Skip to main content

Rustic Charm of Lifestyle

R0010341 (Large)
(Very Rustic: This is one of the metalsmith shops nearby.  It is open for business six days a week of which the smith usually bares his upper body and sits on the chair at the folding gate.  He left the chair with a grin on his face when I asked for permission to take this photo.  I wished he hadn't.  The small cabinet with two red bulbs is a shrine for deities which is obiquituous in Hong Kong's Chinese families and old shops.)
 
I live in a neighbourhood which has an atmosphere. It is sort of aged and dilapidated. An old area it is, having seen better days before an extensive reclamation of the sea some 15 years ago to form the land in existence today.
 
R0010660 (Large)In those days, the area bordered on the waterfront where sailors from the four seas* disembarked at the piers. Those seamen were ashore either to take a short break, load or unload the goods consignments, or replenish necessities in preparation for another long voyage. Travelling in barges to and fro the piers and their big ships, which jam-packed the waters several metres offshore, they brought about a flourish in trades to the area.
 
R0010657 (Large)
Still in business today, many of the shops are seafaring-specific that you may call them metalsmith shops in general. At the sight of those old shops, you will wonder if they are as old as grandpas.
(Chain Store: These are the only goods sold in a nearby chain store. The whole store is full of chains in different sizes and lengths.)
 
 
 
In fact, oldness is a city's treasure. The uniqueR0010339 (Large) characters fermented at the old areas in Athens (gives a back-in-anciet-time delusion), Paris (a crime-happens-any-moment excitement), London (an everything-is-antique-but-over-priced heartbeating), Melbourne of Australia (a tree-tree-nothing-nothing-weird-street-name puzzlement) and Bali of Indonesia (a simplicity-is-joy epiphany) are what still impress me the most among all the sightseeing I have done.
 
As for my old neighbourhood, it speaks literally of a "rust"ic charm of lifestyle. I am loving it!
 
(*Four seas: A Confucius teaching goes, "In the four seas, all men are brothers", meaning roughly people should treat each other with friendliness.  In Chinese, "four seas" is an idiomatic  expression for "around the world")

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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).

Eye Contact

(Leica D-lux 5) The digital era may make it easier to end up with fave shots. Even lousy photos may be turned likable after a few clicks in the post-processing workflow. But if digital advancement or amendments have any bearing on the cultivation of personal style, no photographers will need to discover his or her own photographer’s eye. Undoutedly, this is out of the question. Only with a trained photographer’s eye can we give a thinking gaze and capture an eternal moment, in our unique style. Style is the soul of a great photo. A few posts have been written in GXG to touch on the topic of photographer’s eye. Instead of finding an answer, which would require academic discussions, the posts are intended to give my general reflections and spark interests in moving towards further exploration of the topic.  The posts can be viewed after the links: 1) Photographer's Eye: Storytelling 2) Photographer's Eye: Little Show of Observing 3) Photographer's Eye: Sight-Worthy 4

Ricoh Camera Giveaways and the New GRD Bet

The recent months have seen Ricoh’s heavy-handed promotional efforts.  Apart from the photo contest in collaboration with Greenpeace concluded some weeks ago in Hong Kong, there are three more chances for aspiring photographers to get free Ricoh cameras.  There are lots of Ricoh's cameras to be given away. (A poster about the photo contest co-organised by Ricoh, Greenpeace and Jurlique for Hong Kong only, which was concluded in May.  Winners are to be awarded with airtickets plus hotel accommodation, several fully-geared GX200 and CX1 cameras) Ninth Ricoh Photo Contest The first one is open to contestants from around the world, namely, the Ninth Ricoh Photo Contest to close on 21 August 2009.  The theme of the contest is easy on the surface, but actually requires some effort to ponder on and express in the final image. The prizes are: Main Award: GR DIGITAL II + optional lenses and accessories (one person) Special Award: GR DIGITAL II (5 persons) Photo St