*Cherub’s Welcome*
Fuji TX2 (XPAN) + JCH400
Truth be told, there are moments where shooting as wide as what the XPAN offers is a challenge. I think I’ve gotten better at it over time, but there are still many instances when I don’t know what to do with all that image real estate. And there are times when it’s just obvious, like here. This foreground Cherub with the rest of the graves in the background just compelled me to shoot it this way.
*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!
*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.
*Fishmonger*
Ricoh GR1 + JCH 400
On my last Sham Shui Po photowalk I discovered the wet market. Wet markets in Hong Kong are nearly all inside, probably because of the stifling heat for 6 months in the year. I wasn’t sure how my Ricoh GR1 would fare with 400 ISO film, so I switched the tiny little flash unit to auto. To be fair, I was never sure the flash worked or not, because the lights inside were powerful. Anyway, this was my best shot from there, catching the motion of the fishmonger cutting up the fish.
*The Ceremony*
Ricoh GR1 + JCH 400
Tin Hau Temple is just down the road from me, and I walk through the temple grounds to go to the subway station. Usually, it’s the same old sights, but one Sunday a few weeks ago there was clearly a festival going on, with big papier mâché effigies and lots of decorations. And there were these five people chanting just by the temple entrance. I don’t know what the ceremony was and I certainly didn’t want to disturb them, but the robe struck me and I took a quick shot with my discreet Ricoh GR1. Colour film would have been better, probably, but there’s an « old China » feel to this one conveyed by black and white that I quite like nonetheless.
*Marble Arch*
Fuji TX2 (XPAN) + JCH 400
One of the amazing things with the xpan’s wide format shots is their cinematic quality. Scenes that would look bland in standard 2:3 format acquire a certain quality through the width alone. Case in point: the eye here is drawn to each individual because there are so many in this narrow strip.
*Poultry Posse*
Fuji TX2 (XPAN) + JCH400
Didn’t have much time for photography on my last London trip, but I wanted to try out JCH400 film. I was staying at Marble Arch so I walked around Hyde Park at lunchtime until I stumbled upon this bird invasion. I quite like the contrast on this film, it’s good for 400 ISO film, although I think I still like Tri-X a little bit better.
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