GX GARNERINGS

Folks, we'd be glad that the medium format cameras were overtaken by the 135 cameras, which are increasingly challenged by the diminutive mirror-less and MFT options. This ad is just hilarious.

(Camera: GX200) It is highly suspicious that for her steps in the swordplay, she has been inspired by the notices on the wall.  She practices there on most of the mornings.

(Camera: Samsung NX100) The repetitive patterns of these pigeon holes are captivating. But maybe what is more intriguing is the fact that these holes are, small in size as they are, expensive. While those shown in the first photo and the foreground of the second one are public rental housing flats built for the low income families, the pigeons living in those dearer holes in the background of the shot below are generally required to spread out the mortgage repayments in 20 to 25 years. In Hong Kong, the property market is heavily speculated, with the increasing participation of the rich cousins from Mainland China.  Over 35% of the residential flats which cost above HK$ 8M (about US$ 1.1M) are owned by them.

(Camera: Samsung NX100) Click open the photo, sit away and stare at it.  Give yourself 10 seconds and figure out which is what part. The white part is the floor and the darker upper bit seems to be the wall?  The longer you look at it, the more you will feel puzzled about the dimensions.  If you ask that same question, your eyes are duped.   Fact is, the whole area within the frame is the floor made from marble.  The inflected shadows of columns and the darker colour of the floor make your eyes see differently. The shot was taken from a high point by tilting the camera to tense up the crisscrossing and conflicting lines and shadows for the composition.  Also, the shutter release was held until the man walked to the position where the viewers' gaze will naturally end and stay -- the habit of reading from left to right is at play here.

(Camera: Samsung NX100; "Retro" style applied ) If croissants are French,  bacon and eggs British, what represents a traditional Hong Kong breakfast? For the answer, look no further beyond the local chachangtans, or literally "Tea Meals Bistros".  The best ones are in the older public housing.  With some luck, you can come across a chachangtan which illegally takes up the shop-front area for business.  The alfresco area, unlike in France, does not charge higher for the same meals as you sit farther away. (Camera: NX100)  So what is the best "traditional" sumptuous Hong Kong breakfast you can have in a chachangtan?  My suggestion is take the set breakfasts, usually categorised in Sets A, B and C.  Sometimes the varieties extend to even G, if the chachangtan is really popular.  The most ordered is the one as shown above: a dish of instant noodle with Satay beef, an omelette with ham shreds inside, a mediocre b...

For over 50 years the World Press Photo has its yearly photo contest held as its core activity, which invites participation from serving photojournalists.  The 2010 contest has been announced and we have noticed many intriguing winning images which we can also call street shots.  Some of those images were done by Michael Wolf who won the first prize in the Daily Life category with his project, Tokyo Compression . Michael Wolf was born in Germany and spent his childhood years in the United States.  A graduate from Essen University, he has been working on his photography projects in the Asian countries.  His interest is in the culture of this part of the world. The images are reproduced by courtesy of, and with copyrights held by, Michael.  You may visit his site for more inspirations.

(Camera: Samsung EX1) This is Sunday.  Rethink and renew your perspectives on things.