A Thinking Street Photography Site
At the TST waterfront.
A bubby tent thing for kids I think.
Dreamy hazy glow.
Cultural Centre with a ghostly look…
A clearer view of the waterfront.
Where are we going?
The ice cream mobile.
The obligatory Orientalist shot of Chinese junk ship sail.
Watch your step!
Buskers … argh … someone’s finger got in the way. Still, I think it’s nicely flawed.
Nice architecture.
Time to walk …
Compositions like these are strangely satisfying …
It’s not difficult.
But the lines seem to be exerting a kind of tension.
Everyone’s in a hurry.
Rush rush rush.
Quick, quick.
She’s sauntering…
Time to slow down…
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
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
I’ve set a challenge for myself – to do tourism slightly differently.
It’s a way of not spending money.
Go to touristy sites and look at tourists.
Turn that obligatory landmark photo into a street photograph.
And then suddenly, everyday life becomes intriguing.
Quiet moments are especially beautiful.
You could still be a tourist in the Tube.
Thanks for reading!
Camera: Olympus XA2
Film: Ilford XP2
There’re no real aims to street photography.
You walk, you see, you shoot and hope it makes visual sense.
It gives one something to do – one could be a tourist in a way as to avoid a degree of manufactured experience.
Go to all the tourist spots – but go at it from a tangent.
Sometimes you wonder why there’s so much of sitting around.
At other times you see there’s another way of seeing – capturing the London Eye without capturing the London Eye.
One could pretend to be a tourist and not stand out from the crowd.
Perhaps there’s such a thing as visual addiction.
By doing street photography, one commits to a certain way of being in the world.
Thanks for reading!
Camera: Olympus XA2
Film: Ilford XP2 400
In general, there’re two approaches available for the street photographer who uses both digital and film cameras.
With a digital camera, you could take multiple shots of the same scene.
You could take a shot that you think might not work but do it just to see what happens.
In other words, you could AFFORD to experiment with a digital camera.
With a film camera, you’d tend to be more circumspect.
This means that film photography reveals your competency.
After all, even if you could afford it, a wasted shot is wasted film.
Thanks for reading.
Camera: Olympus XA2
Film: Ilford XP2 400
Again, in London.
The Hong Kong MTR in London.
Ooh.
Aah.
Kowloon is in London.
Heroic-looking man. There’re 5 people here but the eyes are drawn to a specific person.
The folks at Hamleys.
Along Oxford Street.
Waiting man.
Thanks for reading!
Camera: Canon 600D
Lens: Canon 40mm f/2.8 STM
I was in Singapore for a short working trip, presenting a paper called “The Poetics of Occupy Central – A Photo Essay” at an academic conference.
So of course I brought my camera along.
I spent an evening on my own, a day before wifey joined me at the hotel.
So of course I did the most natural thing that came to me – I pretended to be a tourist at VivoCity.
Darn – I can’t seem to fit a filter on my lens without it vignetting (see top corners).
It seems like my Voigtlander 35mm doesn’t like filters.
I’ve tried a B+W filter, and a Hoya filter as well. They both vignette.
I would be grateful for any advice from readers more knowledgeable than me in this respect.
Crowded shopping malls depress me.
There was a bridal fair – and you realize weddings are very regimental affairs.
Everyone (including myself) is searching for life’s defining moments in a cookie-cutter manner.
There’s a water park of sorts above the mall.
The feeling here is more carefree.
But such scenes are possible only because of the packed shopping crowd below.
They are paid for by all that buying and selling that happens below.
We all buy and sell in our cookie-cutter lives so as to achieve moments like the one above.
Of course, it’s not just Singapore or VivoCity that does this.
One could never be truly outside of VivoCity, even if one leaves.
Thanks for reading.
Camera: Leica M6
Lens: Voigtlander 35mm F 1.4 Nokton SC
Film: Kodak Bw400CN
This is Ladies’ Market at Mongkok.
It’s a short stretch of market stalls popular with tourists and locals alike.
We were a bit early so we got to see the stalls being set up.
This is the ubiquitous red/white/blue canvas.
The material has been used to make awnings, bags, covers, etc.
It was a hot day.
The goods were arriving.
People were doing all these calculations.
Hong Kong, of course, is defined by numbers.
I was using my Olympus XA2.
The 35mm lens was great for tight situations.
I was worried about the shutter speed in the shade and hence was using the Fuji Superia 800 film.
The film has a “powdery” painterly effect sometimes.
Wonderful colours.
Seasoned tourist.
I like the (faux?) leather notebooks.
Hong Kong’s street markets are literally full of colours.
A bit of heartfelt advertising.
I especially like the above image because the slight blur as a result of the camera shake adds to the sense of urgency in the way we look.
A bit of effort.
For collectors: open-edition prints are available at my Saatchi Art page.
Hong Kong Lucida 