*Before his time*
Fuji GW690iii + Rollei RPX25
If you like bokeh as I do, shooting slow film seems like a no brainer. On a bright, sunny day, I walked around the Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris to find subjects that would work well at shallow apertures. This is probably my favourite shot from that roll, it’s gentle and melancholy.
*Sanctuary*
Holga + JCH400
This is possibly my favourite place in the Hong Kong Catholic Cemetery in Happy Valley. It’s melancholy and beautiful, the tomb framed by those two tree trunks. I love the softness of the Holga in this context.
*Lit Crosses*
Holga + JCH400
Massive light leak on this one, but I think it works really well. Burnt sky plus light leak for the win!
*The Column*
Holga + JCH400
After a ten year long hiatus I’ve given toy photography a new try, and I like the results a lot more than I did ten years ago. Guess I didn’t have the confidence to realise that sharp isn’t an end unto itself. I did a fair few of these shots in the Hong Kong Cemetery in Happy Valley, and I love the mood.
*Catholic Cemetery*
Fuji GW690iii + Fuji Neopan 100 Acros ii
On the tiny Island of Yim Tin Tsai, there’s an abandoned Hakka village that was evangelised in the XIXth century. The island was abandoned in the middle of the XXth century but can still be visited. In addition to the derelict houses, there’s a chapel (still in use) and a catholic cemetery. I liked the hillside cemetery a lot, with its mix of Chinese and Catholic iconography.
*Tombstones in the Grass*
Fuji TX2 + Rollei RPX25
I really like this picture although it shoes how delicate exposure can be. I measured the exposure on the tomb at the right of the frame, but I now wished I’d tried a version metered on the one on the far left. Might have been even moodier. Even so, I think there’s something nicely graphic about this haphazard collection of tombstones.
*Twin Crosses*
Fuji TX2 + Rollei RPX25
After a few visits, there are a few locations I have already identified as having graphic potential in the Hong Kong cemetery. These two crosses framing a tombstone behind them are amongst them. When I went last time in the morning, I was shooting expired Scala, and the contrast was sadly not there. This time I went late afternoon but the direction of the light nicely framed those crosses, I felt.
*Gravestones and Shadows*
Fuji TX2 + Rollei RPX25
One of the initial ideas for this shoot when picking RPX25 – a high-constrast, low sensitity film – was to expose for the highlights at dusk and therefore get really deep blacks. This shot really exemplifies that approach. The composition is probably not strong enough for it to really work, but I like the look of it, it’s just a matter of finding a better subject and a stronger composition next time.
*The Forlorn Graves*
Fuji TX2 + Rollei RPX25
I love the Hong Kong Cemetery, but until my last visit I couldn’t find the way to go up the slope. I could see some graves under the trees on the valley ridge, but didn’t know how to get there. On my last visit I finally spotted a small side path to go up the slope. I went to the very top, where I saw those small gravestones, lost in the high grass and clearly not tended. They moved me, perhaps more than other, more formal graves, and so I took that shot in the dying light.
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