Philippe Cheng is a fine art photographer based in New York with studios in New York City & Bridgehampton, Long Island. Born and raised in New York City, he was educated at The School of Visual Art and New York University.
In the early 1990's he worked at Magnum Photos, assisting photographers Gilles Peress, Inge Morath, Erich Hartmann and Eve Arnold, where he learned that, whatever the subject matter whether a portrait or an interior, one could create images with meaning, style and emotion. There is a beautiful Henri Cartier-Bresson photograph, Newlyweds, Joinville-le-Pont, near Paris, from around 1938 of a man in a suit pushing this beautiful french bride, and that is an image that has influenced him and which has helped him develop a point of view as a photographer.
" So the photographer's role - if he has the sensitivity and the eye to take it on - is so much more than an image maker. Brought along as scribe, he suddenly becomes a part of the journey. He is both confidant and supporter. They are required to be everywhere and yet remain unseen. Bothe the lost intriguing aspect of what they do - and what is revealed here in these images - is that they have the responsibility and honor of seeing more clearly than anyone in attendance. ...And these breathtaking images are bound in this book to remind us what is really means to be wed." Carley Roney, Founder of The Knot
" Philippe is a lovely person and makes the whole experience a pleasure. He captures precious moments and it is hard to edit because there are so many great images" Darcy Miller, Weddings Editor, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia
" I am asked often what kind of photographer are you and although I understand this question as point of reference, for me the simple answer is that I am an image maker. And, my job, although I don't consider what I do as a job, as a photographer, is create images that strive to have meaning and a point of view. To have an intentionality. Photographing a wedding or any family event, is full of possibility. The possibility of creating very personal, meaningful and profound images exists in these moments. This is what makes my work so interesting to me - the potential to always make something that will have meaning to someone. "
In 1996 The New York Times wrote an article on " New " wedding photography and Philippe said in reference to his clients, "... and they really have to trust us. With us, because we're very subjective photographers, we bring a lot of our own feelings and emotions to the pictures."
For a short talk about his work please view his Pecha Kucha talk at the Parrish Musuem please click here
If you are interested in viewing his Fine Art portfolios please click here
If you are interested in his Portrait / Family / and additional commercial work please click here
His landscape book, “ Still, The East End Photographs ” was published in the fall of 2015.
“ Still, The East End Photographs “, is a book project that is an evocative and poetic interpretation of a landscape that is constantly deriving its beauty and power from the earth’s palate and ever changing seasons.
“ Philippe Cheng exudes a sense of calm serenity in both his work and his person that is at once innately appealing and somewhat mysterious.Seeing the photographs collected together for this publication provided me a window into how his stillness translates into his art.” Terrie Sultan, Director of Parrish Museum
" And in this place, where the tide never leaves our beaches, these photographs of landscapes and seascapes, where the focus is on the viewer, are hard to describe but once seen – unforgettable." Jack Lenor Larsen, founder of LongHouse Reserve & Textile Designer Extraordinaire
“ When I look at Philippe Cheng’s pictures collected in STILL, my first response is the memory of the exquisite walks I have taken on the beaches of the East End of Long Island. The light changes from day to day, morning to night, yet it is uniquely Long Island light. It comes as no surprise that painters migrated there and created masterpieces. This ever-changing light has seduced Philippe much the same way. His pictures are not only photographs of nature--they are portraits of East End light. He does it brilliantly, never repeating himself. ” Elisabeth Biondi, Visuals Editor, The New Yorker, 1996 - 2011 & Independent Curator
“ The light that can inspire an artist to create a work that is simply, beautifully, all about his love for this place and its light. ” Edwina vonGal, Founder Perfect Earth Project & Azuero Earth Project
His landscape book, “ Still, The East End Photographs ” was published in the fall of 2015 by Jovis Verlag GmbH and distributed by D.A.P. and available at your local bookstores, like Bookhampton or BookCulture or online at Barnes & Noble or Amazon.
Currently he is completing work on three long term book projects.
" Bullets in the Sand ', his Coney Island book project, explores growing up in an inner city neighborhood against the backdrop of an historical neighborhood. These images provide a sense of the complexity of the growing up within the shadows of The Wonder Wheel and the Cyclone. Of a dreamland represented by the beach and the amusement park and the reality of living within the projects which have come to symbolize the harshness of inner city life.
The images in “ Requiems “, speak to how Americans deal with the issues and dying in collaboration with the artist, Bastienne Schmidt. Representing a cross cultural exploration into how different ethnic, social, and geographically diverse how Americans deal with the issues of death and dying. They received an George Soros Open Society Institute Grant in support of this project. In reference to this grant please click here for the New York Times link.
The images in “ Echo Still “, follow in the tradition of B&W New York street photography. Capturing an impression of something, not always definable but always a feeling.
He is directing his first feature documentary entitled, “ On the Cusp “. This documentary film was shot during the historic election of 2008. Illuminated by the words and images of 175 women, and filmed on the Eastern End of Long Island, the film speaks against forced silence, while honoring chosen silence – creating an affirmation that every voice matters and is necessary for true democracy.