My essay on the Umbrella Movement can be found here.
I suppose you could say this is a blend of street photography alongside my academic interests in auto-ethnography and cultural critique.
Author: eddietay
I am a poet and an educator. I have come to realise in recent years that the act of writing poetry has trained my mind to be always on the prowl for everyday moments that might be suitable material for my writing.
Hence, I turn to photography in order to record some of these moments. I soon discover that the photographs I am taking, using film rangefinder cameras which are more discreet and hence suitable to the task at hand, are in the tradition of street photography.
In search of poetry, I have become a street photographer.
What can Hong Kong teach me about street photography, and what can street photography teach me about Hong Kong?
This blog seeks to address that question.
Olympus XA 3
Sometimes, it is a pain when you realize that what you have is actually good enough.
Sad is the man who realizes he does not have a good excuse to buy another camera.
What happens if you’re already happy with your Olympus XA 2 as a street camera?
You go out and buy an Olympus XA 3, of course.
It’s the same difference.
There’re differences between a Olympus XA 2 and XA 3, of course.
What this also means is that I could go out with 2 different films.
One could be loaded with a colour film and the other with a b/w film.
Or they could have films of different ISOs.
Ah – the joys of street photography.
Camera: Olympus XA 3
Film: Kodak UltraMax 400
Some more Shamshuipo
I’m still walking around…
The streets are exhibitions waiting to speak.
What would the stall say?
What’s he thinking about?
We’re all concealed by what we buy and sell.
We all buy and sell.
We’re all waiting.
Until it’s all meat…
Camera: Olympus XA2
Film: Ilford XP2 400
Walking Around
I have so many posts of the street markets at Shamshuipo.
My only excuse is that things are always changing, and the streets are never the same from hour to hour.
I’d wonder about the kind of life stories people have.
What would we say, if we have had a chance to speak about ourselves to one another?
I’m the guy with the camera who thinks too much.
While someone else is having his siesta.
The streets are so busy.
Camera: Olympus XA2
Film: Ilford XP2 400
Singapore Chinatown Monochrome
Some more Chinatown…
Singapore’s Chinatown is very … organized.
It’s for tourists, of course.
With lots of souvenirs to buy.
There’s lots of waiting to do. (Durians!)
And pockets of intense concentration.
Camera: Olympus XA2
Film: Ilford XP2
Singapore’s Chinatown in Colour
Chinatown!
Having lunch.
Looks yummy.
This is also a space of commodity.
Though people do live and make a living here.
Tiong Bahru Pao!
Colourful drinks stall.
Yummy hawker food!
Touristy stalls.
Waiting for Tintin.
Ice cream with biscuit!
Another tourist souvenir stall.
Camera: Olympus XA2
Film: Agfa Vista 400
Singapore’s Little India in Colour
My previous post on Little India was in b/w.
These are in colour.
Friends in conversation.
A street fruit stall.
A framed place.
A vegetable stall.
I can’t resist another shot at the sign, as if to assure myself that everything has its place in Singapore.
Camera: Olympus XA2
Film: Agfa Vista 400
Singapore’s Little India in B/W
These are b/w street photographs of Little India.
Think of these as a nod towards Aik Beng Chia’s work on Little India.
Check out his excellent work Tonight the Streets Are Ours here and here.
There’s definitely a strong sense of community here.
People are always in touch with one another.
Scenes of friendship.
Street scenes.
Joy of the streets.
The streets are institutionalized and framed.
That doesn’t mean we should stop searching and looking.
Camera: Olympus XA2
Film: Ilford XP2 400
Singapore Street Photography
These are various snapshots in Singapore, with no particular order or theme in mind.
Though I must confess a significant number of images have to do with food…
He’s eating.
He’s texting.
He’s working really hard.
He’s buying.
I’m buying.
I’m buying some more.
These, I suppose, make up part of what Singapore is.
Camera: Olympus XA2
Film: Ilford XP2
Raffles Place Lunchtime
That’s the courtyard between the 2 main exits of Raffles Place MRT station.
Lunchtime – that funny, in-between time that is part-leisure, part-work, part-consumption.
People relaxing.
Waiting.
Posing.
Catching up.
Having a smoke break.
All caught up and immersed in the ever-present, not too far away from a reminder from history, of how times have changed and will change again.
Thanks for reading!
Camera: Olympus XA2
Film: Ilford XP2
Hong Kong Lucida 