“I get excited about the human ingenuity and creativity found in everyday things,” says photographer Christopher Herwig. So, it’s no surprise he created a photo book celebrating the quirky beauty of the intricately hand-decorated tuk-tuks and trucks he came across in South Asia. Fuel, his publisher on his previous three books, greenlit the project, so Herwig planned several trips around South Asia to make the photos.   

At first, he used the internet to search for subjects, contacted tuk-tuk owners on social media, and used Google satellite view to find where trucks might be parked or repaired. While this research helped him develop a list of areas and regions to target, “the most important part of the process was to get off my butt and just hit the streets,” he says. It was “a fantasy notion that I could plan online and save time.”

On his hunt for tuk-tuks and trucks, his biggest challenge was developing quick decision-making skills. An intriguing vehicle might pass by in the blink of an eye and he had an instant to decide whether it was worth chasing down for a photo. “I let some winners slip because I was gambling that I would find something better,” he says. In fact, he recalls, he would often sing Kenny Rogers’ “The Gambler” in his head. He sometimes hired drivers to take him around looking for subjects, but not all were comfortable with a search mission. “Sometimes I found it more productive to bike, drive myself, or just take Uber between locations and go on foot,” he says.

While based out of Colombo, Sri Lanka, he made 20,000 images with his Sony Alpha 7 RII and Alpha 7 III over the three years he worked on the project. He whittled his images down to 200 that would work well together in a collection. Now, he looks back with fondness on the experience.

“I enjoyed myself most when I was on foot or by bike,” he says. “Compared to driving, walking gave me more time to appreciate the finer details, think about what might work photographically, and not feel stressed as if I was just driving by things and had to possibly annoy a driver by asking to stop again. It allowed me to chat with more people and feel more connected with my surroundings.” 

Amanda Arnold is a senior editor.