GX GARNERINGS

(Ricoh GX200 with 19mm converter) Today is the day of peace.  Find a way to bring yourself a peace of mind.

(Ricoh GX200) Christmas is a beautiful time for, to most, spending and shopping.  But apart from shopping, there are other good deeds to do in Christmas. You may not necessarily do something brilliantly generous.  How about helping in or joining a community service? There is a publicity event entitled "Balloons are for parties, Pets are for life" organised by Animal Earth and Animal-Friendly Alliance along Sai Yeung Choi Street (pedestrian precinct) in Mongkok, Hong Kong tonight (23rd).  The event is to educate people to think twice before getting a pet as their Christmas presents.  There will be models, Ms Macau, some celebrities and an orchestra playing, as well as caroling.  If you're in town tonight, come join us.

It gave me a déjà vu kind of feeling when preparing this virtual Christmas card for it seemed that the previous one was made just a few weeks ago. As the cliché goes, time flies.  This year, GXG hasn't done as much camera reviews.  At the beginning of the year, the GF2 was reviewed.  At the tail end of 2011, it was the much loved GXR M-mount with the Nokton 35mm f1.2 lens which got reviewed.  Again, GXG is indebted to Shun Hing and Laikok for lending us the cameras and lenses for testing. But the blog posts of this year are as usual full of ideas and topics about photography and Hong Kong. A special mention is the Ricoh HK Meetup held in November.  The latest special news is my winning a Leica X1 – I am yet to receive and test it. So thank you for visiting over the past 12 months. Wish you a Merry Christmas and the best of luck in 2012!

with this taken with the Ricoh GX200: for the grand prize in a photo contest organised by the Swire Hotels on the theme of Hong Kong Views From the Top. I got the call from a lady with a sweet voice this afternoon.  She is the messenger of good luck; that's sweet enough anyway. The grand prize is a Leica X1.  What a surprise for a Christmas prize! And supposedly, given the photo from the hotel's fb page, it is an all black version! The shot was a fifth one taken at the same spot which is a footbridge overlooking the scene below.  I passed by the spot with a camera, as I have one with me all the time, and the view below presented itself to me -- with the photographer's instinct I knew it would make some intriguing photo.  The right catch was done after the previous four shots in about 10 minutes.  As the AF lages behind the moment of capture for half a second, I had to anticipate the final image before pressing the shutter release.  It took a bit of luck...

(Ricoh GX200) Enjoy your day!

(Ricoh GX200) Bloody Genocide. The murderer is gone.  A coincidence to mark the day.  Oh, haven't you watched the news today?

(Ricoh GX200) No time to comb my hair.  This is Sunday.  Un-occupy yourself.