GX GARNERINGS

^The silhouette of the waiter holding the tea set in all meticulosity of posture is reminiscent of the olden, if not golden, days of the colonial Hong Kong when high tea was a very British privilege.  Photography-wise, the different levels of grey certainly add a spatial feeling to the otherwise flat scene. Hong Kong is not named one of the ten world-lifetime travel destinations for no reason.  While maybe Macau boosts the oldness, Singapore the cleanliness, Shanghai the novelty, Japan the  electronicism, Hong Kong is all of them combined with the complements of some pristine countryside hiking trails and, of course, the breathtaking beauty of buildings aglow with lights against the mountains and fronting the Victoria Harbour at night. The fading glimpses of the presence of anything typical of the British could be the gem of any trip to this place. ^Scantly clad holidaymakers are working enthusiastically on their skin cancer on the sundeck.  In Australia, people are more wisely a

^All kinds of tea leaves in the glass jars.  The far side on the wall is an old-styled clock.  The restaurant is not air-conditioned, which is rarely found these days.  The composition uses the customers in the background to complement the message of the tea leaf jars. Some weeks ago the Macau series was interrupted by an influx of news regarding the unveiling of new compact cameras.  Today the topic carries on. Among the many old places worthy of a visit in Macau (by the way, if you are new to us, Macau is a special administrative region under the sovereignty of China and is an hour of catamaran ride from Hong Kong), the old teahouse is certainly an eye opener to gweilos and gweipos, as well as the young locals. Lung Wah Restaurant of Macau is the most sensational one. Going to any of these Chinese restaurant is generally known as Hui (go to) Yum Cha.  The Cha (tea) is the largest element here.  By the way, Yum Cha is primarily a Cantonese (southern China) culture. The firs

Yesterday we talked about some easy, practical tricks for photos with a watercolour or Chinese painting feel. If you hope to do some impressionist landscape photos, here are the tricks. The timing should be when the environmental light is like half an hour before sunset. The sky is less bright with the crimson starting to grow over everything. It would be great if you can shoot at a place where there are lightings from buildings which would enable you to give light tracks on the final images. The best in Hong Kong is to shoot the sunset with the Victoria Harbour in the background. By the way, Hong Kong with the Victoria Harbour has been recommended by Nat Geo as one of the ten places in the world to visit in a lifetime. Now, find the scene you think great for a landscape photo. Meter the middle tone of the brighter areas. If the sun is visible, the middle tone is right underneath the sun, which is the same for shooting a sunset scene. You should spot-meter it without inclu

^Sea View: A view to the west side of the Victoria Harbour of Hong Kong.  The exposure is down three to four stops. Inspired by Leo Wong for his Chinese-painting-style photographs, I have been reading some literature on the subject and practised a bit. To give a photo a watercolour or Chinese-ink effect, there are some tricks which are intuitive to anyone with a camera, with or without manual controls.  The following photo was taken with a CX1 ^Melancholy: A lone lamp post standing aloof between the setting sun and some wild grasses   One prominent characteristic of such paintings is the melange of colours in some degree. To give this feeling to a photo, the photographer has to find a way to somehow cut down the contrast. So the best time to shoot these photos are on an overcast day and/or at dusk or dawn. ^Gung-ho: Midstream goods vessels berthing and still operating at dusk To work around an inopportune time and weather, use a filter slightly tinted in whatever colo

^Early Spring by Leo Wong Some weeks ago, we introduced three renowned Hong Kong Chinese photographers and their works.  Those posts are worth revisiting and the links are attached as follows: 1) Fou-li Tchan On Pictorial Photography 2) Hing-fook KAN Good Photos are not by Chance 3) Leo Wong on Artistic Concepts of Photography

^Tap dancing at Iowa State College, Ames, wartime Iowa. What is the meaning of this photo?  To show the legs, the ladies' steps in tune or the glossy wood floor? The meaning of photos, or "meaningless photos" to be exact, is an mind-boggling proposition repeatedly put forward by a fellow photographer at dpreview forum in a bellicose vein.  Or I should say a mind-expanding proposition? That fellow photographer obviously mistakes that there are some photographs which should be categorised as meaningless like a photo of an old man sitting on a bench. This could be an observation too well thought out of the box, and of mind.  I emailed the test to SY, the promising young photographer from Taiwan, asking him, "What is the meaning of photo to you?" His answer came like a swift dart aimed straight at the red heart of the dartboard, "You've to ask yourself.  Meanings are different from one person to another", which was what I had in mind. If s

CX2 was shown in Hong Kong two days ago. Some product shots are posted here .

Ricoh has just launched  in Hong Kong GRDIII last Saturday.  The street price can be lower than the GRDII at its launch. The camera is going to hit the selves in shops before the end of August.  The official price is HK$5,000 ( in Hong Kong price, same below; use the currency converter at left ) .  The street price is usually 5% to 8% less plus free gifts. For those who are interested in the camera, the official pricing of the accessories: Optical viewfinder GV-2 (28mm#)  $2,400 Leather soft case (for GV-2) GC-4* $1,100 Optical viewfinder GV-1 (21/28mm#) $2,400 Wide angle conversion lens GW-2* (21mm#) $1,500 Hood and adapter GH-2 $800 Soft case GC-3* $400 Neck strap GS-1 $200 Neck strap ST-2 $200 Cable switch GA-1 $300 Rechargeable battery DB-65 $330 Battery charger BJ-6 $300 GR camera bag GB-1 $3,380 External TTL flash GF-1 (2009 Fall) *New Read the  brief description of the accessories here . For those who are interested in this unique