*A Corner of Sky*
Fuji GW690iii + JCH 400
I’ve attempted this kind of shot many times in the past (the Hong Kong skyline gives you plenty of opportunities) and the trick is to keep some texture in the sky while maintaining detail in the building facades. I think I managed to expose this one just right, and I like the jagged line of building roofs.
*One Last Swig*
Fuji TX2 + JCH 400
I was in Shanghai in early January (you know, the world before…) but the weather was miserable. I shot some colour with 800 ISO film, but I felt the mood was really better suited to black and white. So I walked around the French concession with a roll of JCH400 that fit the mood nicely. I’m normally a bit stifled when shooting street, looking for alignments and clean compositions instead of just shooting interesting people. I’m also not very good at manual focusing in haste. So I was double happy about this shot which doesn’t look like my usual stuff and is sharply focused!
*Sunlight Over the Graves*
Fuji TX2 + JCH400
I went to the Happy Valley cemeteries with my friend Matthew. When we arrived, it was drizzling, but an hour into it the sun was shining (that’s Hong Kong for you). Gave the whole place a very different feel. In this shot I wanted to capture the chaotic layout of the cemetery but also the shafts of light piercing the shadows under the trees.
*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.
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