of sunshine passing through the window of an abandoned colonial style house, Asuncion, Paraguay. (Credit Image: © Andre M. Chang) Through the window
Two old cranes, Asuncion, Paraguay. (Credit Image: © Andre M. Chang) Cranes
Pedestrians walk past Palacete Franco de Mello, Avenida Paulista, Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Credit Image: © Andre M. Chang) Palacete Franco de Mello
Passionflower (Passiflora suberosa) three-lobed green leaves, Hualien County, Taiwan. (Credit Image: © Andre M. Chang) Passionflower (Passiflora suberosa)
A house view through old broken window frame, inside abandoned building, Hualien, Taiwan. (Credit Image: © Andre M. Chang) Through old broken window