capturing the
unscripted city
Documenting moments of raw humanity across Tokyo, New York, and Mexico City since 2017.
Tokyo Night Rain · 2019
NYC Subway Portrait · 2020
Mexico City Morning · 2021
Berlin After Dark · 2022
Mumbai Crowd · 2023
Paris Café Wait · 2023
Photo by Yuki Tanaka · 2023
About Maya
Maya Chen is a Tokyo-based street photographer whose work focuses on the fleeting moments of urban life. With a background in documentary filmmaking, she brings a cinematic eye to her still photography.
Her series "The Unscripted City" has been exhibited in galleries across Asia and North America, and she was awarded the 2022 Magnum Foundation Fellowship for emerging documentary photographers.
She shoots primarily on 35mm film, favoring the unpredictability and warmth of analog processes in an increasingly digital world.
Let's work together
Available for editorial commissions, personal projects, and print sales.
hello@mayachenphoto.com