*Dogtown*
Ricoh GR1 + Kodak T-Max 400
Sai Kung is a seaside town North-East of Hong-Kong Island. For some reason, either there’s a lot of dog owners there, or dog owners converge there at the same time I go there. Either way, I intend to go back to do a series of nothing but dogs and dog owners. This is one of them. Interestingly, while many people aren’t too happy about being photographed in the street, if you show interest in the dog, they agree readily!
*Waiting for the MTR*
Ricoh GR1 + JCH400
You know this annoying feeling when you’re going to drop film at the lab and the one roll in your camera has only a couple of shots left ? I tend to shoot anything, and it’s virtually always crap. Well, not this time! This is one of those rolls. I think it was even shot in the Lai Chi Kok station where Camera Film Photo is located!
*Sham Shui Po Life*
Ricoh GR1 + Ilford FP4+
Sham Shui Po is an area of Kowloon that feels like it has still retained much of the Hong Kong life of old. It’s busy all times of day (and night, I suspect) with street vendors of all sorts buzzing around. These guys were just setting up, I have no idea what they were selling, but it’s such a typical scene that I thought I would share it.
*The Narrows*
Ricoh GR1 + JCH400
One of the things that feels to me to be uniquely Hong-Kong is the narrow passages that connect the streets. Sometimes they are wide enough for small street markets to live there, but sometimes they’re just so narrow that their only function seems to be as a refuge for smokers.
*Framed!*
Ricoh GR1 + JCH400
The light in Hong Kong can be very harsh, and JCH400 is a great film but very contrasty. So some might argue that the above shot is too contrasty with some blown highlights. And yet to me this is what Hong Kong on a bright day looks like. The woman in the temple door is just a great bonus.
*Moody Lantern Portrait*
Fuji XT3
The beauty of really wide open lenses is that even at night you can do portraits with wonderful background bokeh. This guys was standing a few meters from me, and I waited a while for him to be looking in (roughly) my direction. This is the final shot I selected of a few and I really like it.
*Keep your Lantern Trimmed and Burning*
Fuji XT3
I took a lot of portraits of lantern bearers. I was looking for interesting subjects, but also interesting moments. Here, I liked how the lantern light was directly lighting the young man’s face. Of and yes, the title is a bit of a nod to an old, old song…
*The Dragon’s Head*
Fuji XT3
Getting a good shot of the Dragon’s head is devilishly hard. Since it’s made of rope with only the teeth and eyelamps to actually understand what it is, you need the right angle. Also, it’s nighttime, there’s incense smoke everywhere, and it’s constantly in movement. So I was quite pleased with this shot, and quite thankful I took my f/1.2 lens with me (this was shot at 1.4). The rest of the shot is blurred, but hey, you have to imagine that everything is in motion!
*A Dance with Dragons*
Fuji XT3
Last week-end was the Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance (nothing to do with George RR Martin, despite my facetious title). I had attended last year, with only my trusted 35mm x100F in hand, and while I got a few good shots including this great portrait I felt the need to revisit the event (which is fun in its own right anyway) and try to capture more diverse shots. I carried both my 56mm 1.2 and my 50-140 2.8 and both were put to great use. This is a broad shot of the wonderfully lit lantern display at the top of Wun Sha Street where the Dragon is dressed with incense sticks.
*Checking the Bill*
Fuji x100F
You know by now that I find the barechested men in Hong Kong (and elsewhere in China) interesting subjects. Usually however, when they’re not working, they’re checking their phones. Not this guy !
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