Colour – Page 13 – Hong Kong Lucida

Shanghai Digital

Posted on July 16, 2014July 17, 2014 by eddietay in Colour

The images in my previous posts on Shanghai were made with film cameras.

I’ll go digital here, with a non-descript but able-bodied Canon 600D paired with that nifty-fifty (50mm, f 1.8 II) lens, which gives me an 80mm focal length with the 1.6x crop factor.

80mm is a long reach for street photography, but it’s a good complement given the 35mm focal lengths of my Olympus XA2 and Minolta AFC, and the Summicron 50mm of my Leica M6.

And 80mm means I’m far away enough for the shutter sound to be inaudible.

The above were taken at a shopping mall in Shanghai known as Raffles City.

Fellow Singaporeans would recognize that name, because there’s a Raffles City in Singapore too.

The one in Shanghai is owned/developed by CapitaLand, the real estate company based in Singapore. I almost feel at home here, surrounded by many Singapore retail shops/brands.

Let’s not forget there’s a Gini coefficient at work here too…

A fellow tourist on an open-air double decker bus.

Intriguing cables against historical architecture.

Some more cables against building windows.

People waiting for a bus.

The next seven images were taken by my ten-year-old son.

He wanted a go at street photography and I asked him to focus only on 2 things as an assignment of sorts. One, “try to fill the frame” and two, “make sure they’re doing something”.

As you can see, my son is very talented – it’s in the genes… 😉

He’ll inherit all my cameras one day… (he’s been asking about that Leica M6).

Lots of potential here on a rainy day.

This is street photography from a cab.

Nice rainy red flare.

Watch out!

We survived and went to a museum.

A very distinguished-looking man.

This is probably not his day.

I like the colors here.

In front of a gigantic goldfish tank.

Thanks for dropping by, and don’t forget to check out my Saatchi Art page!

Shanghai: Bargain Hunting at Laojie

Posted on July 13, 2014July 17, 2014 by eddietay in Colour

Time to go bargain hunting!

This is Shanghai Laojie (Old Street), a touristy area with lots of “specialty shops” selling various Oriental stuff.

The light was no good (this was just after a drizzle on a really cloudy day), so my poor Olympus XA2 with Fuji Superia 800 was stretched to its limits.

I’m probably forgiving myself too much, but some of the images have a soft-focus painterly look that nonetheless grows on me.

Check out the goods.

I was looking at one of the shirts in a store and the shopkeeper said to me (in English) it’s made of really exquisite material, at only 360RMB.

I nodded and said I would think about it (in Mandarin/Putonghua) and walked away, only to be told two steps later that it’s 180RMB.

I said I’ll think about it.

And she said “Ok, ok, 100RMB final offer. If you don’t believe me, go to the other shops to compare prices and you’ll see this is the best price you’ll get.”

I said I’ll indeed take a quick look at the other shops and she said, “ok, ok – 90 RMB.”

So I bought two.

I’m an expert negotiator, you see. (This was one of those rare moments when my wife was very impressed with me.)

I basically brought the price down from RMB360 to RMB90. (I now suspect the price could have been lowered further.)

I think that at this place, they’re selling generic stuff (from the same suppliers/factories) that can be found at every other shop, and they know that you know.

Hmm…

Yummy traditional snacks!

A shop specializing in chopsticks.

Another one specializing in Oriental curios.

Thanks for stopping by, and please do check out my Saatchi Art page for open edition prints.

Shanghai Colours

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

My previous post was of Shanghai in monochrome, using my Minolta AF-C with Ilford XP2 400 film.

This is my Olympus XA2 talking, speaking the language of Fuji Superia 800.

These 2 cameras with the respective films are my favorite double combo.

We’re still at Huashan Street and its vicinity.

I’m quite proud of this, with the reds at the bottom left as a counterweight to the rest of the image.

The papers fell off and he basically made a U-turn and stopped to pick them up.

Yes, a feisty lauwai (aka gweilo/angmoh/expat/foreigner) who has adapted to Shanghai and its traffic.

Taking a break.

He glared at me.

I said “ni hao” (hello/how are you) and smiled and he rolled his eyes and looked away.

Yay! Three modes of transport in a single image.

I can’t decide whether it’s a small scooter or an electric bicycle…

She glared at me for a bit. So I bowed slightly, smiled and hastened off.

Children being children.

Fashionable Shanghai.

Hard at work.

Waiting.

Yummy street food! (Resist I must.)

I like the redness of the car and his T-shirt.

A security kiosk with my reflection.

The other side of the kiosk (and my reflection).

An alleyway – I like this a lot as it looks rather painterly to me.

Some of the images here are available at my Saatchi Art page as affordable open edition prints. Do check it out.

Purchasing Schemes

Posted on July 4, 2014June 24, 2014 by eddietay in Colour

Again we choose.

We decide.

We look.

Hmm…

That one! Yes!

This is the season.

We’re in season.

We stop to think.

And buy wisely.

All images are taken with my stealthy Contax TVS II with Ferrania Solaris 400 film.

For collectors: some images here are available as open edition affordable prints at my Saatchi Art page.

Thanks for reading!

Shenzhen Shopping

Posted on June 23, 2014June 24, 2014 by eddietay in Colour

Shenzhen is fascinating, if you know how to navigate and where to go.

My wife and I decided to head over the Hong Kong border for a day trip, partly to buy some phone cases for a few friends.

So naturally, I brought along my stealthy Olympus XA2 loaded with Fuji Venus 800.

This is Luohu Commercial City, a warren of shops you could get lost in. We normally go to the restaurant at the top floor.

Once in a while, there is a bit of mild harassment.

On a previous trip, someone followed us for a bit and kept saying “cheap DVDs, cheap DVDs, just follow me” and she got hauled off by 2 policemen.

Some images are rather blurry because of the limitations (indoors, ISO 800 capability of the XA2, need for stealth in narrow places).

Yet it does drive home the furtive, unpredictable and artless aspect of street photography.

We took the subway – 2 stops to Laojie, a shopping district, where, if you know where you are going, you would find yet another warren of shops with even lower prices.

We got our phone covers there for about RMB20 each.

This guy took out a knife and started stabbing at his plastic phone screen cover.

He was trying to tell me it’s a scratch (and stab) proof cover that will really protect my phone’s screen.

I was convinced. That’s my phone he’s working on.

It really is a labyrinth.

Quick, quick, before I’m spotted.

My wife did tell me to choose my photographic subjects wisely.

“Our kids still need a father,” she said.

And, yay, food street!

Street food!

Yummy pig trotters!

Yummy Taiwan-style sausages!

Green chilli with rolled bacon!

Grilled spicy cuttlefish!

He dances as he cooks.

There’s a warning sign next to him saying he sells cuttlefish only and please do not be taken in by his charm …

He winked at my wife!

How dare he.

For collectors: some images from this post are available here as open edition prints.

Waiting, Choosing, Eating

Posted on June 20, 2014June 24, 2014 by eddietay in Colour

Every day, we do the same thing.

We wait.

We’re waiting for something to happen.

Or for someone to come along to give us the answer.

We wait for that big transcendental Other, that Godot, to come along.

We have a choice, we think.

We choose.

We consult.

And hope for the best.

And then we eat.

And after all that, we’ll be merry.

For collectors: some images from this post are available as open edition prints.

Not Shopping at Tsim Sha Tsui

Posted on June 17, 2014 by eddietay in Colour

All images here are shot at Tsim Sha Tsui with the Contax TVS II loaded with Fuji Venus 800 film.

The Contax TVS series of film cameras are gorgeous, with titanium bodies, aperture priority and P modes.

There’s a 28-56 focal length zoom which is ideal for street photography.

For me, they are the more nimble younger siblings of the Contax T3.

Which explains why I went out the other day with the intention of not buying that Contaxt TVS II I had seen, complete with the databack.

This person saw what I was about to do, and smiled.

Check out that SLR camera-thing his buddy behind him was carrying.

Hong Kong people work really hard.

We keep saying that Hong Kong is a shopping paradise.

Of course, we need people to service the economy.

There are shoppers just as there are delivery people.

A salute to the people who keep things going.

Sometimes they are invisible to the shoppers, often faceless and anonymous.

We should make it a point to notice people more …

To see the difference between glamour and real people.

Otherwise, we’re nothing more than mannequins looking at other mannequins.

For collectors: open edition prints from this post are not available here.

I suppose that’s my (ironic) gesture of commitment to the push and pull of capitalist logic…

Leica M6 Summicron Love

Posted on June 15, 2014June 17, 2014 by eddietay in Colour

It’s been a while since I’ve given some love to my Leica M6.

The Minolta AF-C and Contax TVS point-and-shoot combo has pampered me.

The auto-focus and auto-exposure modes do allow me to get into the flow of things, to the point where I’ve come to think of manual focusing and exposure as distractions to stealth and composition.

So I was worried that I’ve lost touch with the Leica M6 routine.

All images here are from Leica M6, 50mm Summicron Type II lens, on Fuji Superia 400.

A little warm up was needed.

Testing testing. Got to be fast on the double-decker bus as the reflections are flitting past. Yes, I can rhyme pretty well.

A little practice on walls.

No prizes for guessing where this is for HK film photography people: that film lab (Dot-Well Photo Workshop) across the road develops your film in 15 mins during non-rush hours, for the princely sum of HK$20.

The people working there exemplify the HK way of doing things – somehow they manage to be gruff, direct, and friendly at the same time. And all those film cameras piled up in there …

And that building (Champagne Court at Kimberley Road) has a magnetic quality to it, given the vintage film camera shops.

I often go there with the intention of not buying a camera.

The prices could be a tad high, compared with the stalls at Shamshuipo.

But it’s really apples vs oranges, since many of the Champagne Court shops cater to collectors who would then place the cameras in their cabinets, whereas the cameras stalls at Shamshuipo are more for users.

Yes, I was spotted, so I did my silly-tourist-frowning-and-muttering-at-his-camera routine.

If they’re within earshot, I would mutter in my Klingon dialect.

I’m happy I’m still able to capture images the way we look at other people in crowded urban landscapes. We see through glimpses.

We glance at one another so as to be polite.

We learn not to look too directly at people.

For collectors: open edition prints from this post are available here.

Fuji Superia Venus 800

Posted on June 12, 2014June 17, 2014 by eddietay in Colour

I usually do very little post-editing, leaving the quality of the film to sort itself out.

But the colours can turn out to be so very different from one exposure to another.

All images here are done with my Contax TVS, with Fuji Superia Venus 800.

The above looks so lomography-ish.

I suppose lomography is point-and-shoot film photography write large.

Then you have this, which seems a bit warm.

And then this:

Greens and blues are rather saturated, with a gritty look to them.

I waited a bit for the green canvas to be spread out, and was spotted.

So I smiled and waved, trying very hard to look like a silly tourist befuddled by his camera.

Oh look – yummy lychees!

And here, the colours are muted.

I was hoping for a silhouette effect.

And then I switched off my camera, turned it on again, and forgot to de-activate the auto-flash function.

The flash went off less than 2 metres from him. He looked at my camera, and didn’t react…

I figured he must be deep in thought, or was he looking at something else…

For collectors: open edition prints from this post are available here.

Analysis Paralysis

Posted on June 6, 2014 by eddietay in Colour, Monochrome

Street photography can be an obsessive endeavour…

One day, I was walking around and I saw this.

And I did another take just in case.

And I went, oops, oops, there’s a bit of condensation on the lens.

Hence the slight foggy effect.

And again, after wiping the lens.

Hmm … the left leg is slightly out of frame.

And again, after zooming out with my feet …

Better, I think.

Check out the stark clarity of the pavement.

Hmm … that’s a Minolta Af-C camera loaded with Neopan 400CN.

Let’s see what my Contax TVS camera loaded with Venus 800 would look like.

Here we go again, after I’ve rummaged through my bag for a bit.

And again.

One last time, I promise.

The image reminds me of a line I wrote in a poem: “It takes ten years to cultivate a tree, a century for a human being”.

It’s from a Chinese proverb “shi2 nian2 shu4 mu4, bai3 nian2 shu4 ren2”.

The things we do in the name of art …

	Larry on The Metropolis and Mental…
	cherylgross on Paris Arcade
	Ashlee Moody on Shanghai Digital Monochrome: P…
	QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ… on Cheung Chau Village Vehicles
	Bradley R on Chicken Rice Stall Series