About
Hi, I’m Kamsin.
I'm a writer and photographer exploring belief, memory, and cultural identity, and how those things manifest in the material world. I'm interested in small details, both natural and human-made, and the ways they hold meaning. Photography and writing have always gone hand in hand for me; each is a way of paying attention, one with a camera, the other afterwards, working out what I actually saw.
Reflected self-portrait, Kampong Gelam
Originally from the south coast of England, I first moved to Asia to teach English in China in 1999. Japan has been the constant ever since: I've lived there across three separate stints, with shorter spells back in the UK and Bosnia in between. We came to Singapore just before the pandemic, moved back to Tokyo for a stretch, then returned here in 2022. We've been in Singapore for a total of five years as of 2026.
My first completed photography project, Colours of Continuity and Change, began as a three-month course assignment, but it grew out of morning walks I was already taking around Joo Chiat, Singapore's oldest Peranakan neighbourhood, long before the project existed. It marked a turning point, from chasing single striking images to working in a slower, more sustained way.
Although my own beliefs have changed a great deal over the years, I've always been drawn to sacred practice and religious art, and to how culture and place shape our experience of being human. My eye has been shaped as much by years of looking closely at art, the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists especially Van Gogh, as by photography itself. I never learned to paint. But I can take photographs.
A few more things about me: I speak Japanese, and my husband and son are both from Japan. I hold an MA in Applied Linguistics and TESOL, though I haven't taught since we moved to Singapore. In 2024, I became a volunteer guide at the Asian Civilisations Museum, where I deepen my knowledge of Asian material culture and share it with visitors. In 2026, I was awarded the Licentiate of the Royal Photographic Society, and I'm continuing to refine my photographic practice.
I write about all of this, and more, in Paying Attention, an essay published most Sundays on photography, Asian art, and the practice of looking slowly. If any of it resonates, you're welcome to subscribe on Substack, or see the prints made along the way.