Protectors of Children

(Funny Faces: A blend of frightening and interesting, the faces of these traditional soft tiger toys catch my eyes. In the Chinese New Year, some children wear stitched tiger shoes with similar face patterns on.)

In the exhibition of embrodery I visited last week, there was a corner decorated with soft tiger toys of various sizes and colours. Tigers, along with images of other animals were used as tribal totem images in prehistoric times. Gradually the tiger was combined with the mythical dragon in a new culture.

Over 2500 years ago, when unification under one emperor on the now Chinese continent was estabilshed, the dragon became the emblem of the power of emperors, while the tiger quietly endeared itself to the masses, and in particular, became the protectors of children.

Mothers made tiger hats, bibs, vests, gloves, shoes, toys -- in effect to cover the children from head to toe with image of tigers, to ensure the continuity of the household bloodline, and to bless the children with heath and safety in their growing up.

Nowdays, there are still shops selling tiger shoes for children to wear in the Chinese New Year, a time when everyone wishes for a head start.

Comments

Comrades, Arise!

(Ricoh GR) In their own unique style, the squatting Mainland Chinese tourists have become an eyesore a common sight in the usually narrow walkways around the more busy areas in Hong Kong since the r eturn of Hong Kong's sovereignty to China (Editor-in-chief's note: Officially banned phrase for political incorrectness) Chinese Communist Party resumed sovereignty over the city. Hordes of the likes are too generous in their estimation of either the width of the sidewalks or the number of people passing by them, so stretching out an array of luggage cases in a disarray fashion for making rearrangement or taking a recess never seems to be too unedifying a bother to them. No location can dampen their determination in doing so, not even if it is right at a shop front, which is a somehow laudable national quality potentially in a positive way. Well, there are always two sides of a coin. Through the artistic eye of a photographer, can't these scenes be reproduc...

Final Verdicts: GF2 in Action

(The rest of the GF2 review posts can be found here ) It is widely believed that the GF2 is a paradoxical downward-upgrade version of the GF1. So, after all the discussions of its bells and whistles, how does it perform in reality? First things first. Which or what kind of cameras should we measure the GF2 against for that matter? We believe that potential buyers of the GF2, maybe except for serial fad chasers and the diehard loyalists, are attracted by its smallness in size with a larger sensor to achieve better image quality, especially at ISO 800 or above. However, given the less satisfactory handling with for example just one dial, the GF2 cannot assume the place of a primary camera. Put together, these assumptions suggest that the GF2 is more suited to be used as a backup camera for social and street shots. Let's grill the GF2 on this basis. In the Hand An obvious merit of the GF2 is size. It feels much less bulky in the hand than the GF1 or the NX100, and just lik...

New Low Prices

The window shopping some hours ago has almost provoked my AgIDS illness. Just in case you’re in Hong Kong or are coming here, and have the money to burn (All in HK$/ body only): GX200 = $3,280 GRD2 = $3,380 LX3 = $3,180 G10 = $3,280 Prices are available form a gear shop on the 1st floor of the Mongkok Computer Centre. Besides these new low prices, I found that Wing Shing Photo (55-57Sai Yeung Choi St., MK Tel: 2396 6886/ 91-95 Fa Yuen St., MK Tel: 2396 6885) is offering a Sony A700 + Carl Zeiss Lens package for HK$9,980 (hopefully, a bargain will make it some hundreds cheaper).

GX GARNERINGS

Search This Blog