That's Why You Ought to Bring It

Bring what? Camera! What else? You're reading a photography sponsor's ruminations after all.

If I didn't have the camera with me, I would have missed the act of chutzpah of this man (I would have also missed these stunts in an old post here).

I didn't see how he managed to go up the bamboo scaffold, but am certain that he climbed with bare hands; more alarmingly, without any safety device!

He was checking out something of which I had absolutely no idea. In another five minutes, he was still safe and sound but – no he didn't fall down – I wondered if I should keep shooting or call him down for his safety's sake.

Despite the worry, I being overwhelmed by a photographer's instincts as always were still able to figure out the composition. I purposefully included the ground below the man to show the viewers the height, hopefully accentuating the danger the man was risking.

Also, to balance the preponderance of weight on the left of the image, I waited for some road traffic passing the right before fully pressing the shutter release.

I was not satisfied yet because there is still something lacking in accentuating the point of interest, namely, the man's dangerous act. Luckily, I finally got it: some passers-by went under the signboard leisurely without paying any attention to him. The contrast hopefully adds tension to the image, stirring the viewer's minds about what if the man fell.

But, it is not always easy to learn from experience. Just this evening, I was too hands full to grab my camera in the bag when two birds came perched atop a street-lamp pole against a background of a motley of lights and a darkening sky. The top of the pole was at my eye level as I was on a footbridge. The scene could have make a good photo. It was really regrettable.

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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).

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...

Dressing Up

(Camera: Ricoh GX200) On the street, a group of Chinese tourists are waiting for probably pick-up. With oblivion to the surrounding, this man changes his vest for an unknown reason to the author taking the opportunity to do a snap shot of the scene of an indecent taste. The increasingly common sights, or eyesores considered by some, of people squatting in front of shops or in the thoroughfares, together with more billboards written in simplified Chinese, seem to push this international city towards the Chinese characteristics of the Mainland cities. The other day when the author visited the the aquarium and panda's home in the Ocean Park, there were, among the swamps of tourists, conspicuous signs saying, "Keep Quiet" and "Don't Use Flash". The management of the Park has obviously deployed a much bigger troop of attendants to carry the signs around. On one occasion, one of those attendants was so annoyed that she went up to a tourist and made a big long...

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