Long Distance Street Photography

A good rule is worth breaking once in a while.

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There’s a quote attributed to Robert Capa that if your photos aren’t good enough, it’s because you aren’t close enough.

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Hence, the usual advice is to go for 28mm or 35mm lenses.

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But hey, sometimes it’s worth doing the opposite, just to see what happens.

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You look for colours.

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You look for grids.

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Blocky rectangular grids.

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There’s a story waiting to happen.

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On another day at Central.

Thanks for reading!

Camera: Canon Prima Twin S

Film: Kodak Ultramax 400

Canon Prima Twin S

Behold the Canon Prima Twin S!

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There’s 2 lenses here – the 38mm and 70mm.

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I figure it would be useful for street photography from 2 different distances.

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These are views from the escalators at Central.

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That’s Gage Street.

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Things get grungy here.

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It gets blurry – though I’d rather like the painterly effect.

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Thanks for reading!

 

Camera: Canon Prima Twin S

Film: Kodak Ultramax 400

Visual Treats

Yellow and red go well together.

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There’s something about film photography which gives that saturated look.

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That blue is nostalgia blue.

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White is off-white.

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There are many colours along the street.

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The street may look back at you.

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Though you may try to be unobtrusive.

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That’s the  beauty of the street.

Thanks for reading!

Camera: Olympus XA3

Film: Kodak UltraMax 400

 

Living Within Ourselves

We’re all caught within our own worlds.

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Not quite looking even when we’re looking.

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It’s an accumulation of life.

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A kind of mobility.

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We pace ourselves.

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A universe in a phone.

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A map is not the same as the world.

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Still we look at the map.

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We can’t live outside ourselves.

Camera: Olympus XA3

Film: Kodak UltraMax 400

 

 

 

 

Hong Kong Street Poetry: Exhibition Setup and Opening

Here’re some photos of the exhibition opening and setup.

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It’s nice of them to make available the exhibition posters and invitation cards as takeaways for guests.

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My initial concern was the number of photographs (and hence the display boards) relative to the size of the venue but it turned out to be alright. It’s not too sparse and not too cramped.

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I’m grateful to Prof. Victor Chan, Head of Chung Chi College, for opening the exhibition. He’s a composer and conductor and so understands what it means to be immersed in one’s art.

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I got to read a few poems. Some of those photographs will be published alongside their accompanying poems in a related book project next year.

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It’s a different feeling – having physical prints exhibited, as opposed to looking at images on a screen.

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I did get into a few conversations about my choice of subjects.

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I organized the photographs in terms of colour vs monochrome, as well as themes (rural, urban, indoors, outdoor, traffic, streets, etc).

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I’d admit to feeling nervous when I saw a few people scrutinizing those prints closely…

The exhibition runs for a month and will close on 4th Dec 2015.

Do come by if you’re in the area!

Many thanks to R and K for taking the photos!

My gratitude to R and her colleagues for mounting those photos onto the boards!

Exhibition Poster

Here’s the exhibition poster!

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I’ll be reading a few poems at the opening ceremony (5th Nov 2015, 5pm) and some of the photographs with accompanying poems will appear in my forthcoming 2016 book. It’s open to public. Come by if you’re in the area!

The Management of Space

We’re all very space conscious in Hong Kong.

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Everyone is watchful.

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Are windows for looking in or looking out?

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We’re mindful of where not to go.

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We know where we are at all times.

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Even nature has discipline.

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A tree bends to seek a path.

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A home is both inside and outside.

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Storage space is outside.

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A home is a store.

Camera: Contax TVS II

Film: Venus 800

Exhibition Prep

So, I’m in the midst of preparing for a solo photography exhibition, to be held on campus.

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And experimenting with various papers I’ve collected.

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Photographs on mobile phone/tablet/computer screens are not the same as print photographs.

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The materiality of photography is a fascinating thing indeed.

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Some printing mistakes, and a few books that inspire me.

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I’m teaching an MA course on social media, photography and writing, so many ideas are floating around in my head even as I’m prepping for the exhibition.

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It’s all coming together … photography, literature, critique.

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Nietzsche, Foucault, etc., have asked that question – how can we live our lives deliberately, such that our lives become works of art?

Another Place in HK

Sometimes, we need to disappear into that rabbit hole.

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To an alternative Hong Kong.

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Where you could walk at your own pace and not worry about obstructing others on a crowded pavement.

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You could take your time (and not have it taken away from you).

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You could just stay put.

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Have some peace of mind.

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And mental space.

Camera: Contax TVS II

Film: Fuji Venus 800