A Thinking Street Photography Site
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
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
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.
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
It never ends – this appreciation for a more laid-back lifestyle.
It’s probably ideal, rather than actual.
Still, it’s worth keeping in mind.
We’re all tourists to this thought, this possibility.
It can be commercialized, of course.
There are those who buy the idea.
Those who consume it and are consumed by it.
We all gaze with a kind of desire.
It all makes sense when there’s a vendor.
Satiation.
Wants, desires and goods – a life that makes sense.
A meaning-making kind of sense.
Camera: Leica M6
Lens: Voigtlander Nokton Classic 35mm f/1.4 SC
Film: Ilford XP2
Some more thoughts of Cheung Chau.
One photograph, one thought.
It’s a nice local economy one could believe in.
It’s a personable economy.
A joyful economy.
Though sometimes you’d have to wait for a bit.
Public sculptures.
There’s time for a conversation.
Time to stroll.
Time to sort it all out.
It’s all very laid back.
Part of it is in shadow.
It’s not always peachy.
There’re always things to buy!
People to look at.
And a wall to lean on.
Camera: Leica M6
Lens: Voigtlander Nokton Classic 35mm f/1.4 SC
Film: Ilford XP2
On Cheung Chau island.
The atmosphere is rather relaxed.
One could dream of a life here.
It’s one of those possible doorways.
One could just stand here and admire the wall.
Lack of love?
An advertising and laundry space.
Very homely.
Though sometimes we could be in a hurry.
Oh I’m dreaming I’m dreaming of a slower pace of life.
Is it possible?
It is possible.
Maybe I’m romanticizing too much.
It’s a possibility, I suppose.
Camera: Leica M6
Lens: Voigtlander Nokton Classic 35mm f/1.4 SC
Film: Ilford XP2
There’s nothing like a short walk to get away from the city, even if it’s just for a bit.
We all need breaks.
A short climb.
Getting there.
So one could disappear.
There’s a haiku in there waiting to be written…
Camera: Leica M6
Lens: Voigtlander Nokton Classic 35mm f/1.4 SC
Film: Ilford XP2
It goes without saying that space is at a premium in Hong Kong.
This is true even in the more rural areas.
Things need to stay organized.
Nature needs to know its place.
Heidegger: “Everywhere everything is ordered to stand by, to be immediately at hand, indeed to stand there just so that it may be on call for a further ordering. Whatever is ordered about in this way has its own standing. We call it the standing-reserve.”
It’s all standing by.
Nothing is to be wasted.
It’s all about discipline.
Places to go, and places you can’t go.
All these structures are standing, even in our literal absence.
Camera: Leica M6
Lens: Voigtlander Nokton Classic 35mm f/1.4 SC
Film: Ilford XP2
We’re all caught within our own worlds.
Not quite looking even when we’re looking.
It’s an accumulation of life.
A kind of mobility.
We pace ourselves.
A universe in a phone.
A map is not the same as the world.
Still we look at the map.
We can’t live outside ourselves.
Camera: Olympus XA3
Film: Kodak UltraMax 400
Hong Kong Lucida 