This Teen Photographs His Friends With No Filter
In this day in age, Photoshopping the crap out of celebs’ imperfections has become the norm. In fact, most magazine photos are so digitally altered you prob wouldn’t even recognize your fav Kardashian if you ran into them on the street. But for film photographer Evan Tan, Photoshop does not exist. In fact, the 17-year-old has made it his mission to capture everything in its rawest form.
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“Snapchat filters, false standards of beauty, online personas, followers, all these children are growing up into an artificial world.” Evan told Galore. “This terrifies me and so I want my art to represent the truth, the honesty in life. Because it is important not to lose sight of what really matters in this world, you, your life, your own beauty and uniqueness.”
Evan is def not your average teenager. At 16, he left high school to work as the cinematographer for a student-led documentary film in Nepal. While the closest most his age come to photography is through the lens of an iPhone, Evan was capturing intimate moments between strangers in the Himalayas.
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“I had not known anyone long but it felt to me as if I had known everyone for my whole life, I had fallen in love with humanity.” Evan says. “This was something I never experienced living in suburban Canoga park California, for the first time I felt connected to humanity and the earth and I saw all its pain, perseverance, and the unspoken love that connects everyone. I wanted to forever save the connections I had with those people and my love for film portraiture began.”
Evan’s adventures in Nepal gave him a true direction and he continued to pursue his love for portrait photography once he returned to the U.S, where he spends most days photographing his friends and fellow creators in the valley.
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“Beauty has no standard or boundaries, everyone is their own individual and that is what’s beautiful. I photograph people because I’ve always been attracted to people, I love the things they have that no one can take away from them, their lives through their eyes. If you free your eyes you will free your life,” he says. “With that being said, here is my some of my reality.”
“Danee and Athena on my bed.”
Danee Wertz @Thisisntdanee
Atheena Watson @Theenawatson
“Kids keep secrets.”
Dylan @itndylan
“Ellie in the sun.”
Ellie Corona @heavycigarette
“Photo of me by Alex Hainer!”
“Finn, a boy with vengeance.”
Finn @Fnnngn
“Driving through the valley with Gabe.”
Gabe Plaza @mirrorofmyself
“Kaya at the beach.”
Kaya Semien @Kayaaaa_
“Tag in the bath.”
Tag Reed @lean_bath
“Taylor, golden girl.”
Taylor Allard @Tay.All
“
“Taylor in my pool”
Taylor Snook @Cinematic
“Victoria at school.”
Victoria Davidoff @Victoriasophiad
“West of Venice.”
West Adler @Breakfwest
Photography by Evan Tan
