Photography
Isabel Lauren Loewe
'Untitled', 2026
2eggcellent’s photographs begin with attention before they become images. A red shape on the street, a circle repeated across a surface, a yellow object catching the light in an ordinary place. Based in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, he has built much of his work from the small visual patterns that appear in daily life, especially when distance, time, and office work make it harder to chase landscapes. The camera becomes a way to notice what is already close.
2eggcellent’s style depends on repetition, but it does not feel mechanical. A single photograph can preserve the air of a day, while a series lets that feeling build through rhythm. Circles, colors, street details, and fragments of urban life begin to speak to each other once they are placed together. The collage format grew from that discovery. He kept finding himself drawn to the same kinds of forms, then realized they could become small collections with their own visual logic.
Light sits underneath all of it. 2eggcellent describes photography as a process of learning how light works little by little, through trial, error, and the act of going out again. Sometimes he leaves with a shape already in mind, even attaching paper guides to his camera. Other times he moves through a place more instinctively, responding to mood, weather, and whatever catches his eye. In both modes, the goal is the same: to make an ordinary moment carry the atmosphere of the day it belonged to.
'Untitled', 2026
How do you describe what you do to someone encountering your work for the first time?
I work as a design engineer, and photography has become one of the biggest parts of my life outside of work. Whenever I get the chance, I head out with a camera to capture the world around me.
I spend a lot of time thinking about light and how to use it well. Light can create beautiful results when it’s handled right, but at the same time, it’s also what makes photography difficult.
Through experience and constant trial and error, I’m trying to understand light little by little, and I want my work to reflect that process.
Where are you based, and how long have you been shooting there?
I’m currently based in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, and I’ve been taking photos for about six years now. I’d still consider myself a beginner in many ways.
Sometimes I simply walk around my neighborhood with a camera, and when I feel like I need a change of scenery, I head into Seoul to photograph places that have been catching my attention lately. Not very often, but every now and then, I travel farther out to places like Gangwon Province or Jeju Island to shoot as well.
How did you get into photography?
I once went camping with friends in a place far away from the city, where there wasn’t much light pollution. We put a lantern inside the tent and took photos under the stars. I was shooting with an iPhone, while my friends had mirrorless cameras, and we had a really good time together.
Later, when we got home and shared the photos we had taken, the difference in the results was pretty striking. That was the moment I realized, “Wow, you can capture stars this beautifully with a camera.”
After that, my friend recommended a camera to me, and I ended up buying one and slowly teaching myself photography from there.
How did you come up with the idea of building work around found elements, shapes, colors, and patterns you discover rather than set up?
I originally started photography with natural landscapes, but as a busy office worker, it became harder to go out with my camera regularly or travel far for photos. At some point, I started thinking that instead of always searching for subjects far away, I wanted to find them closer to home and see ordinary surroundings from a different perspective.
That naturally led me toward street photography. Over time, I became interested in building small projects around repeated elements like colors, shapes, and patterns that I discovered in everyday life.
While thinking about how to present those images, I came across other artists making similar kinds of visual projects through Reels and Shorts. Their work inspired me, and that’s what eventually pushed me to start creating my own photography-based Reels as well.
What draws you to that approach over more traditional or staged photography?
I think, at least for the version of myself right now, it’s because this approach gives me more freedom to express myself. Maybe a few years from now I’ll feel differently, but at the moment, this is the way of working that feels most natural to me.
I also think staged photography requires an enormous amount of energy: planned compositions, controlled movement, lighting, colors, and everything else that has to be carefully arranged.
When those elements come together naturally and dynamically in a real moment, and I’m able to capture a story within that, it gives me a strong sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.
When you go out to shoot, do you have a specific element in mind before you leave, or does the subject come to you?
For projects based on shapes like circles, squares, or triangles, I usually decide on the theme before I go out. I actually attach paper guides to my camera for those shoots, so I need to know the concept in advance.
For things like patterns or colors, though, I tend to approach them more freely. I usually respond to the atmosphere of the place and photograph whatever naturally catches my attention in the moment.
When I go out with a fixed idea, there’s a bit of pressure to “complete the mission,” so I find myself focusing more on searching for specific shapes around me. But when I shoot more instinctively, I pay closer attention to the mood and situation of the environment, and I try to capture that feeling as naturally as possible.
'Untitled', 2026
What does your process look like from the initial idea to a finished piece?
Whenever an idea comes to me, I usually write it down in a notebook first, then try to act on it as soon as possible after work or on the weekend. If too much time passes, the excitement fades and the ideas just end up piling up in the notebook without ever becoming anything. I’ve learned that acting on an idea right away is usually better than waiting too long.
After a shoot, the first thing I do when I get home isn’t organizing my gear. It’s transferring the photos from the SD card to my computer. If I postpone that too long, I lose momentum and motivation. I used to do that a lot in the past.
Most of the time, I try to edit the photos on the same day I take them, then sort and save them into categories right away. Keeping the whole process moving while the feeling is still fresh is really important to me.
Your bio says a well-captured photo brings back the air of the day it was taken. How much of what you’re trying to preserve is atmosphere versus image?
More than the image itself, I want to preserve the atmosphere and the feeling of the air from that day for a long time. Time keeps moving, and in many ways, people live on memories. I believe a well-captured photograph has the power to touch people emotionally.
Of course, I appreciate technically perfect and beautifully crafted images, but personally, I’m more drawn to photographs that carry the air, mood, and story of a real moment.
I don’t think I’ve fully reached that point yet, but it’s something I want to keep chasing and improving little by little through my work.
What makes something worth photographing to you? Where is the line between something that catches your eye and something you actually shoot?
If a scene has the ability to preserve the air, atmosphere, or story of a moment, then I think it’s worth photographing, whether it’s street photography, landscapes, or documentary-style work.
These days, I feel like the world is filled with short and highly stimulating content. The kinds of images that instantly grab your attention in a dramatic way naturally stand out more. But when I actually pick up a camera, I’m usually chasing something with a bit more sincerity and narrative behind it.
Of course, to be honest, I move back and forth between both approaches depending on the day.
When you’re hunting for a specific color or shape, how do you know when you’ve found the right version of it?
Like most things in life, sometimes everything goes the way you imagined, and sometimes it doesn’t. There are days when the whole shoot flows naturally and smoothly, and those are usually the moments when I feel, “This is exactly what I was looking for.”
Sometimes it’s not even about the final image itself. It’s the feeling during the process. When I’m genuinely enjoying the act of shooting and feel connected to the moment, I can sense it then too.
But honestly, there are also days when I don’t feel that at all. Not every shoot leaves me satisfied, and I think that’s just part of photography as well.
How did the collage format develop? Was it always part of how you thought about the work, or did it come from having a body of similar images accumulate?
As I kept taking street photographs, I started noticing that there were certain things I was naturally drawn to and kept capturing without even realizing it. Over time, I began organizing those images into categories, and they gradually built up into small collections.
At some point, I thought it would be interesting to photograph them in a more consistent and structured way, using similar compositions and connecting the images together. That idea eventually developed into the collage-style format I use now.
Do you shoot with the collage in mind, or does the grouping come later and reveal something you didn’t see at the time?
At first, the connections appeared naturally after I had already collected a lot of images. When I looked back through them, I started noticing similar patterns and relationships between the photos that I hadn’t fully realized while shooting.
Later on, I began photographing more intentionally with the collage format in mind. I started thinking about composition, repetition, and how different images might connect with each other before I even took the shot.
These days, I spend a lot of time thinking about what kinds of new connections I want to discover next.
How do you think about the relationship between a single photograph and the series it becomes part of?
I think once a photograph becomes part of a series, the story naturally expands and gives the viewer more to look at and connect with. At the same time, a single photograph has its own power. A single image can leave room for imagination, while a series creates rhythm, connection, and a larger narrative.
To me, the relationship between the two is important because the series gives context to each image, and each individual photograph gives emotional weight to the series as a whole.
You shoot with both Sony and Fujifilm. Does the camera change what you’re looking for, or how you see?
When I shoot with Sony, I tend to approach photography in a more precise way, but at the same time, I also use it casually depending on the situation. It feels very hybrid to me, like a camera that can handle almost everything.
The reason I started using Fujifilm was a little different. There are days when I simply want to document as much of the day as possible, moments like having dinner or drinks with people who are important to me. Even in those situations, I often feel the urge to take photos. But bringing a larger Sony camera into those moments sometimes felt awkward and inconvenient.
So I started looking for a smaller camera, and that eventually led me to Fujifilm. Because of that, Sony has become the camera I use to cover almost any kind of situation, while Fujifilm feels more personal and free, something I use more like a visual diary to casually record everyday life.
Is there a color or shape you keep returning to without meaning to?
I find myself naturally drawn to red and yellow quite often. They’re probably just colors I personally love without even fully realizing it. Because of that, I also tend to prefer warmer tones in my photography overall.
In a way, I think those colors have become part of the visual identity of my work. But at the same time, I sometimes wonder if they also create certain limitations in how I see and photograph the world.
Has living where you live shaped the kind of things you find? Would the work look different somewhere else?
I think it definitely would have been different. Most of the subjects and ideas I photograph come from the environment around me, so the place I live naturally shapes the kind of work I make.
I’ve always been a little jealous of photographers who live surrounded by wide open landscapes and nature. Where I live is much closer to the city, so photographing natural scenery isn’t always easy. It usually takes a lot more time, planning, and money to reach those kinds of places.
Because of that, I think my work naturally became more focused on details, shapes, colors, and small moments that can be found in everyday urban environments.
Is there a project or set of images you’ve made that surprised you once it came together?
One project that really surprised me was the first time I made the Chasing Circles series. I didn’t expect the final result to have such a strong visual impact, even to myself. That was the moment I first realized how satisfying and powerful repetition of the same shape could feel visually.
Lately, I’ve also become deeply interested in film photography and have been shooting with film cameras more often. At first, not being able to immediately see the results felt pretty inconvenient. But when I finally got the scans back after some time had passed, I was genuinely surprised by the atmosphere and texture that film created. There was something about it that felt very different from digital, and I became really drawn to it.
'Untitled', 2026
What is a project you haven’t made yet that you keep thinking about?
I really love outdoor activities, especially hiking. One project I keep thinking about is finding a way to combine that part of my life with photography and create something that feels completely unique to me, something I haven’t really seen anyone else make before, whatever form that might take.
I still don’t have a clear idea of exactly how I want to shape it yet, but I feel like it’s something I should do while I’m still young enough to fully enjoy those experiences. As I get older, I know the kind of outdoor life I love now may slowly become more distant from me, and I think that realization makes the idea feel even more important.
What do you want someone to take from your work?
I’ve personally received a lot of inspiration from the work of other photographers and artists. My own work may not be anything extraordinary yet, but if someone could look at it and feel inspired in some way, that would make me genuinely happy.
That’s also one of the reasons I keep studying and practicing the fundamentals so seriously. I still feel like I’m learning every day, and I want to keep growing into someone who can create work that connects with people in a meaningful way.
What are you working on or thinking about right now?
I didn’t study photography professionally. It started as a hobby, and at some point it naturally became part of my life. Right now, I’m trying to strengthen my fundamentals so I can create better work in the long run.
I’ve even started buying books that photography majors study from, especially to learn more deeply about color and light. At the same time, I watch films, commercials, and other visual work closely, trying to absorb different examples of composition and lighting techniques.
I think I’m in a stage where I’m constantly learning and collecting inspiration in order to grow.
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