Street Photography in Hong Kong: Analogue Edition

Minolta 9xi with 35mm f/1.4. Film Ferrania Alpha P30

On my latest trip to Hong Kong I decided to shoot film... lots of it. The motivation? Because of my Analogue Photography Series documentary for StoryHive. Since my project was all about film photography, I knew I had to live and breath the film culture, and it's not hard to do so in a city like Hong Kong. Although film prices are similar here as it is in the rest of the world (although there's no sales tax), the availability of used film cameras rivals Tokyo, and accessibility/pricing of photo labs seems more like 1998 and not 2018. $6 USD to develop and scan a roll of 135-36 film is not difficult to find here. Same day black and white develop and scan? No problem. Moreover, if you love to shoot film, Hong Kong should be your next analogue photography destination, hands down.

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?

Keeping it Simple from BHT

Fujifilm X-T2 with XF35mm f/2 WR. ACRO + Ye

Dear blog followers,

I apologize for my lack of posts for the past.... few years. As you know, I've shifted my focus to my YouTube channel and Instagram account, and for that I feel badly. My blog started it all. My blog helped me through some pretty tough times. I use to post to my blog similar to how I post to Instagram, snapshots with short and sweet stories. This is no longer true. The past few months have been insane. I took on a project in Hong Kong that was bigger than I could handle. In 3 weeks I shot almost 40 videos, shot with 5 different cameras, much of which I still have not edited. I've started about 4 articles on my blog, but they're all in draft mode. Each article is long with lots of pictures, and I guess that's been my format for a while. Maybe I should change back to the old format? Perhaps I should start slowly again with smaller, shorter articles with a single point or thought? How about a single picture (or two) with absolutely no thought? Yes, that's what I'll do.

Upcoming Hong Kong Instagram Project

**Thanks to everyone who contributed to this campaign. It was a success and I was able to complete all the projects necessary. This project has now come to a close. Anyone contributing to my PayPal account from now on is making a general donation to my website and YouTube account. I will still email back a thank-you but this project is now closed for new contributors. Thank you very much for your support. I will leave this post up and follow up with a new one soon.

In less than 2 weeks I'll be in Hong Kong on a work assignment. MonogramAsia has invited me to shoot a series of YouTube videos for their upcoming event with renowned landscape photographer Michael Kenna. To accomplish this, I asked Ryan from Arcade Original to join me on this project as my videographer and editor. Since I'll already be in Hong Kong with no family obligations (my wife is not coming) I decided to produce some smaller projects for myself. I'm flying out a week early with Ryan and we're going to hook up with some old and new friends to shoot some unique videos. I will also have some pre-production equipment and review cameras with me from Fujifilm, Leica and Canon (sorry no Ricoh). Because of this, I have some unexpected expenses to cover. To raise extra funds, I wanted to do so in a creative way, as well as offer unique content for those who wish to help. Instead of selling prints, conducting workshops or asking for outright donations, I decided to create a private IG account. How will this funded IG project work?

Non-Review: The Ricoh GR II in Hong Kong

Ricoh GR II: 1/60th sec f/4.0 @ ISO 400

I haven't written an article on the Ricoh GR in a very long time. I've been shooting with the Ricoh GR series since 1998 and it's helped shape my style of photography. The ability to capture images with the confidence of a full sized camera with unique features and functions that could only be had with a compact camera makes the Ricoh GR a very powerful photographic tool. I've owned many cameras as a professional and enthusiast photographer, but my favourite images were always taken with compact EDC (Every Day Carry) cameras. I have experimented with other compact cameras over the years but I've always felt at home with the Ricoh GR. I'm not saying it's the best, but it's what I'm use to. I 'get it' when people equally praise their beloved Contax T2, Nikon 35Ti, Minolta TC-1, Rollei 35, Olympus XA, Yashica T4, Konica Big Mini, etc. If I bought any of those cameras instead of my Ricoh GR-1 back then perhaps I would be singing a different tune today, although I don't see many digital cameras with a similar legacy today except for the current Ricoh GR line. So how good is the new Ricoh GR II and is it still a worthy contender to the newly released Fujifilm X70? Let's find out.

Hong Kong Bike Riders Ride Head-On!!

These previously posted pictures from Hong Kong highlight the fact that many ride against traffic instead of with the traffic. I was told it's because they believe it's safer for them, since they can see the cars coming at them, so they can avoid an accident. If they went with the traffic, they feel that they can't see cars creeping up from behind... hmmm, what do you think? Safer or more dangerous?

Double Wasabi Filet-O-Fish in Hong Kong

Growing up, I never liked the Big Mac. The Filet-O-Fish was small, but it was the tastiest for me. So when we were in Hong Kong and they had a special double patty, wasabi Filet-O-Fish, I thought I was dreaming. A Filet-O-Fish the same size as a Big Mac? And wasabi? Man oh man!!

I love how the picture is always better than reality in food pictures, but the contrast was pretty funny this time. Notice how far the top bun is over to the left, and where's the wasabi tartar sauce oozing out? Ha, ha!! I have to say though, it did taste really good!!

Hong Kong at Night

So many taxis in Hong Kong. This is late, late at night, as you can see there's no people around, but still taxis crawling everywhere!!


This is rare to see in Hong Kong. Dead street with almost no cars.....


On the last night in Hong Kong, while everyone else wanted to just pack, eat, and relax, I wanted one more night to enjoy the lights and the buildings and the crazy transportation system (taxi's, trains, buses, ferries, etc.). Here are just a couple of shots.Taken through the window of a double deck bus. You can tell from my shooting angle, as well as the funny way the street lights flares up in the bottom picture.

Graffiti Art in Hong Kong

I noticed graffiti in Hong Kong is a lot like that found in Japan. It seems like it's more artists and pop sub-cultured kids that are using this venue for artistic expression; than it is for vandalism or tagging, or gang turf wars, or what have you here in N.America. They all seem to "sign" their graffiti with a stencil, which is not the case in N.America most of the time. Their tag is their signature. I mean, I've framed this "graffiti" so you can see that you could hang it on your wall as art, or put it in a skate or bike magazine, no? Just my two bits......

Ride On Hong Kong

Many of the working bike riders go against traffic.



Another going against traffic. My wife's uncle said they feel it's safer.



Lot's of older men carrying tanks of propane to and from the hawkers. Looks dangerous. Notice the smaller front wheel to accommodate carrying larger propane tanks in the carrying basket up front?


In an old fishing village. The hats and the old bikes makes time stands still here.



Another bike found in the same fishing village.



Another shot in the same fishing village. I wouldn't call them training wheels to her face though.

I know Hong Kong has a large population of mountain bike riders (due to the abundance of national parks), as well as hardcore road bike guys, and a handful of street riders (fixie guys), but I didn't really see many where I was. I saw the working class guys using it as a means to get product from point A to B. And when I say product, it all looked like dangerous, explosive product. Chemicals, propane, waste product......

They all seem to have the same type of bike too: old, steel, 1940's China style, but has sort of a Swiss Army design (the double top bar gives it away as a Swiss design for me). Obviously these relics were built like tanks because even though they're probably 60 years old, they work fine!! I spent most times in the middle of the city, so it's true you don't really see the hobbyists out riding, and most commuters take the super efficient public transit system. It's also very dangerous to ride a bike in Hong Kong in the city. Too many taxis and buses and trolley trains and people!! It's very different from Japan, where bikes are an integral part of the transportation system, and you see them everywhere, including the city centers (like many modern European cities).

Hong Kong 2008

I haven't posted anything in a while, so I thought I'd go to my back catalog of pictures. I take so many pictures, but very few people actually view them. Either most expect to see the typical vacation pictures (couple standing in front of something famous) so they don't bother asking to see my pictures, or else I'm too lazy to show people..... anyway, here are some pics from my 2008 Hong Kong pictures....it was hard to just choose a few, as I took many cool pics.... I avoided any pictures of myself, wife, her sisters, or relatives.......... I may explain these shots at a later time... every picture has a cool story...............