blackandwhite

Monsieur Loyal

Monsieur Loyal
Canon A2, Lensbaby, Ilford FP4+

In French circus fiction (is that a thing?) the ringmaster is often called Monsieur Loyal (Mister Faithful). Apparently, like many such things, the name derives from  Anselme-Pierre Loyal (1753-1826) who was a famous ringmaster and circus manager. The top hat and the moustache are part of the trademark look, and Thomas here has the former, and the lensbaby makes his goatee half blurred, which give the illusion of a moustache. Hence the name for the photo.

Me, myself and I

Me, myself and I
Canon A2, Lensbaby, Ilford FP4+

I don’t often shoot self-portraits, and when I do, it tends to be because I’m experimenting with something, lighting or framing. But this is technically not exactly a self-portrait although I planned and set it up, someone else framed and pressed the shutter. Still, I like the photo, so I’ll attribute half of the paternity to myself and show it nonetheless.

Dragon’s Breath

Dragon’s Breath
Canon A2, Lensbaby, Ilford FP4+

I hate the smell of smoke and of course the health implications of it (even for me as a passive smoker) but I have to confess that visually, it’s potentially spectacular and nearly always interesting. My friend Julian, the model on this photo, uses an e-cigarette (so it smells of flowers instead of burnt tobacco) that produces these beautiful white clouds. When I was about to shoot I asked him to blow it out of his nose and I absolutely adore the results. This is my best shot of the summer.

Spectacled Hipster

Spectacled Hipster
Canon A2, Lensbaby, Ilford FP4+

One of the amazing things with the Lensbaby, especially for portraits is this impression of a motion blur where there is no motion. I think it works particularly well on this portrait of Manu, who seems more dynamic than the scene really was (though not the guy, he’s dynamic as all hell!)

Deal with the Devil

 

Deal with the Devil
Canon A2, Lensbaby, Ilford FP4+

Back in 2010 I bought a Lensbaby. I was in love with the selective focus and the creamy bokeh… and wasted so many shots because of it. I took me a long time to recognize and admit that selective focus is pointless in most scenes. But a few years ago, I was due to take some family portraits and decided to shoot film portraits with the Lensbaby… and loved the results. Last summer I took a lot of shots of various friends and family, four rolls of Ilford 4+ in all. We had a few accessories during one of those sessions, and Clément’s dark skin, with the top hat and the grin made for a positively devilish photo.

 

Causeway Bay

Causeway Bay
Minox 35ML, Ilford FP4+

Causeway is both quintessentially Hong Kong (dense, loud, always something happening, tons of people) and at the same time one of the most un-Chinese parts of the city. Still, plenty of opportunities there for interesting street shots. I quite like this one: the signs, the tram, the people, the mask…

Trolley Delivery

Trolley Delivery
Minox 35ML, Holga 400

I’ve always been attracted to iron curtains. Some in HK are absolute works of art (not those) but any of them make fantastic backdrops in my book. This photo is a little grainy, but I think that adds to its retro charm, don’t you?

Street Food

Street Food
Minox 35ML, Holga 400

On the summer before I moved to Hong Kong I asked my father if e still had his film camera from the 70s. He dug into his boxes and couldn’t find it, but he did find a Minox 35ML, still in its box. Some German customers gave it to him as a gift in the 80s. I decided to try it out and it was love at first sight. Sure, it’s minimalist, but its so tiny that you can carry it around anywhere, and while focusing is a mostly random exercise, the lens is super sharp. I started adjusting to hyperfocal techniques and over the course of the first few weeks in HK, I shot half a dozen rolls. When they came back though, I found out that this notoriously unreliable camera had crapped out on me. Two of the rolls were blank, and two others were partially exposed only. I stopped using the Minox since I couldn’t find anyone to get it fixed. Still, I got some really good shots out of it, including this shot of a street food stall in Causeway Bay.

The Darker Side of Hong Kong

The Darker Side of Hong Kong
Fuji X100F

As a street photographer, I feel it is natural to be attracted to the more beautiful or picturesque aspects of the places you wander through. And I often am, but occasionally, I try to capture a bit of stark reality as well. To a lot of visitors to Hong Kong, the city seems affluent and modern, and it’s hard to imagine the shocking inequalities that hide underneath the veneer of modernity. This is one small example of it.

Stalked by the Catbus

Stalked by the Catbus
Fuji X100F

The Catbus is one of my favourite characters (albeit secondary) from Miyazaki’s Totoro. Imagine my surprise when I saw that so many of the Hong Kong minibuses are disguised as Catbuses!