voigtlander – Page 4 – Hong Kong Lucida

Life Follows Function

Posted on December 8, 2014December 8, 2014 by eddietay in About Singapore, Monochrome

Here’s a mishmash of images of Singapore, significant to myself.

Though the underlying theme here is about how we try to snatch something beautiful out of what is essentially functional.

Form follows function in much of Singapore.

Life, too, follows function: poetry is a luxury we cannot afford.

There is one way only. The rest is barred.

If you live with it long enough, it becomes beautiful.

Draw the curtains.

Poetry delayed is poetry denied.

We are at the zoo.

The helpful tram driver and a passenger.

After the animal show – poetry is found after the event.

Reflections in the MRT.

The tree is obedient, bent in the wind.

Perhaps something is poetry after all…

Thanks for reading.

Camera: Leica M6

Lens: Voigtlander 35mm f 1.4 Nokton SC

Film: Ilford XP2

Occupy Central: A Monochrome Meditation

Posted on November 23, 2014November 22, 2014 by eddietay in Monochrome

All images were taken with one camera, one lens, on the same roll of film and on the same day.

This is a visual meditation on Occupy Central.

Once upon a time, Occupy Central was an idea. It was an event that was yet to come.

It then became an event.

It will be an event that is always already present, even if it ends today or at some point in the future.

At Admiralty.

At Mong Kok.

At Causeway Bay.

Thanks for reading.

Camera: Leica M6

Lens: Voigtlander Nokton Classic 35mm f 1.4 SC

Film: Ilford XP2 400

Causeway Bay Monochrome

Posted on November 5, 2014November 5, 2014 by eddietay in Monochrome

There’s a road map.

Is anyone reading?

Is anyone listening?

There are prayers.

We’re reading.

So much to think about.

The work of waiting.

The work of gesturing.

Do not forget.

Keep on remembering.

Teach the young.

Camera: Leica M6

Lens: Voigtlander 35mm F 1.4 Nokton Classic SC

Film: Ilford XP2

Notes to Self

Posted on October 24, 2014October 24, 2014 by eddietay in Colour

The past few posts have been about Occupy Central.

After all, we could only occupy what’s central to our hearts.

This post is a change of pace.

I’ve talked about a few sights on the campus where I work in this post.

It’s a 20-minute walk down the hill from my office and it gives me time to think about what I’m doing and where I’m going in terms of my poetry, photography, research and teaching.

We all need space to dwell and grow.

I’m grateful to be where I am, in an unpretentious and authentic space, in service of a community I feel committed to.

Once in a while, you need to be empty in order to be filled.

So yes, I’ll need to fill up that container eventually (figuratively speaking).

And find a sense of balance.

Sometimes, I take a 5-minute detour and I’ll see this on my way home.

That red flower is beautiful, but it is beautiful not in itself, but in where it is.

And 5 minutes later, I’ll see this.

We swim in the pond in which we find ourselves.

And in every moment there is a painterly harmony to be sought.

This is what I’m looking for in my photographs and in my work in general, and what I’m looking for in myself.

Camera: Leica M6

Lens: Voigtlander 35mm F 1.4 Nokton Classic SC

Film: Fuji Natura 1600

Occupy Central: A Festivity

Posted on October 8, 2014October 8, 2014 by eddietay in Monochrome

Occupy Central is, of course, a political protest.

But more than that – it is a festival.

A celebration of a city becoming itself.

A joyful gathering of sorts.

Everyone has a message to share.

The world is here – judging from the different languages.

So many dreams and hopes, so much energy.

The children are here.

There is music. This is a celebration.

Though there’re reminders of how serious this is, as a protest.

Remember what the umbrellas are for.

Marx: “Philosophers have interpreted the world in various ways; the point is to change it.”

The students, the future, have spoken.

Now it’s time to figure things out.

Camera: Leica M6;

Lens: Voigtlander Nokton Classic 35mm F/1.4;

Film: Ilford XP2 400.

Street Photography with my Leica M6

Posted on September 21, 2014September 19, 2014 by eddietay in Monochrome

Street photography is to some extent about the art of making do.

I tend to think that street photographers are in the same category as street musicians, street performers and street hawkers.

There is technique but it’s the kind of technique shaped by being immersed in a specific environment, rather than one accrued by looking at charts, manuals, and pixels on computer screens.

I am in many ways reassured by David Gibson’s comments in his book The Street Photographer’s Manual, in which he says: “My technique is to get technique out of the way so that I can take pictures” (pg. 36).

He talks about respected street photographers who use the P mode (and cracked a photographer’s joke about “P” being the professional mode).

This is the view from my office window – what I like about it is the contrast between nature (the hill) and the man-made (the air-conditioning whatchamacallit box-thing sticking out).

I pay attention to composition, once I get the thing with the aperture/shutter speed and focus out of the way.

So, buying a new lens for my Leica M6 provokes a crucial question about technique: what could a 35mm lens do that my 50mm Summicron couldn’t?

If you have a 50mm lens, take 2 steps back and you have a 35mm lens… that’s street wisdom.

But a 50mm lens gives me that reach, as when I’m trying to capture part of a building, as in above.

Or when I’m taking a picture like the one above. (Could you guess where I was?)

All photos above are taken with my 50mm Summicron Type II lens.

The rest below are with my newly acquired used Voigtlander 35mm f/1.4 Nokton Classic SC, which I think of as a budget (relatively speaking in Leica land) “old-school” lens for Leica film shooters.

All images from this post are from the same roll of film: Fuji Neopan 400CN.

Was it money well spent?

Well … I couldn’t have taken the above shot otherwise, unless I take 2 steps back, which would have placed me in the path of traffic at Nathan Road at Tsim Sha Tsui during rush hour.

I would have captured a smaller portion of the building above.

Ditto.

Ditto at Shamshuipo.

There’s a hard-edged feel to the above that I like.

I was trying to capture both people and buildings. The light wasn’t so good that day.

This was on another day, with better light.

Hmm… this brings me back to 1960s newsprint…

Somehow the composition looks complete.

The f 1.4 aperture means I could do some indoors street photography…

Can you guess how the above was done?

Hint: it’s not double-exposure, and I don’t use Photoshop.

So anyway, I hope I’ve convinced you (and myself) why that 35mm Voigtlander lens was necessary.

Now that I have 2 lenses, what’s missing of course is another Leica body.

Perhaps a Leica M4 body might be a good backup/variant for the M6… which means I could do a double Leica combo on the streets…

Thanks for reading, and check out my Saatchi Art page!

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