Hong Kong, Bangkok and Beyond. Where Have I Been?

Chinatown, Bangkok. Fujifilm X-T2 + XF10-24mm @ 10mm

Yes, yes I know. I have not kept up my promise of writing an article once a week, even if it's just a short little ditty. Since my last article on the Fujifilm SQ10, I've been all over the place. I took off to Hong Kong, then to Bangkok, back to Hong Kong, back to Vancouver, and busy ever since. I've put myself in a position that I'm at least 20 videos behind schedule, and about 40 articles behind on my blog. My photography has been backed up as well. I've shot, but I have not yet looked at much of my images. I still have many rolls of film to send off to get processed and scanned.  If you follow me on Instagram, YouTube or Twitter, you can piece together what I've been up to. However, this is not a good thing. My personal blog and website is my home base. This is where the meat of my content should reside. For this I am sorry. I am sorry for all my readers who have not given up on this grossly neglected and horribly laid out website. I am still working on a plan to migrate this website to a WordPress or SquareSpace template, but it is still months away. For now, let's just try and play a bit of catch up shall we?

Bangkok Central Train Station. X-T2 + XF10-24mm @ 10mm.

The amazing team at Monogram Asia invited me once again to collaborate with them, this time in Bangkok, Thailand. Unlike the Michael Kenna event last year in Hong Kong, this workshop would include 8 photographers and 3 guest lecturers (myself, Paul Yan aka @cresting_wave on IG, and Bellamy from Japan Camera Hunter). I was jet lagged, super tired, super busy, but super excited. Although my 6 days in Bangkok flew by quickly, I did have one solid outing to take images in Bangkok's Chinatown. This is an amazing place to take pictures, and I want to come back.

Chinatown, Bangkok. Fujifilm X-T2 + XF10-24mm @ 24mm.

Once I was back in Hong Kong, I had a week to 'relax' before heading back to Vancouver. If you know me by now, you know there was no time to relax. I was determined to spend time with my friends and collaborators in Hong Kong (Florence Pau from Fujifilm Canada, Mr.David Chan, MiNT Camera, Meteor Camera, Barton 1972, ZKIN Bags, Jeffo Wong, All Good friend Camera), as well as spend some time with my wife's cousins and my cousin from Germany. I also decided to shoot about 5-6 videos too, and continuously vlog the entire trip. Again, I did not get a chance to shoot as much as I wanted to, but I did get a few rolls of film in, as well as shoot with CineStillFilm. On this trip, the team over at CineStill gave me 30 rolls to do whatever I wanted, so I did a few little projects. My favourite was a 120 film shoot out one night in Causeway Bay with Meteor Camera and 4 other photographers. A YouTube video is on its way.

Chinatown Bangkok. Bellamy Hunt and Eric Kim. X-T2 w/XF10-24

Overall this trip was a huge success for me. My favourite part was spending time with other photographers, creatives and collaborators. I like getting everyone's perspective on the current trends in photography and social media platforms, as well as look at the future of photography and camera industry. My goal is to use my various social media platforms to promote the art and craft of photography, with special interest in film photography. Hong Kong is a great city for photography, and the film community and business community is very strong. It's a pleasure to shoot film here.

Chinatown, Bangkok. Carmen and Victor of Barton 1972 (X-T2/XF10-24)

I especially enjoyed spending time with Victor and Carmen of Barton 1972. They came along and helped me in Bangkok for the Monogram Asia event. They introduced me to their friends in Thailand as well, including visiting the future home of Annie Barton Thailand. I will definitely make more trips to Thailand while collaborating with Victor and Carmen. We also have big plans for Hong Kong, building a stronger social media presence. I will have to keep much of this top secret for now, but you'll begin to see what my plans are in the next few months as I grow and evolve my brand.

Sham Sui Po, Hong Kong. X-T2 w/XF10-24 @ 14mm.

Lai Chi Kok, Hong Kong. X-T20 w/XF10-24mm @ 12mm

Central District, Hong Kong. Victor Chen. Leica MP w/35mm f/1.4. CineStill 50D

Meteor @ Causeway Bay. @Olivalala777. MP w/35 LUX. CineStill 800T

Moreover, this recent trip to Asia has solidified my determination to focus on collaborations and partnerships to not only grow my brand, but to help build other brands and communities. I thank Ben, Saad, Victor and the rest of the Monogram Asia team for inviting me to Bangkok to be the host of the event. I thank all the photographers, participants for supporting the workshop, allowing MGA to move forward and making this an annual event. Next year the 8x8 workshop will be held in Jakarta, Indonesia, and I've been officially invited again to participate. I'll try and write shorter, smaller articles that highlight various aspects of my trip, but I'll provide some links below and embed some images for your viewing pleasure. The best place to go is my Instagram account to see what I did over in Bangkok and Hong Kong, as well as my YouTube channel. Thanks for visiting, thanks for your patience and happy shooting.

Check out my article on FujiLove Magazine on my experience shooting with the Fujfilm X-T2 and X-T20 with the amazing XF10-24mm lens HERE