GX GARNERINGS

(Leica D-lux 5) Always carry a camera coz you’ll never know what is to present around the corner. This side of the road was not cordoned off, and cars were coming his way. Maybe he was waiting for the ambulance and tow car after the accident?

(Leica D-Lux5) As the saying goes, "as safe as the Bank of England". Well, these days, who can say for sure how safe any bank is? Not to mention Durex. And honestly, why do we wish to associate safety with someone or something else? When I was a young child reaching school age, my parents, on any day of any year, filled my life with great freedom not to be found in the dictionary of the present-day hot-housed kids. After scribbling through the homework, I would roam around the neighbourhood with friends. One of the most exciting memories was an adventure with them, after the site workers  left, into a building under demolition. Climbed to the top floor, gone in and out of the topsy-turvy units and finally looked over the staircases cracked open and broken between floors, I was much amazed and pleased with what we had managed to find, but left with a disturbed mind in a run of nightmares that night. I was given a good scold when it was exposed to the adults. In fact, such ...

(Leica X1) Was he making fun of them instead of taking photos for them? I don't know about you but I doubt about this penalty kick pose. This is Pottinger Street, named after the first British governor of the colonial Hong Kong. Also known as stone slab street to locals, it is a popular destination for tourists. The streetscape along the street has remained largely unchanged over a century. While the lower section is flanked by kiosks selling fancy things, the section here leads to the now vacated century-old colonial police headquarters and prison compounds. Not far away are the local SOHO and Lan Kwai Fong areas where barflies hover at night. Come here in the daytime, especially at lunchtimes, for a light meal and then do some street snaps. There are plenty of neighbourhood eateries and people milling about. You won't be disappointed.

(Leica D-Lux5) I almost gave it the title of Sex Fantasy if not for want of a better taste. Very often when a thought or visual or conversation conjures up a fantasy, we would fix our mind on it until the usual definitive business interrupts. Then we could have forgotten about it for a certain period of time until, flash, what has been fancied is unfolding right before our eyes. Right there, we are left to ourselves to decide whether to get a hold on or let go of it. Recently, I have been clearing my camera cabinet of unwanted gear and selling some away, and have so far made two sales. An interesting observation is that on both occasions, the buyers were willing to pay extra for the old accessories I brought with me which they had not asked for. It seems that when determination has been made to turn the fantasy into reality, one will never be too frugal to make the reality as fanciful as can be. I sold the accessories to the buyers by saying that they might not wish to miss the...

(Ricoh GRD4) It was all luck for me to have captured this image just right. The leaping joy of love deep in the lady's bounding heart as surfaced on her supple face is contrasted and thus accentuated by the bespectacled man's wooden face and the barely lit face of the bowing man, as if telling that he was disheartened, on the far right. The message that love comforts is radiating strongly from the two main subjects on the left part of the scene, but met with the stone coldness of the right half. It is this tension which gives a lingering aftertaste to viewers. Looking at the lovers, who won't envy people who have both youth and love in their grasp. Some think that youth is a state of being. I say that it is a state of mind. And love is not just a matter of tenderness, kisses on the lips and repetitions of sweet talks. It is more a readiness to accept coming what may be, an intensity of enthusiasm and a freshness of the soul. These can happen more often to a younger life....

(Ricoh GRD4) The more I look at today's photo, the more it is mesmerising to me. I can't help wondering what this man was reading and what exactly in it could have possibly written the frustrated look on his face. Was it a big bother in life to him? An octogenarian author I am reminded of by this shot once commented on the life journey that our ups and downs do not come in succession but more often happen simultaneously. The author went on advising readers that for this reason, we need to walk with a heart ready for happiness on one side and sorrows on the other. This is what he believed the best attitude for immunising us against just fretting and fuming at our low tides in life. We can feel saddened in those times, but we are obliged to persevere. When life intervenes, it helps to think to ourselves that we will eventually tide over it somehow. Then at some point in life when we look back, we will be gratified to see our footprints continuing uninterrupted on this long an...

(Ricoh GRD4) This is Sunday. In whatever you do, enjoy yourself!