by Carla Caruso

Documenting your Adelaide Park Lands in black-and-white is a specialty of Eric Li Yee.

The chef and hobbyist photographer is behind the Instagram account, Eric Li Yee Photography, which serves up street photography largely in monochrome. We chatted to him about his unique way of seeing the world and the stark contrasts he loves.

Eric, why do you love capturing images of our city, including the Adelaide Park Lands, in black-and-white?

Adelaide is a beautiful city of rich history and culture, and I love to introduce it to my family, friends, and everyone.

The Adelaide Park Lands are especially unique because they surround the whole city and they’re great public parks for Adelaideans.

I pick black-and-white photos because I like to explore how to present the modern world without relying on colours.

Often when colours are removed, we have to look into the details of our surroundings to understand them and appreciate them. Using black-and-white is both an experiment and a challenge.

I started my Instagram account in April 2016. I set it to ‘public’, hoping more people would be able to see how beautiful Adelaide is.   

What kind of camera do you use, and when do you take your pics? 

I use a range of cameras for my photos, such as Nikon D5200, Nikon Z5, Olympus Tough TG-3, and iPhone SE. 

I mostly take my photos during the day when I am not working as a chef. I sometimes make special trips to take specific photos, such as at sunrise and sunset and during fog and rain.

Which park in the Adelaide Park Lands do you frequent the most?

Park 26 [Tarntanya Wama] is probably my favourite. Most of my photos are taken there. There are often events happening; it is an iconic spot of Adelaide. 

When my wife, Jen, and I take weekend walks, this is also where we end up most of the time. 

I visit the Park Lands [overall] at least once a week. I get a lot of inspiration walking there. We live about 9km from the city and walk to the city from home along the Linear Park Trail as exercise.

We’ve lived in Adelaide for 25 years [after migrating from China] and have a grownup son.

What keeps you busy when you’re not taking photographs?

When I am not wandering in our city and working, I enjoy cooking for my family, bushwalking, visiting the Adelaide Hills and surrounds, and spending time with my dog.

She’s a German shepherd called Berlin. When she was younger, we used to join group dog walks from Bonython Park [Tulya Wardli / Park 27] to Elder Park [Park 26].