Shanghai Digital

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.

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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.

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

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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.

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

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

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Intriguing cables against historical architecture.

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Some more cables against building windows.

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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”.

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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).

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Lots of potential here on a rainy day.

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This is street photography from a cab.

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Nice rainy red flare.

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Watch out!

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We survived and went to a museum.

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A very distinguished-looking man.

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I like the colors here.

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In front of a gigantic goldfish tank.

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

 

 

 

 

Shanghai Colours

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.

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

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

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

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Taking a break.

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He glared at me.

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

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Yay! Three modes of transport in a single image.

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

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

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Children being children.

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Fashionable Shanghai.

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Hard at work.

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Waiting.

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Yummy street food! (Resist I must.)

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

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A security kiosk with my reflection.

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

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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.

 

Shanghai Monochrome: On Finding Your Street in Street Photography

I was in Shanghai last week and so, quite naturally, I brought along 3 cameras.

Assuming the scans turn out fine, we’ll have quite a few posts on Shanghai.

A warm up shot while hiding behind a pole.

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Quite literally, this is street photography.

I walked up and down the same street for about an hour, happily snapping away.

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This is Huashan Road on a weekend mid-morning.

There’re lots of malls along this road.

I was told this is where Shanghai people do their shopping, whereas those malls at Nanjing Road are for clueless tourists.

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I suppose a shot like this is not too difficult.

While I was in his face, his attention was elsewhere.

It’s amazing how people (myself included) are generally unaware of other people.

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I was distracted (only) momentarily by the yummy international (check out the flags) street food… but resist I must.

After all, as a street photographer, I need to know myself.

I have yet to master Level Nine of Street Photography Kungfu, which involves taking photographs while munching on a chicken wing.

I hear that very few people attain this level in their lifetime.

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Shanghai people are known for their very cosmopolitan dress sense.

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People here are generally very stylish.

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Handbags do matter, as my wife tells me.

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There goes a happy couple.

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Another strolling couple.

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Teenagers out for a walk.

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A street vendor selling handmade miniature bicycles.

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I chatted with him for a bit – he says it takes 4 hours to make one, and they go for 40RMB, in case I’m interested.

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I assume they’re policemen – they always walk in pairs.

I’m right in front of them with my camera, and they seem quite used to having their photographs taken.

They’re actually quite friendly, as many people stop them to ask for directions.

The advice though, needs a bit of work. Once in a while, I hear them say “walk in that direction for a bit and ask someone there”.

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People at work – I’m quite proud of the composition here. The bodies are pointing to the centre, guiding the eyes to where the boss is.

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Ladies chatting.

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Scooters, motorbikes and bicycles are very popular modes of transport here.

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There’re special lanes for bikes and scooters.

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A scooter on the road.

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A scooter on the pavement.

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Scooters and bikes parked on the pavement, with an attendant.

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Interesting scooter handles. That’s a good hack.

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This person spotted me and stared for a bit.

Naturally, I responded with the street photographer’s standard operation procedure.

I fumbled with my camera, tried to look confused, and uttered a few choice words in a lesser-known Klingon dialect

All images here were taken with my relatively hard-to-find Minolta Af-C with an unbelievably accurate meter, loaded with the acclaimed chromogenic BW film, Ilford XP2 400.

They’re all from the same roll of film.

The light was good that day.

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

Thanks for coming by!

 

 

Purchasing Schemes

Again we choose.

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We decide.

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We look.

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Hmm…

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That one! Yes!

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This is the season.

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We’re in season.

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We stop to think.

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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!

 

Decisions

So many to choose from!

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We follow our appetites.

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We make the effort.

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We are exasperated.

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We lose ourselves.

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Oh yes! A real decision!

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We have the luxury of time.

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We calculate.

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We choose again.

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All images here are from my trusty Minolta AF-C, loaded with Kodak Professional BW400CN film.

Some images from this post are available as affordable open edition prints at my Saatchi Art page for collectors.

Do drop by to have a look.

 

Shenzhen Shopping Monochrome

For the images here, I’ve done a B/W conversion from Fuji Venus 800 film loaded on Olympus XA2.

I’ve done a minimal bit of tweaking for some high contrast.

To my eyes, they look somewhat raw and harassed.

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Here’s another one of Luohu Commercial City, viewed  at a lower level.

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You could see this is a popular place for bargains.

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The above composition looks quirky – though it looks strangely apt.

This is how we see things – artlessly.

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I’m up close, and they’re too busy negotiating prices to notice.

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Why is it that yummy food is always unhealthy food?

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That’s the way we see things sometimes – blurred and hurried.

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You could see I lingered for a bit at this stall…

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Check out those food on the skewers …

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And yes, let’s not forget the man who winked at my wife…

Some images from this post are available here as affordable prints, in case you haven’t checked out my Saatchi Art page yet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shenzhen Shopping

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.

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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.

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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.

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We got our phone covers there for about RMB20 each.

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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.

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

It really is a labyrinth.

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Quick, quick, before I’m spotted.

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

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

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And, yay, food street!

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Street food!

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Yummy pig trotters!

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Yummy Taiwan-style sausages!

Green chilli with rolled bacon!

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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 …

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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

Every day, we do the same thing.

We wait.

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We’re waiting for something to happen.

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

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

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We have a choice, we think.

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We choose.

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We consult.

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And hope for the best.

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And then we eat.

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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

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.

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

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

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Hong Kong people work really hard.

We keep saying that Hong Kong is a shopping paradise.

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Of course, we need people to service the economy.

There are shoppers just as there are delivery people.

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A salute to the people who keep things going.

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

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We should make it a point to notice people more …

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To see the difference between glamour and real people.

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

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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

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.

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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.

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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.

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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 …

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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We glance at one another so as to be polite.

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We learn not to look too directly at people.

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