*Tai Hang Café*
Canon EOS300 + Rollei RPX25
Tai Hang is one of the most endearing areas in Hong Kong island, at the same time old and gentrifying. Car repair shops sit next to quaint (or trendy) coffee places. This is (obviously) the latter. I love the lattice on the coffee shop doors.
*Car seat repairman*
Canon EOS300 + Rollei RPX25
I was so happy with this shot. See, I noticed this guy the first week I was in Hong Kong back in 2016, and I tried to take a shot of him multiple times over the years, but never managed to get it right: the lighting was off, he wasn’t looking in the right direction, he was looking at me, etc. Getting this shot on my last week in Hong Kong was something special.
*The clock, the door and the ladder*
Cyanotype on Bockingford HP 300gsm
One of the things I love in the Hong Kong backalleys is a very particular jumble of odd items that I’ve only seen here. This was shot in Tai Hang and is very representative of those backalleys. You might think that this could be anywhere, but trust me, only in Hong Kong.
*Tai Hang Perspective*
Fuji TX2 + Rollei Crossbird 200 (C41)
I tried several compositions with those taxi car doors. This one gave me the deepest perspective, and I really like the clash between the bright reds of the doors and the bright green of the crossprocessing in the shadows.
*Take Left*
Fuji TX2 + Rollei Crossbird 200 (C41)
I really liked those roadsigns when I stumbled upon them. It was somewhere around 12s of exposure if I recall (with no information on Crossbird reciprocity failure, it was a bit of a guessing game) and I love the way it turned out. My wife says it could be anywhere in the world, but I think it’s got a Hong Kong vibe.
*DIY Taxi*
Fuji TX2 + Rollei Crossbird 200 (C41)
There a tiny backalley in Tai Hang where you can find a garage that caters exclusively to Taxis. Because of space constraints, they stock spare parts in the street, which means that when you wander around there, you can see the characteristic read (and occasionally green) car doors, boot doors and bonnets. I’ve repeatedly taken photos in that backalley, but this one at night is one of my favourite.
*The Cat and the Bike*
Leica M6 + Kodak Ultramax 400
There’s a little bit of street art in Tai Hang. Not a huge amount, but what there is is quite nice. This store screen is my favourite. It makes me smile each time I walk past it, and for some reason there is nearly always a bicycle parked in front (I can’t guarantee it’s the same one each time…)
*Open Space*
Leica M6 + Kodak Ultramax 400
Another example of a car being repaired on the streets. I like this one because of the cones, and because the guy with his suitcase gives the entire composition some motion.
*Needs Fixing*
Leica M6+Kodak Ultramax 400
With space at a premium on Hong Kong Island, most car repair shops actually repair the cars on the street. It’s one of the fun sights of Tai Hang. This Mini without its front wheels was really cute…
*Cards in the Streets*
Leica M6 + Kodak Ultramax 400
(A few weeks ago my friend Matthew lent me his Leica M6 equipped with a Carl Zeiss biogon 35mm f/2 ZM lens. I shot three rolls with it before handing it back to him. This was the first of these rolls, on a film I had never used either, Kodak Ultramax 400. I went to Tai Hang on a sunny day and walked the back alleys…)
One of the things I find endearing about the Chinese is their love of games. In the parks, in the streets, in the backalleys, you can see them playing Mah Jong, Chess, Cards, and all manners of other games. Turns out these weird, thin cards are a form of domino game. My framing isn’t perfect here (I was fiddling with manual exposure which made me operate suboptimally…) but I love the moment.
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