Hong Kong Lucida

Life Follows Function

Posted on December 8, 2014December 8, 2014 by eddietay in About Singapore, Monochrome

Here’s a mishmash of images of Singapore, significant to myself.

Though the underlying theme here is about how we try to snatch something beautiful out of what is essentially functional.

Form follows function in much of Singapore.

Life, too, follows function: poetry is a luxury we cannot afford.

There is one way only. The rest is barred.

If you live with it long enough, it becomes beautiful.

Draw the curtains.

Poetry delayed is poetry denied.

We are at the zoo.

The helpful tram driver and a passenger.

After the animal show – poetry is found after the event.

Reflections in the MRT.

The tree is obedient, bent in the wind.

Perhaps something is poetry after all…

Thanks for reading.

Camera: Leica M6

Lens: Voigtlander 35mm f 1.4 Nokton SC

Film: Ilford XP2

Singapore Zoo Monochrome

Posted on December 6, 2014December 3, 2014 by eddietay in About Singapore, Monochrome

At the zoo in Singapore with my son.

We did a double photo combo, with my 10-year-old son holding the Canon 600D with a 40mm f 2.8 STM lens and I holding my Leica M6. I’ll post my photographs another day.

All photos here, except for the elephant shot, were by my son.

On the way to the zoo, he found the water droplets at the back of a bus interesting.

He’s developing a good visual sense, I must say.

Nice monkey.

Nice erm … plant thingey.

Looking up to see itself.

Nice fishes.

A very charming gentleman.

Nice big mole.

I waited for a while before everything came together in this shot.

I told my son to wait till all the necks were parallel with one another.

Would have been better if they were between the trees in contrast with the background.

A horse (pony?) sticking its neck out.

Feed the goats!

My son was fascinated by the polar bear show.

It’s a powerful looking bear. We were told polar bears weigh only about 350 grams at birth.

This is grace.

Power.

Determination.

When I grow up I want to be a polar bear.

Mostly Monochrome Singapore

Posted on December 3, 2014December 3, 2014 by eddietay in About Singapore, Colour, Monochrome

I’ve lived in Hong Kong long enough such that I could see Singapore with a fresh set of eyes.

Some of the buildings have become rather futuristic.

And public housing flats are beginning to look very homely.

Singapore is home, a comfortable grid.

We’re all fitted into grids.

Nice looking public housing.

Was at Hard Rock Café with my family.

An amazing acoustic set – it’s nice to listen to local acts with my wife… while trying to get our children to eat their broccoli.

The HRC I know were Saturday clubbing nights, 2 decades ago.

As I looked around at the various tables, I saw expat families with kids, tourists and middle-class locals out for dinner.

Times have changed – or perhaps I have changed.

Once upon a time, I wanted to be a rock star with my acoustic guitar.

The lyric he’s singing: “I’m all about that bass, about that bass, about that bass…”

Subsequent serious research (Google and Wikipedia) tells me it’s really a very cool song.

Now, I see HRC as an F&B outlet using rock music as a marketing tool, reaching out to customers like me who’ve come of age with the likes of GnR, Bon Jovi and Skid Row.

Perhaps I’m getting older and more cynical.

Still – it’s good to be young and idealistic.

HRC still looks impressive.

The colour is wonderful.

Orchard Road is gearing up for Christmas.

Hilton façade with a dash of nature.

A Martian landscape in full colour.

Equally interesting in monochrome.

It’s nice to be young…

An empty bus looks somewhat disturbing, like an unfulfilled promise.

This looks better – all blurry and full of promise.

Thanks for reading!

Camera: Canon 600D

Legacy Lens: Meyer-Optik Gorlitz Lydith 30mm f. 3.5

Memories of Mong Kok

Posted on November 28, 2014November 26, 2014 by eddietay in Colour

So, here’re some memories of Mong Kok.

They were trying to create a better community.

The streets announced their will.

The exhibits were playful: this looked like an umbrella carousel.

There were thoughtful moments like this at Mong Kok.

There were hard hats with a tough message.

There was a clear intention.

There was energy.

There were tents.

There were floating umbrellas.

Pretty umbrellas.

The streets belonged to its people.

The signs and umbrellas were there.

There were ominous moments.

The graduates were there.

They were preparing for an eventuality.

Yellow and blue went well together.

There were selfie moments.

He told me to take a picture and share it.

Goodbye tents, goodbye Occupy Mong Kok.

Camera: Canon 600D

Legacy Lens: Meyer-Optik Gorlitz Oreston 50mm f 1.8

Yuen Long Wet Market

Posted on November 27, 2014November 24, 2014 by eddietay in Colour

We were at a wet market in Yuen Long.

I walked past this shed and felt I really had to take a shot.

If you’re in construction, you have to be a bit of a Spiderman.

They’re very agile.

Chicken rice stall.

We walked through a wet market.

Straw hats for sale.

Very fried and oily calamari (or were they oysters)?

I thought the wall was rather beautiful.

I was having a William Eggleston moment here.

The second floor of a village house.

Dried seafood.

More dried seafood.

Some more dried seafood.

Dried seafood, anyone?

Last chance to buy dried seafood!

Scaffoldings offer lots of compositional possibilities.

I walked around to obtain different angles.

I have so many others but I’ll stop here.

The underside of awnings too, can be beautiful.

Check out the lines, colours and shadows.

Sometimes the most common of things can offer up beauty.

The blue and yellow above go very well together.

The arm offers a quirky variation to the scene.

Bamboo scaffolding.

Some more scaffolding.

Parking lot signage.

Thanks for reading!

All photographs here were taken with the now classic Canon G11.

Yuen Long: Hello Kitty Organic Farm and Harbin Ice Festival

Posted on November 25, 2014November 24, 2014 by eddietay in Colour

So, my family did the excursion package thing again and we went to the Hello Kitty Organic Farm and Harbin Ice Festival.

First stop – Hello Kitty Go Green Organic Farm.

Check out the landscape here – I’m beginning to think it’s a myth that Hong Kong does not have enough land.

This is usually cited as an explanation for high property prices.

I’m beginning to think: if this is indeed a myth, then who benefits from this?

There’re activities for kids here – they get a map and they’re supposed to get stamps at various stations.

There’re handmade toys for sale.

Plants for sale.

Turn left for Hello Kitty.

Turn right for Hello Kitty.

Walk ahead for Hello Kitty.

Run for Hello Kitty.

Hello Kitty refreshment corner.

It’s actually a very beautiful and intriguing place if you’re into (street) photography.

Shady scarecrow.

You could rent a plot of land here for a few months to tend to your crops.

It’s all very properly laid out, with your name written down so you won’t end up tending to someone else’s plot.

Feed the goat!

Ditto what I said earlier about land in Hong Kong.

Look at my clever composition.

Tiny windmill, tiny scarecrow.

Ah – the pastoral life…

Chrysanthemum tea for sale.

Washing hands after feeding the goats.

My very suave shadow.

Our cheerful excursion guide.

Boredom in the tour coach.

Yes finally, we arrived at the Harbin Ice Festival.

The colours and lines look well-balanced to me.

Nice looking cable tower…

We were in the exhibition hall at Harbin Ice Festival.

It’s minus 10 degrees Celsius in here.

Psychedelic penguin.

Everything here is carved out of ice.

I paid close attention to the colours.

I’m having a Martin Parr moment.

Bye bye and thanks for stopping by!

All pictures were taken with Canon G11, which you could now call a classic camera.

Occupy Central: A Monochrome Meditation

Posted on November 23, 2014November 22, 2014 by eddietay in Monochrome

All images were taken with one camera, one lens, on the same roll of film and on the same day.

This is a visual meditation on Occupy Central.

Once upon a time, Occupy Central was an idea. It was an event that was yet to come.

It then became an event.

It will be an event that is always already present, even if it ends today or at some point in the future.

At Admiralty.

At Mong Kok.

At Causeway Bay.

Thanks for reading.

Camera: Leica M6

Lens: Voigtlander Nokton Classic 35mm f 1.4 SC

Film: Ilford XP2 400

Winding Down?

Posted on November 21, 2014November 20, 2014 by eddietay in Colour

There’s definitely a sense that things are winding down at two of the three Occupy sites.

There’re fewer tents now at Mong Kok.

I’m focusing more on the objects this time – how do you photograph tents and people that are not there?

At Admiralty, the tents are still holding forth, and the art works are still looking robust.

Causeway Bay is a bit quiet these days, though there’re still people who would pause to read the messages.

Thanks for reading.

Camera: Canon 600D

Legacy Lens: Meyer-Optik Gorlitz Lydith 30mm f 3.5

Revisiting Occupy: Mong Kok, Admiralty and Causeway Bay

Posted on November 19, 2014November 20, 2014 by eddietay in Colour

The sites are being cleared even as I’m typing this.

So, this is going to be memory soon.

Mong Kok:

Admiralty:

Causeway Bay:

Camera: Contax TVS II

Film: Kodak Ultramax 400

Occupy: Mong Kok, Admiralty and Causeway Bay

Posted on November 17, 2014November 19, 2014 by eddietay in Colour

So – I managed to go to all three sites on the same afternoon.

At Mong Kok.

People are still smiling.

Mannequins are still standing.

Though there’s a sense that this might be over soon…

I’ll never look at umbrellas the same way again.

Umbrellas and street culture are now intertwined.

Lots of artists have emerged.

Every person an umbrella.

We are all umbrellas.

No violence, please.

The hope of a generation is here.

I’m ambivalent when it comes to the police.

The police stands for law and order.

I respect the police, but what happens when the law privileges a particular social order that is in question?

Over at Admiralty.

An umbrella community.

We’re all waiting and watching.

We see the organic growth of a community.

A community that stands for something.

An artful and thoughtful community is emerging.

Though it’s all eggs against a brick wall.

Vigilance.

Constant vigilance.

A poem by Gu Cheng entitled “A Generation”: Dark night has given me dark eyes, but I’m using them to look for brightness.

These are students of history and poetry.

I see students like this on campus every day.

I teach them poetry and creative writing.

They’re somewhat goofy, always respectful, and many do have a strange fondness for Doraemon soft toys.

They bring these soft toys along with them for pictures on graduation day.

Now they’re a force of social change, graduating with honours.

It’s not just the students, of course.

The carpenters show up to be carpenters.

It is already done.

Even if the barricades are cleared and all have gone home, Occupy Central would be that powerful idea that will be always ever present.

The rest is just documentation.

Occupy Central is already set in memory, in photographs, social media, in newspaper and government reports.

The skeleton of the umbrella is strong.

There are no wasted bodies on the streets.

They know what they want.

At Causeway Bay.

The Hong Kong people.

The small business owners.

The umbrella is looking somewhat tattered but the sentiment is strong.

Rough translation: the work is hard but keep going.

In the end, history will decide.

Camera: Canon 600D

Legacy Lenses: SMC Takumar 24mm f 3.5, Meyer-Optik Gorlitz Oreston 50mm f 1.8

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