through her eyes

rice

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 15:40 +0800

the boy and his buffalo

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 10:47 +0800

Sapa, Vietnam

convergence iii

Fri, 21 May 2010 18:52 +0800

run and scream

Fri, 07 May 2010 12:14 +0800

About 2 or 3 weeks back, I began experimenting with film.

I really love it.

This photo was taken with my father's old Nikon F3 on Kodak Tri-X 400. It's a great camera. I've gotten quite a few good images from it so far, and it's only my second roll of film.

Besides the F3, I received another film camera for my birthday. But more on that another time.

I am officially a film addict.

hong kong noir iii | hk.09.d10

Fri, 09 Apr 2010 17:35 +0800

Milk tea, peanut butter and condensed milk toast, good company.

We had a late breakfast before I sent H off at the airport.

I had a great trip. Thank you.

the daily grind iv | hk.09.d9

Sat, 27 Mar 2010 20:00 +0800

I have been trying, rather faithfully I might add, to blog about my trip to Hong Kong last December. Partly it's because I had a really good time and I had the chance to do some sightseeing instead of just shop, I wanted to record it all down so I wouldn't forget. I must say, I don't feel too inspired to anymore, looking back at what I wrote the past few posts ... really fails to move or excite me. I like how the photos turned out though, and I love how Hong Kong looks in noisy sepia. My half-hearted attempt to travel-write really doesn't do each post justice.

So ... I have decided to stop with the prose and just write down the places I went that day, and forget everything else.

Here goes: On H's second last day in Hong Kong, we had brunch at Lan Fong Yuen, an old tea cafe at Central. After brunch we explored Central, poking around the little shops. I finally visited Chocolate Rain where H bought me a very cute Christmas present. After Central, I took H to Sham Shui Po to see the other side of Hong Kong. It was a great place for photos. But I didn't take any. It didn't feel right. Next stop was Mongkok, where H found a present for his cousin. He also found some attention from the salesgirl at the shop we got the present. Before we finally left for dinner at TST, we went on a long hunt for the Flower Market, so we could get some flowers for my mom. Dinner was at Peking Restaurant in TST. Food was awesome. We stayed up till pretty late that night, doing our last bit of catching up before H left the next day.

What do you know? It turned out to be pretty long after all. Ah well. This photo was taken after brunch, on the mid-levels escalator, at the section just above Gage Street. I tried to do a colour version, but like almost all the other photos I took in Hong Kong, it looked better in black and white. So am posting this instead. So I shall finish this up quickly so I can shut the computer down before earth hour. Lights out everyone!

Highlights of the day: Brunch at Lan Fong Yuen; walkabout in Central and Sham Shui Po; Peking duck dinner; late night chat.

convergence ii | hk.09.d8

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 09:24 +0800

Hong Kong is one of the cities in the world that still uses trams as part of its transport system. The trams here run on Hong Kong Island, between Kennedy Town and Shau Kei Wan. And Hong Kong Island was where we spent the whole of today.

Sunday morning meant church. Church meant an earlier start than usual. We were a bit early that morning, so before going for service, we had a chance to walk around the old streets of North Point.

After church, we took a slow walk to Causeway Bay for lunch. And walked around Causeway Bay for a bit. I'm not sure who came up with the idea, but somewhere between Times Square and Muji, one of us thought it'd be a good idea to walk to Central.

So we did.

And since we both didn't quite know the way, but knowing that the trams went there, we decided to follow the tram line. From Causeway Bay, we walked, and reached Wan Chai. We went through Wan Chai Market and eventually Admiralty. By the time we passed Admiralty, it had begun raining. So from there, we caught a bus that took us to Central. We got off near the Landmark and made our way to the Mid Levels, up the long escalator, all the way to the top.

We finally came back down to heed the call of nature. And made our way back by MTR for dinner at a cafe near where we stayed. After dinner, we caught Bodyguards and Assassins, before finally calling it a night.

This shot was taken around Wan Chai, while we were crossing the street. It was quite dark by then so I adjusted the camera settings, took a few shots, and left the rest to post processing. This one turned out the best. While I think it would have been nice to have a subject in the foreground, I kinda like how everything converges slightly off-centre at where the tram is.

Highlights of the day: Hong Kong Island on foot, Wan Chai Market, Soho on a rainy night, this photo.

hong kong noir ii | hk.09.d7

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:16 +0800

On Boxing Day, we explored one of my favourite places in Hong Kong, Mongkok. The setting for numerous Hong Kong films, this is a place where there is always something different to see each time you visit.

We started out at Portland Street and made our way to Goldfish Market. Along the way, H finally got to try the "Hong Kong street food". He was not impressed. I was not surprised. We spent a good part of the morning wondering around the Goldfish Market. I've always wondered if some of the animals they sell there require permits ... After grabbing a snack, we headed to the Flower Market followed by the Bird Garden. The Garden was crowded with many little shops selling birds and cages and other accessories. This was where I took the post photo.

We had a late lunch at a congee shop nearby. The place looked like something out of a Wong Kar Wai movie, very noir. Got a few Wong Kar Wai "feel" shots here.

After lunch, we headed to Fa Yuen Street and Argyle Centre. Fa Yuen Street Market is always an interesting place to browse. This was where I got a great picture a few years back, of those retro Mister Softee ice cream trucks.

Our last stop was the Mongkok Market, before heading back for homemade dumplings.

Highlights of the day: Mongkok!, pink pyjamas from Fa Yuen Street Market, congee, tortoises at Goldfish Market, homemade dumplings.

observing christmas | hk.09.d6

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 22:41 +0800

We slept in on Christmas morning, so we didn't leave the house till lunchtime.

Christmas lunch was seared tuna steak on rice at Doraya, TST. We spent the rest of the day wondering around TST, before going back for dinner.

This photo was taken in the evening, the sun had just set and we decided to call it a day and head back. Shooting in winter or cold seasons can be tricky, mainly because the sun goes down so early. This means there are fewer hours of decent lighting. Also, in Hong Kong it is a bit of a bummer, because the city really comes alive from 3pm onwards and stays so till the wee hours of the morning. The good thing though, is that Hong Kong street scenes often look good with some noise.

Highlights of the day: seared tuna steak rice!; HKD99 checked shirt from Uniqlo; discovering Champagne Court, eating ice cream in winter and steamboat Christmas dinner with ice wine.

watch and wait | hk.09.d5

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 23:23 +0800

Christmas Eve last year was in Hong Kong again. That afternoon, we braved the crowds and tried to go shoe shopping. We failed. Mongkok shoe shops do NOT carry size 13s. We did however find a very cool jacket in H&M. It became a fixture in many of the photos I took in the next few days.

That evening, we went for a Christmas Eve service with B, at a very quaint family church at Pokfield. After the service, we walked along the Peak tram line, through Central to take the Star Ferry. Along the way, we picked up some cheese cake from Mandarin Hotel. Awesome stuff, that cheese cake.

B took us to Mido Cafe at Yau Ma Tei for dinner. For the first time that day, I regretted not bringing my camera out. I HAVE to return for photos. After dinner we went window shopping at Kubrick, Temple Street and Ladies Market.

And that was pretty much our Christmas Eve. Highlights of the day: buying "THE Jacket"; the Nativity play at the Christmas Eve service; opening Christmas presents on the Star Ferry ride; iced red bean drink at Mido Cafe; and of course, meeting up with B.

I didn't bring my camera out that day, so this photo is actually another one from Macau, taken the day before. I noticed this old man when we were visiting an old Catholic Church at the edge of town. What is he waiting for?