Hong Kong Lucida

Mong Kok Afternoon

Posted on November 15, 2014November 19, 2014 by eddietay in Colour

The umbrella is looking a bit battered today, against the big advertising capitalist billboard.

Nonetheless, it’s still standing.

I’ve seen him at it so many times, hard at work.

Rough translation: let’s raise the umbrellas together.

The exhibits are looking somewhat battered. Let’s hope this is not a sign of things to come.

There’re still umbrellas on the ground.

People are still waiting.

People are still looking and thinking.

Praying.

Is the British Consulate supporting this, or is the British Consulate to be occupied next?

Translation: protect the students, protect the journalists.

The makeshift library is still operating.

There’re even resting stations for those needing a break.

A balloon exhibit.

The tents are still here.

A soft toy with a tough message.

A mannequin manning the barricades.

Look at that awesome camera!

The mannequins are still waiting.

The tents are waiting.

The police, too, is waiting. What is the endgame here? Does anyone know?

Camera: Canon 600D

Legacy Lens: SMC Takumar 24mm f 3.5

Admiralty Again

Posted on November 13, 2014November 19, 2014 by eddietay in Colour

Again I find myself walking around Admiralty.

There are messages I’d like to read again and again.

An expression of people’s will.

A bicycle – I wasn’t sure if that’s an exhibit or simply a bicycle.

That’s an exhibit for sure – I saw this same car on campus at CUHK the other day.

“Jan Po Suen” is the Cantonese pronunciation for true universal suffrage.

George Orwell. Has it really come to this?

Very creative.

Translation: unity is strength.

Pretty brollies…

Colourful.

The number of hours that must have been spent making these.

But the medium is the message, I’d think.

Meaning all of these are so fragile and vulnerable.

Not unlike the will of a people.

There’re obstacles.

That’s the People’s Liberation Army Forces Hong Kong Building – a very visible ominous reminder.

Would a people’s determination be enough?

History, we know, will sort out the villains and the heroes.

They’ve even got a map, in case a visitor is lost.

Thanks for reading!

Camera: Canon 600D

Legacy Lens: Vivitar 24mm F 2.8

Street Exhibits at Admiralty

Posted on November 11, 2014November 9, 2014 by eddietay in Colour

This is getting obsessive, I know. But I can’t help but think it’s important to document these sites.

They aren’t going to be here forever.

I think these are supposed to resemble corpses, indicating that the protesters would be waiting here till they die.

An installation of a protester.

(Very) rough translation: Respect Hong Kong’s right to decide.

The umbrellas.

The hope of a generation.

A closer look.

Another installation. There were many of these on the road.

Learning from history and literature – is it possible to argue against the above banner?

Umbrella revolution – a work in progress.

Hmm…

The writing on the wall.

A minion!

A balloon with inverted umbrellas.

Message behind bars.

There are so many banners.

The people continue to speak.

Still waiting.

Building a community.

If I’m not wrong, that’s the traditional practice of using a slipper to slap a picture of your enemy.

That’s a pretty strong statement.

That’s what it’s about.

Thanks for reading!

Camera: Contax TVS II

Film: Fuji Venus 800

Mong Kok at Night

Posted on November 9, 2014November 12, 2014 by eddietay in Colour

This is what night looks like in Mong Kok.

Needless to say, there’re many people here who’re simply walking about, looking at the exhibits.

They’re fascinating.

I’ve come to think of this place as a temporary museum of sorts.

There’s no shortage of onlookers.

And it sets us thinking.

About what it would take before people take to the streets.

People are waiting.

People are reading.

People are living a life.

Elegance is an attitude.

Attitude.

Ever ready attitude.

Rough translation: No one knows when we’ll arrive at the destination of democracy, or even if there will be such a day; but today, if we’re able to take a step, we’ll take that step.

A beautiful umbrella – one of many.

There’re always reminders of how this might end.

Thanks for reading!

Camera: Canon 600D

Legacy Lens: Vivitar 24mm f 2.8

Street Colours at Admiralty

Posted on November 7, 2014November 12, 2014 by eddietay in Colour

Do you hear the people sing?

Singing the song of angry men?

It is the music of the people

Who will not be slaves again

When the beating of your heart

Echoes the beating of the drums

There is a life about to start

When tomorrow comes.

Do you hear the people sing?

Singing the song of angry men?

It is the music of the people

Who will not be slaves again

When the beating of your heart

Echoes the beating of the drums

There’s a life about to start

When tomorrow comes.

Do you hear the people sing?

Singing the song of angry men?

It is the music of the people

Who will not be slaves again

When the beating of your heart

Echoes the beating of the drums

There’s a life about to start

When tomorrow comes.

Camera: Canon 600D

Legacy Lens: Meyer Optik Gorlitz Lydith 30mm f 3.5

Song: “Do you hear the people sing” from the musical Les Misérables

Causeway Bay Monochrome

Posted on November 5, 2014November 5, 2014 by eddietay in Monochrome

There’s a road map.

Is anyone reading?

Is anyone listening?

There are prayers.

We’re reading.

So much to think about.

The work of waiting.

The work of gesturing.

Do not forget.

Keep on remembering.

Teach the young.

Camera: Leica M6

Lens: Voigtlander 35mm F 1.4 Nokton Classic SC

Film: Ilford XP2

Colours at Causeway Bay

Posted on November 3, 2014November 12, 2014 by eddietay in Colour

The protesters at Causeway Bay are still there, waiting.

Hope expresses itself in so many ways.

There’s festivity in the colours.

Hope is in the air.

The students are doing their homework, taking up the work of creating a home.

The umbrellas will not let us forget.

The tents will not let us forget the future of Hong Kong.

So many messages are being sent.

Camera: Canon 600D

Legacy Lens: Meyer Optik Lydith 30mm f 3.5

Street Colours at Mong Kok

Posted on October 31, 2014November 12, 2014 by eddietay in Colour

Another day on the streets of Mong Kok.

It’s different every time.

I’m pretty sure the above weren’t here the other day.

This is the work of bricolage – the art of making do.

The details change.

But the task of reading and understanding goes on.

What Hong Kong wants is not very hard to understand.

Umbrellas, society and home – who doesn’t want those?

Perhaps the barricades could be a bridge some day.

There’re mobile libraries here.

A community serving a community.

We’ve to learn to read.

There’s a willingness to do the work of waiting.

Cheeky umbrellas.

The minions are still waiting with good humour.

The umbrellas descend.

Mong Kok has a new look these days.

Again, humour.

Waiting.

Some more humour. True democracy is a fortress.

There’s a message here to be deciphered.

Safety.

There’s healing waiting to be done.

The police love Hong Kong too.

If there is no love, respect and peace, there’s no Hong Kong.

What else can we do, except to pray for wisdom on all sides.

Camera: Canon 600D

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

Mong Kok: Colourful Preoccupations

Posted on October 29, 2014November 12, 2014 by eddietay in Colour

Mong Kok has become colourful and purposeful.

Something is waiting to happen.

The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind…

Waiting.

Intentions.

It’s all on the wall.

The barricades.

Even the minions are here, patiently manning the barricades.

We’re all tourists here.

The lion wants true universal suffrage.

The people are here to stay.

Resting.

Reading.

The umbrellas were indeed open at 6p.m., 28th October, to remember the teargas used by the police on the protesters a month ago.

It says “Stop unethical policing”, not “stop policing”.

There is still a need for law and order.

Camera: Canon 600D

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

Notes to Self

Posted on October 24, 2014October 24, 2014 by eddietay in Colour

The past few posts have been about Occupy Central.

After all, we could only occupy what’s central to our hearts.

This post is a change of pace.

I’ve talked about a few sights on the campus where I work in this post.

It’s a 20-minute walk down the hill from my office and it gives me time to think about what I’m doing and where I’m going in terms of my poetry, photography, research and teaching.

We all need space to dwell and grow.

I’m grateful to be where I am, in an unpretentious and authentic space, in service of a community I feel committed to.

Once in a while, you need to be empty in order to be filled.

So yes, I’ll need to fill up that container eventually (figuratively speaking).

And find a sense of balance.

Sometimes, I take a 5-minute detour and I’ll see this on my way home.

That red flower is beautiful, but it is beautiful not in itself, but in where it is.

And 5 minutes later, I’ll see this.

We swim in the pond in which we find ourselves.

And in every moment there is a painterly harmony to be sought.

This is what I’m looking for in my photographs and in my work in general, and what I’m looking for in myself.

Camera: Leica M6

Lens: Voigtlander 35mm F 1.4 Nokton Classic SC

Film: Fuji Natura 1600

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