See reflections of Budapest life by photographer Tamás Andok

We Love Budapest: Like many other people, you moved to Budapest from another Hungarian town, and see the city from a different perspective. How did you become a Budapest street photographer?

Tamás Andok: I grew up in Pécs, and studied communications there. I entered the cultural scene as an online journalist, but I worked in sales, PR, and as a lyrics writer, too. If you are a street photographer you soon outgrow Pécs; so I changed professions, and moved to District VI of Budapest.

WLB: Did you have specific career plans as a photographer when you moved?

T.A.: I was highly curious; I thought of it as a challenge to fit in. I had project plans for one-and-a-half or two years. Just to mention an example, I obviously wanted to feature the Danube somehow in my work, too, so I divided the two sides into four sections and seasons.

WLB: How do you work?

T.A.: I had constantly been strolling the streets for one and a half years. In the weekends I used to get up really early, and walked as far as I could, but this “aimless” wandering can be truly tiring. After some time I adapted the work process of a photographer acquaintance from Istanbul; I picked a district, and walked around consciously, taking notes of everywhere I went.

WLB: Despite all of that, it is hard to identify where many of your photographs were taken; the locations are hard to recognize.

T.A.: True, that derives from my style and point of view. But just like many other photographers, I have a few places that keep coming back in my photos.

WLB: A great number of literary and musical motifs also return regularly.

T.A.: Yeah, this is my main connection. Even the titles of my photos generally refer to songs, books, or lyrics.

WLB: Do you listen to music while you’re out taking photographs?

T.A.: Yes, typically. Although, even when I walk with someone, I constantly keep seeking scenarios, and this restlessness might be a bit tiring for anyone walking by my side. (laughs)

WLB: How did you start shooting?

T.A.: I was around 20, and began experimenting with a digital camera, and later I got a smartphone. The whole process was a long learning period; initially, I sought out analog effects, terrible and awful textures, trying to create a visual language that I saw in the works of old cameramen. Eventually, after all the time spent experimenting with analog, I finally picked up on it.

WLB: What do you work with at the moment?

T.A.: Almost all the time I take street photos with a smartphone. It suitably substitutes small cameras, and gives me a truly inspiring freedom. It is a slightly disdained method, but just as the collaboration of We Love Budapest and the Capa Center shows, smartphone photography is becoming more and more popular and recognized.

WLB: Did you shoot with analog, too?

T.A.: Yes, in the beginning I mainly used analog. I gained lots of experience; obviously it had some disadvantages as well, but you are a lot more cautious with analog, so your pictures become more purposeful.

WLB: What are you working on at the moment?

T.A.: I have a few ideas that direct me towards the world of theaters, and some project plans on the edge of witty, absurd, Örkény-like humor {ed. note:

Hungarian writer István Örkény was a pioneer of absurdist literature}.

WLB: Are you building your work up strategically?
T.A.: Only the basics; I’m on Facebook and Behance, and have a website, too, but I wouldn’t like to quit my job. I agree with André Kertész in that as an amateur I can do whatever I want, as I do not depend on photography financially. However, it is very interesting that through the sites, mainly foreign photographers find me; Polish, Czechs, Japanese, Spanish, and South Americans, and I mostly work with foreign record labels and book publishers.
WLB: What do you think of Budapest?

T.A.: Sometimes I like it, other times I would like to get away, but I always find something that soothes me. I love excursions, and I have recently gotten into wall climbing, and things like that.