GX GARNERINGS

Christmas is a festive time to think about nativity and religion. In this city which is now a part of China, it is fitting to talk about the Chinese religious culture. The photos in the post are all about death in a way, mostly the unique paper offerings which you may not find them around unless you befriend a local who knows the way. This is the second post of an educational series to give you a glimpse into China's mysterious colours of folk religious beliefs.  You may be also interested to read some related old posts are here , here and here . ^A paper Mercedes (Be a posh ghost!) the length of a man's height.  The plate says 168 which is the homonymic to "get rich all the way" in Cantonese, the language spoken in Southern China. Under the influence of Buddhism, the majority of Chinese people believe in reincarnation. At the same time, they hold dear the long tradition of ancestral worshipping passed down since around the founding of the Han Dynasty (found...

Christmas is a festive time to think about nativity and religion. In this city which is now a part of China, it is fitting to talk about the Chinese religious culture. The photos in the post are all about death in a way, mostly the unique paper offerings which you may not find them around unless you befriend a local who knows the way. This is an educational series to give you a glimpse into China's mysterious colours of folk religious beliefs.  You may be also interested to read some related old posts are here , here and here . ^Two almost life-size paper effigies representing a male and female servants to be burnt as offerings for the dead. China boasts a history of over 5 000 years. In this wide span of time, religion has taken root and grown leafy in the Chinese land of diversity. Apart from the home-grown Confucianism and Taoism, as well as Buddhism adopted from India, the folk religions are what truly represent the colourful and complex system of Chinese religious c...

There are 56 ethnic groups composing China.  A Chinese photographer called Chen has with his crew spent a whole year photographing each of the ethnic groups in their ethnic costumes.  The photographs were done not in any studios but right where the people lived, where is put into a pictorial book . Here are four of the photos, the third line of the description in each picture tells of the altitude in meters above sea level, the latitude and longitude of the shooting location.

The Canon S90 has gone somewhat unnoticed in the sea of new exciting compact cameras.  The days Canon's S series took the centre stage were history.  Surely, it is tiny enough while providing some meaningful manual controls.  But it is just lacklustre as compared with the MFT and GXR. It is very light in your hand indeed.  I held one the other day. ^The photos were taken on the Peak Tower, the Peak, Hong Kong.   In Hong Kong, the ad people have touted it as the camera for night shots.  I should see if I can borrow one to try it out.  From the reviewers, it seems that the images are still usable at ISO 800.  "Usable" is a very objective word.  You'll have to see it for yourself. Given Canon's no-surprise stance in chucking out new models, the S90 is, well, without many surprises.  But in case you fancy a review, here is a concise one.

ON YOUR MARK, GET SET, GO… ^This is a common sight of people here who normally ride a bike without any protective gear on a road bustling with traffic. ^The lady in a skirt would have one of her high heels broken loosen and left in the middle of the road in a second. The other lady rushed back to pick it up just before the cars buzzed about again. ^They were not supposed to cross the yellow boxes. ^Another heroic bike rider risking his life on the road. ^Although he was walking leisurely, this is in fact a very busy road intersection. ^See? The jaywalkers had to run faster than the cars coming along.

Hong Kong and Shenzhen, its neighbouring Mainland China boom town, have been alternately hosting a bi-city biennale of urbanism and architecture. The 2009 biennale is now on in Hong Kong. In support of the biennial activity, FREE guided walking tours will be given every Saturday afternoon between December 19, 2009, and March 6, 2010, comprising Architecture Tours and Old Shop Tours. he Architecture Tours will guide participants to explore and appreciate old buildings around West Kowloon such as St. Mary's Canossian College , Gun Club Hill Barracks (which was an army base of the Brits), Cricket Club , Lands Tribunal and Methodist College . The Old Shop Tours will guide participants to visit shops in Shanghai Street that are still operating traditional Chinese businesses such as the sale of wedding gowns, gold jewellery, Chinese scales, incense and sandalwood. The guided walking tours are free of charge. Application forms are available here . For enquiries, please cal...

The GXR system will be officially launched in Hong Kong on 17 December. The prices are yet to be known.