GX GARNERINGS

(Nathan Road of Hong Kong at night.  I checked out the lights again two hours later and they were still on) Hong Kong is festooned with  neon lights, flashlighs and you-name-it-what lights.  Sometimes, their brightness shining over the street can dupe passers-by into thinking that it was nine o'clock in the morning instead of at night.  If you are new to Hong Kong, this light pollution after dark is very obvious.  It should not be required any explanation that an ever bustling big city like Hong Kong needs lighting at night.  But obviously, we are too much on the bright side. The low ISO used for this nightshot speaks volumes for the seriousness of the problem.  Surely, any experienced photographer would be amazed to find that even ISO 200 turns out to be sufficient for a very steady nightshot.  Look, the exposure combo says F3.8 and 1/50s, far from the safety zone of F2.8 and 1/20s for this shot with a 24mm focal length. (A night shot at ar...

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(Taken on a footbridge with my GX200) This is another weekend. We really don't realise how customarily fast a week can pass, do you?  Hmmm, have you taken any photos of note this week?  Read some literature on photography.  Get a copy of photography magazine maybe.  Skip any camera review for a week.

(Office Prisoners: This photo was taken inside the Juren Tower, or literally Giant Tower, a first-rate office tower and tallest building in Shenzhen.  The reflection reminded me of the bars in a prison cell.  The office workers are walking into the prison) Office workers can easily tell you that how humdrum an office life is, except probably for those lucky folks in the Google office.  If office workers have to break away from the office prison to regain creativity, photographers have to shed the belief in just the cameras to reposition to the right mindset in photography. (Looking head-up at the Juren Prison) The best camera is inside our head which is our thoughts.   But when we see a great photo, the first thought leaping into our mind is usually which camera the photographer used to take the photo.  Seldom do we think of the long years of learning and practices behind the success.   Of course, a technically great camera helps photogra...

(Jigsaw Puzzle in Linear Perspective: These two are the unmistakeably modern buildings sitting atop the groovy glass-panelled Shenzhen public library. Like almost any cities in China, Shenzhen has kept changing for the better. I was amazed to see the city's fast-tracked progress everytime I went there. This image represents how I see Shenzhen: It rises from ground zero with a history of different trials, probably represented by respective grids. The grass could represent its agricultural past; the mud its poor past; the pebble stones a smoother period of development; the reflected image on the marble floor it grandeur present) In the era of digital photography there are some frequently asked questions like "Which camera (brand) do you use to take these cool photos?", "What are your in-camera image settings?" or "Which programme did you use to post process the photos?", etcetera. These questions are usually asked when the askers come across some intrig...

(They are not talking to each other. It is only the illusion afforded by the reflection from the mirror. The photo is so taken to represent how I see about the restaurant) What are the things to l earn in photography? In short, two things. The answer lies in the essence of photography. First, there are the photographic techniques which are primarily the know-how in using light in an image. Light is the soul of photography. To take photos is to paint with light. Light to a photographer is like a pen to a painter, a graver to a carver or a musical instrument to a musician. Second, there is the seeing because a photo is basically the way of how the photographer sees an image with the right techniques to represent the seeing. While techniques are more structured for learning, the seeing is more subjective and takes longer to mature. It goes without saying that the mastery of combining both produces what we consider photographic masterpieces. Take the photos here for example. A few days ...

(Click open the photo to see it in colour and the way it relates to the topic and the message I relay below.  The water of the puddle along the roadside ditch is not clean.  But it reflects the blue sky.  There is always a good side in anything considered a downside.  For sure, the single leg is important to the photo as it somehow conveys a sense of looking or waiting or hesitating.  I like the colours, which compliment one and the other very well  indeed) To those who are reading this at a later time zone than Hong Kong's, it is a fast-tracked Monday on this side of the globe. The motto of this week is to be upright and upbeat in whatever endeavours you will be engrossed in and always look at the upsides of things whenever and however you chew and cud afterwards. And the theme of this week?  How about making it a reflection week.  As`usual, take more photos but this time with photos themed on reflections.  All you have to do is to carry...

(These are the flowers falling from the cotton trees.  The telltale signs of Spring they are, as well as remarks of the passage of a year. I watched them and became a bit philosophical. I took the photo and thought that I must write something with it) Failures. We see failures as regrets in our life. Sometimes in failure we clench ourselves just a little bit too tight, and our sensibility is dampened. Failures could smite us in all forms -- a relationship screwed up, a marriage lying in pain, a low-grade job, a delinquent son, a physically challenged daughter, marginal existence, illness, bereavement. We dread failures. We dodge failures. We cruse failures and crave for happiness. And when everything can be done has been done to work around failures and, ironically, fail, we think we are left to the mercy of fate. Then we not only clench ourselves tight but also shut ourselves in. We may gradually sever most contacts with the world around us. We may spin mad on our bed at ni...