Do the Shooting with Curiosity

If the photographer's eye is the spirit of photography, curiosity is the guardian of that spirit. Living in Hong Kong where there are some of the world's busiest business districts and most breathtaking scenic views, I could have felt that I had seen too much to be really curious about anything. After all, this is a truly dazzling and trendy city with a good mixture of races, cultures and, most notably, foods.

But acutally I have managed to remain a bit stand-off from this city. I keep observing it, reconstructing the meanings it has brought to me and to the viewers of my images. The aim is clear: to prove that I have lived here as a photographer.

This is more or less -- more than less -- true to every photographer. Without curiosity, the photographer's eye is blinded and the images are already dead before birth. This is especially true if you have been shooting the similar themes or around the same areas or the scenes seemingly without much changes.

Do the shooting with curiousity in the heart, not just the skills in your head. See how people interact in the world of colours or even black and white; the heart-warming smiles on their faces or read the saddness on them; the body language of the youngesters with an untroubled mind; the buildings growing old in the stream of history; the changing clouds in the sky lit up by the red setting sun; the business of the world.

Curiosity can be nurtured by taking different routes to a familiar place or at different time in a day, walking while looking up to observe the things overhead, studying the masters' photographic works, fixing your camera to different settings on individual days, using a new camera or the same camera with different lenses or converters. The most important of all is to stay calm and cheerful as many days and hours and minutes as you can. Then the world will look just too beautiful to become bored and the curiosity in your heart will just keep growing -- the guardian of your photographer's eye.