art – Page 2 – Hong Kong Lucida

Exhibition Prep

Posted on October 19, 2015October 27, 2015 by eddietay in Colour

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

And experimenting with various papers I’ve collected.

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

The materiality of photography is a fascinating thing indeed.

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

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.

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

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

People and Things

Posted on October 5, 2015September 30, 2015 by eddietay in Colour

There’s nothing new under the sun with street photography.

There are things.

There are people.

And there are things.

There are people and there are things.

There’s no end to looking.

Camera: Olympus XA 3

Film: Kodak UltraMax 400

Olympus XA2 at Brick Lane

Posted on August 21, 2015August 7, 2015 by eddietay in Monochrome

That’s part of a performance: it’s the London edition of Singapore: Inside Out.

The street composes itself.

Young artists.

Rectangular grids are easy to do.

The street is its own art.

The people and the streets are one.

Respect the street.

Thanks for reading!

Camera: Olympus XA2

Film: Ilford XP2 400

Looking for Inspiration

Posted on April 24, 2015April 21, 2015 by eddietay in Monochrome

Inspiration – that sudden realization.

Some find it in trees.

Others find it in rocks.

Many find it in the interaction between the built and natural environment.

There’s a biblical angle to inspiration, akin to revelation.

What is the street asking of me these days?

What is my street?

Is it an impersonal grid?

Is there a personality emerging?

Where is the street these days?

These are all reflections of our selves.

Camera: Leica M6

Lens: Voigtlander Nokton Classic 35mm f/1.4 SC

Film: Kodak BW400CN

Let the People Walk

Posted on April 12, 2015April 9, 2015 by eddietay in Uncategorized

Stand at a corner and look confused.

Fumble with my camera long enough and someone will walk past.

I’ll look a bit lost and confused and frown at my camera.

I wasn’t holding the camera to my eye.

Another favourite activity: aim at the window.

And let people get in my way.

I’ve come to appreciate photographs that look like they were taken accidentally.

Street photography is an art that requires artlessness.

Camera: Leica M6

Lens: Voigtlander Nokton Classic 35mm f/1.4 SC

Film: Kodak BW400CN

Art of Immersion

Posted on April 3, 2015April 3, 2015 by eddietay in Uncategorized

We do our own thing.

We do it easily – this art of immersion within ourselves.

We close down.

Read ourselves.

And this makes a life.

Camera: Leica M6

Lens: Voigtlander Nokton Classic 35mm f/1.4 SC

Film: Kodak BW400CN

Art of Buying

Posted on March 20, 2015March 12, 2015 by eddietay in Monochrome

These are poses we adopt.

We pause.

We think.

Should I?

I want! I want!

Do I need this?

We have an expertise.

We need a poultice.

I need this.

I want this.

Yum.

Buying, after all, is an art we’re good at.

Camera: Leica M6

Lens: Voigtlander Nokton Classic 35mm f/1.4 SC

Film: Kodak BW400CN

First Roll of Film from Spotmatic F (Part 2 of 2)

Posted on January 30, 2015January 27, 2015 by eddietay in Colour

So – vision, shot precision, follow through.

As with weapons training (see previous post), so it is with street photography.

It’s giving me an insight as to what constitutes expertise.

There is expertise that comes with knowledge of the field – where you’re situated, what you have to offer in relation to what other people in your field have to offer, how it all fits in with what society (and the market) demands, and whether or not (or how) you would adjust to that demand.

Related to that, there’s the kind of expertise (i.e. skills) that can only come with painstaking preparation, training, multiple failures, as you move from naivete and self-ridicule to familiarity and finally (hopefully) to mastery.

It’s a journey from innocence to experience.

And with experience, hopefully, one could be innocent all over again.

You don’t truly master anything. As you can see, I’ve read my William Blake.

Do I dare disturb the universe? (I’m quoting T. S. Eliot here.)

The above gentleman spotted me right after I took the shot.

He put on his hat, walked right up to me, snarled, laughed, tapped my shoulder, and then walked away.

So naturally I felt compelled to carry on.

I stood at one spot and aimed at the wall.

I’m really not sure why I do things like this.

I suppose this is where art comes from.

Camera: Honeywell Pentax Spotmatic F

Lens: 24mm S-M-C Takumar F 3.5

Film: Kodak UltraMax 400

Loosening Up in Street Photography

Posted on January 5, 2015January 5, 2015 by eddietay in Monochrome

I’m a bit of a maximizer (as opposed to a satisficer) when it comes to choosing/doing things.

I try to find out all there is to know before making a decision.

When it comes to execution, I try to go through the various steps in my mind in order to get everything right beforehand.

Which is why zone focusing and street photography is such a re-creation for me.

We’re working with a circumference of acceptability.

Is good enough good enough? There’s motion blur here which adds to the sense of movement.

I was close enough, but it doesn’t mean I could see clearly.

And if we don’t always notice everything around us, why should we demand a photography that sees everything accurately and in sharp focus?

On the other hand, how much loosening up can one do before one loses discipline?

There’s a spectrum here, between trying to get everything clinically right and hence losing the moment and operating without some sort of discipline, as if one is holding a camera for the first time.

Sometimes, good enough is good enough in street photography.

Try to get everything right and one might lose the “street”.

There’s that tendency to overthink and hence lose the art.

On the other hand, one must possess discipline in order to lose it.

So my job is to learn everything I can, and then forget all I have learnt.

Imperfection is an art in itself.

And so is perfection.

And perhaps art is about improvising and about knowing how to move back and forth between perfection and imperfection.

Thanks for reading.

Camera: Leica M6

Lens: Summicron 50mm Type II

Film: Ilford XP 2

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

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