Photographer Kantaya New is the Edge of Humanity Magazine contributor of these images. From the project ‘Black and White Urban Moments (2019–2023)’. To see Kantaya’s body of work, click on any photograph.

Black and White Urban Moments (2019–2023) is a street photography series. This selection features photographs made in Japan. Every photograph is candid and unposed.  I look for moments when light and shadow create strong shapes and patterns. A passerby enters the frame by chance, and the delicate balance shifts and disappears. I photographed this series in black and white to keep the focus on light, shape, timing, and the human moment.

Artist statement

I photograph the street because it keeps surprising me.
 I walk and wait for the unexpected.
 Light and shadow can turn ordinary places into strong shapes.
 Then a person steps in, and the frame changes.

Sometimes they break the structure.
 Sometimes they complete it.

For this series, I chose monochrome to keep the frame simple, so timing matters more.
 That is why I keep coming back to street photography.

 Bio

Kantaya New is a Thai–Singaporean female photographer based in Singapore. She works in street and conceptual photography. Her street work focuses on moments shaped by light, shadow, and geometry.

Selected awards include Sony World Photography Awards (Shortlisted, 2022), Fujifilm Moment Street Photo Awards (2nd Prize, 2024), and SONY Alpha: MX Street Photo Contest (1st Prize, 2025).