Photographer Victor Shohet is the Edge of Humanity Magazine contributor of this street/documentary photography. From the project ‘Golden Oldies – China’. To see Victor’s body of work, click on any photograph.

During my world travels in the 1980’s, I found myself in Xinjiang, western China, after travelling the Karakoram Highway from Pakistan. Over a period of two months, I journeyed through China by buses and trains, traveling from Xinjiang to Shenzhen before leaving for Hong Kong (years before its return to China).

For most of the trip, I was alone with my camera stopping randomly along the way, surrounded by locals, communicating with the little Chinese I had picked up. It was an unforgettable experience in China that was vastly different from the one we know today. One fun fact I heard at the time really captures the era: there were fewer private cars in all of mainland China than in Hong Kong. That image perfectly encapsulates the China I experienced where buses, trains, horse and carriage and bicycles were the way people commuted.

Hi, I’m Victor Shohet, a London-based street photographer, and this is my story—or at least the short version of it.

My love for photography started in my teenage years and got more serious when I decided to go backpacking and document the world with my camera. What was supposed to be a “short trip” turned into six years of travel (oops), mostly through Asia but also Europe—including Eastern Europe during the collapse of communism.

This was back in the era of film photography, when every shot counted because rolls of film weren’t exactly free. I learned a lot about technique, not to mention how to stretch a budget, and spent countless hours in the darkroom. Today, as I scan my old negatives and slides, I can see how much the world has changed since the 1980s.

After my travels, reality caught up with me. I was told to “get serious” and find a proper job. So, like a good boy, I went to university and ended up working in the financial sector. It was fine, even rewarding, but eventually I left to return to my first love: photography.

These days, I focus on street photography, wandering the streets in search of those random moments that tell a story. I also shoot street events around the world and when I’m lucky enough to be in the right place, the occasional landscape. But to be honest, the streets are my passion.

For me, photography isn’t just about the pictures. It’s also about the people I meet along the way. As a street photographer, my camera gives me the perfect excuse to chat with strangers, especially since I like shooting up close. Some of these chance encounters have even turned into friendships.

My work has been published in photography magazines, books and exhibited in a number of cities including Rome, Milan, Treviso, Venice, Mumbai, Paris, Lisbon and London.

All images and text © Victor Shohet