portrait

Teamwork

*Teamwork*
Fuji x100F

Shooting from the hip is hit and miss. In fact, it’s a lot more miss than hit. But when you hit you get photos from an angle you wouldn’t normally get without kneeling, which would be conspicuous, to say the least.

Asian Crouch Again

Asian Crouch Again
Fuji x100F

I have often talked and illustrated what I (and many others) call the Asian Crouch, this particular waiting posture that you see everywhere in China and in other parts of Asia also. I don’t know what people did when crouching before mobile phones existed, but I know what they do now… Incidentally, this is when I’m really glad I’ve worked on my hip shooting skills. The shot would be entirely different (and less effective in my opinion) at eye level.

The Lantern Girl

*The Lantern Girl*
Fuji x100F

The Tai Hang Fire Dragon festival happens every year around the mid-autumn festival. Locals carry a long and sinuous Dragon body made of rope in which thousands of lit incense sticks have been planted through the streets of Tai Hang. This year I went to the festivities, and despite the massive crowd it was really great to witness it. In the area where the Dragon was getting « refilled » with fresh incense, there was a cordon of lantern carrying volunteers to stop the crowd, and this girl’s expression in the light of the lanterns struck me.

Wechat and Ciggie

*Wechat and Ciggie*
Fuji x100f

Chinese social media app Wechat is everywhere in China, but also everywhere here in Hong Kong. You can use it to pay, to plan, to chat, to broadcast, to sell, to buy, and probably dozens more things I don’t even know you can do with it. I have marked a few spots where smokers gather in the streets (usually next to a public ashtray/bin) and there are always phone and cigarette shots to be had there…

Free Advertising

*Free Advertising*
Fuji x100f

Like in virtually every country I’ve ever been to, there are dozens of free newspapers in Hong Kong. Well, they’re called free newspapers, but like everywhere else, they’re really just a free collection of adverts. More interesting to me was the guy peddling them, and particularly his hat. When it’s really hot and sunny here, those working out in the sun often wear hats lined with a reflective surface, to divert as much heat as possible I suppose. It certainly makes their look funky!

Charango Salesman

Charango Salesman
Canon 7D

The charango is a wonderful little guitar like instrument with lots of strings for its body size. I wanted to buy one in La Paz for my son who plays guitar, and so walked into this store. I asked the salesguy if he would demonstrate the sound differences between the various models, and he seemed more than happy to be photographed in the process.

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!)