Time to walk …
Compositions like these are strangely satisfying …
It’s not difficult.
But the lines seem to be exerting a kind of tension.
Everyone’s in a hurry.
Rush rush rush.
Quick, quick.
She’s sauntering…
Time to slow down…
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.
Against a Wall
It’s a simple idea – one I’ve used many times.
A simple wall with interesting texture.
A window.
And equally interesting people.
The composition takes care of itself.
Thanks for reading!
Camera: Leica M6
Lens: Voigtlander 35 Nokton 1.4 SC
Film: Venus 800
Finding Flow
Part of street photography or art-making is about finding flow.
Such that one is immersed in the activity.
Such that you could forget yourself.
And find meaning in it.
The notion of flow – many thanks to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.
It’s about looking, constantly looking.
Thanks for reading!
Camera: Leica M6
Lens: Voigtlander 35 Nokton 1.4 SC
Film: Venus 800
The Street Makes Sense
The thing with Shamshuipo is that one could walk slowly amongst pockets of crowds.
You could flow along comfortably.
Even if you stop, there’s space enough for you to do so.
So many people and things to look at.
Hope and dreams of finding a space.
The street belongs.
The street can disintegrate.
The street makes sense, if you keep looking.
Camera: Leica M6
Lens: Voigtlander 35 Nokton 1.4 SC
Film: Venus 800
Tsim Sha Tsui at Night
So here’s TST at night.
Everyone has a place to get to.
Spotted.
Someone’s waiting.
Someone’s looking.
Someone’s packing.
Someone’s unloading.
Boxes that have lost their purpose.
The mannequins and model are more alive than actual people.
We’re all shadows in a cave of our own making.
Behold the Fuji X70
Yes, I usually succeed in not buying another camera. But this time it’s different. Of course.
It was either the Fuji X70 or Ricoh GR II.
It was Eric Kim’s review that made me go for the Fuji X70. It’s “a Ricoh GR with Fujifilm colors”. Fantastic!
This time I have my wife’s blessing, as I’ve convinced her that I need a digital camera for street photography at night, as I have 3-4 hours to kill while waiting for my son (as his designated chauffeur) on various evenings.
Here’s the obligatory “me and my shadow” shot.
There’s a whole genre of cat photography to be found on the web.
I’m trying my best to resist taking another shot.
I’m still not instinctively comfortable with the 28mm focal length – I’m too close this time.
Here, I’m slightly further away than I realized – the 2 men should have filled out the whole image. I’m still thinking in terms of 35mm.
The articulated screen allows me to be more stealthy – I can’t imagine doing this even with my Leica M6. Raising it to the eye would make me feel too conspicuous. Not to mention that fact that my usual ISO 400 film would not be fast enough given the lighting conditions.
The Daido-inspired (poetic?) blurry shot. I think I can get away with it because of the wonderful film simulation colours from Fuji.
The touchscreen framing via LCD approach does allow for various angles.
I could do the “spray and pray approach” as well…
I sense a new book project in the horizon … maybe I can convince my wife … one book project, one camera …
When Streets Are Busy
When streets are busy, they look like this:
No one notices the guy with the camera:
People are too preoccupied:
Work work work.
Sell sell sell.
Buy buy buy.
Go go go.
Thanks for reading!
Camera: Contax TVS II
Film: Agfa Vista 400
Art-making
Street photography is about found action.
It’s when you realize the environment is a material you could draw from.
It’s arrested action.
There’re inadvertent art displays.
Someone positioned these just so.
The goods are guiding our eyes.
The entire environment is for consumption.
Colours are for sale.
Shoes are waiting.
Thanks for reading!
Camera: Contax TVS II
Film: Agfa Vista 400
Singapore Vertigo
Singapore can be vertiginous at times.
You look up.
You could lose your balance.
It’s a culture on display.
A culture that wants to be legible.
It wants to be read globally.
To be taken seriously.
There’s an official stamp on everything.
We see what we are supposed to see.
A people on display.
No one can truly be at rest.
We keep on looking.
Camera: Contax TVS II
Film: Agfa Vista 400
Street Thoughts
I don’t want to over-intellectualize things, but after doing this for a few years now, I’ve come to the conclusion that for me, to take street photographs is to think on my feet.
When I came upon the above scene for example, I am reminded of how much culture depends on physical toil that is too often, invisible. We marvel at the Great Wall of China, at the pyramids in Egypt, and of course, there’s an invisible history of physical toil involved.
I like the way signs are re-appropriated for other purposes. The full-size image of an air hostess welcomes you into the shop, which is closed for lunch. I make it a point to come here every time I’m in Singapore, to check out some of those NATO watch straps.
The deployment of trees is part of the city’s architecture.
The trees frame the building. Living in the city, we tend to forget that it is ultimately nature that frames human activity.
Something we do every day, waiting at a pedestrian crossing. One of those insignificant yet ubiquitous experience that characterizes urban life which we tend to forget.
Thanks for reading!
Buy my latest street photography and poetry book!
Camera: Olympus XA 3
Film: Ilford XP2
Hong Kong Lucida 