A Thinking Street Photography Site
All that labour.
Those goods on display.
Yummy stuff.
Sometimes we don’t see all the work that goes into work.
We negotiate a life.
And a city emerges.
It’s bigger than us.
The labour of thinking.
Camera: Leica M6
Lens: Voigtlander Nokton Classic 35mm f/1.4 SC
Film: Ilford XP2 400
Today, we look at the act of pushing.
All that work, all day, must mean something.
This is us.
We sort things out.
We go from place to place.
From place to place it must mean something.
The pull of desire.
All that pushing…
Camera: Leica M6
Lens: Voigtlander Nokton Classic 35mm f/1.4 SC
Film: Ilford XP2 400
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
We’re all looking for something.
There’s a gap in our lives.
If only that gap could be filled, we’ll be happy.
We all want something.
Anything.
A friend.
A thing.
To whet an appetite.
After that, the world would make more sense.
Camera: Leica M6
Lens: Voigtlander Nokton Classic 35mm f/1.4 SC
Film: Kodak BW400CN
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
We look again.
We are on a quest.
Where are the keys to our lives?
We look up.
We look again.
Sometimes we do not look.
We’re too involved in ourselves.
And then you’re challenged by a look.
You look elsewhere.
Anything to recompose yourself.
Camera: Contax TVS II
Film: Fuji Superia 400
I happened to chance on a folder I tucked away a few months back.
I remember not being satisfied with the pictures.
I though the colours were a bit off.
Then I looked again and decided they’re pretty okay after all.
This is Hong Kong.
This is Hong Kong.
This is Hong Kong.
Sometimes a door opens.
And we see ourselves as we truly are.
Camera: Contax TVS II
Film: Fuji Superia 400
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
There’s so much to see.
And street photography forces one to stop and be grateful.
We’re often framed by things we buy and sell.
There’s a tale of capitalism waiting to be told.
We give in to what we want.
Our appetites.
There’re always boxes to open.
Things to sell.
People to talk to.
There’s money to be made.
Conversations to have.
And there’s the wait.
Wholesome food.
Fabric of a city.
Camera: Leica M6
Lens: Voigtlander Nokton Classic 35mm 1.4 SC
Film: Kodak BW400CN
Hong Kong Lucida 