The Moment of Happiness

Title: The Moment of Happiness
Camera: Nikon F4
Lens: Nikon AF 35-70mm f3.3-4.5
Film: Kodak ColorPlus 200

This may be one of the most "uncertain" photo I got on my Nikon F4, the film camera I recently bought.

Every film photographer can tell it's always like 100x more challenging to shoot film indoor than outdoor, mostly due to the condition of the light. When I saw the funny "Tom and Jerry" corner inside HarbourCity, one of the largest malls in Hong Kong, I thought this should be a moment to catch. What I was not so sure about was how to get it right.

I wanted to keep Tom and Jerry (btw Tom is the cat and Jerry is the mouse in case you wonder) in my photo but I also wanted to make the result feel more like in the real world rather than just a cartoon. While I was thinking about the composition, I saw the two girls trying to do some photos for themselves. I suddenly "got it" -- maybe I can frame the photo from Tom's angle.

Given my film was Kodak ColorPlus 200 (a quite normal and affordable film), I set ISO at 200, aperture 3.3, and a relatively lower shutter speed at 125 as I always want to avoid things look unnaturally shining, especially when indoor. When I got the photo eventually from the dark room, it did beat my expectation.

The combination of light and color for this photo looks just right. Tom is a little bit blurred (that's totally fine to me) and the girl's face and her happy expression can be still clearly seen in the photo.

Every picture may represent the point of view about something for the photographer. In this photo, I see the moment of happiness between the cartoon and real world, not to mention I shot the photo just few days before Christmas.

I title the photo "The Moment of Happiness" and I hope you smile and perhaps feel happy when you see the moment.

Hong Kong: As seen in an old lens

Camera: Nikon F4
Lens: Nippon Kogaku Japan Nikon 50mm f/1.4 non-AI manual focus
Film: Kodak ColorPlus 200

Before Nikon became Nikon, it was originally known as Nippon Kogaku (日本光学工業株式会社 "Japan Optical Industries Co., Ltd."), founded on July 25, 1917. It was only until 1988 when the company was officially renamed as Nikon Corporation after its popular camera brand Nikon.

Nikon invented the very first 50mm f/1.4 lens after the World War II. NIKKOR-S Auto 50mm f/1.4 (Ai modified) was first manufactured in 1962 and soon became one of the most classic lenses in the history of Nikon. According to some reviewers, this particular 50mm lens used to be the “standard” for professional photo journalists.

I was introduced by a friend to this lens. Initially I was not very impressed partly due to its age — this lens is far older than me; when Nikon invented this lens, the company was not even known as Nikon and I was not born yet, not to mention this was way before the era of auto focus for film photography.

Isn’t it amazing sometimes you just happen to meet someone and know something and this “something” becomes part of your life journey? I decided to buy this lens and gave it a try for my Nikon F4. I brought it to the office recently and shot some city views in the Taikoo Shing area on the eastern side of Hong Kong Island.

I have to say those classic Ai lenses really challenge a photographer’s experience and judgment. Everything is manual and you only get one chance to click and seize the moment when you shoot film. I’m not a big fan of tripod for camera, hence shooting film is also constantly a challenge for your very “stable hands” to hold the camera tight. To that point, maybe having a heavy camera like F4 is not a bad idea.

When I got the photos eventually from the dark room, the image quality did surprise me. After more than half a century, we can still get some nice views of today’s Hong Kong, thanks to this old 50mm lens. The color and light as a result somehow give you a more realistic sense of the world in comparison with shooting on iPhone, for example, when everything around you looks more shining and sharp, perhaps unnaturally sharp.

Life is amazing and time is always the best judge.

Hong Kong needs a break

Title: Hong Kong needs a break
Camera: Nikon F4
Lens: Nikon AF 35-70mm f3.3-4.5
Film: Kodak ColorPlus 200

In the last month of 2021, I'm glad I was able to pick up a new skill, film photography. I bought a Nikon F4, the same model my dad used for his professional work more than three decades ago. I self-learned how to load a film and anything else.

I must confess film photography is a complicated process: you need to choose film, know the light and speed, and catch the moment. And just a gentle reminder -- you only have 36 (or 37 if you are lucky) chances to catch the moments for one roll, and you won't know how good or bad the moment is for you until you get your film developed in the dark room.

So why do we need to go back to the basics and go back to the complicated process as we already have our smartphone to snapshot anytime easily like never before? Maybe it's because you know you have the limited times (up to 36) to catch the moments, you have to stay more focused and determinated to make that moment(s) happen.

Film photography is all about being focused, calm, and perhaps also being bold sometimes. When you shoot film, it kind of gives you a moment of zen, a new perspective to seize the moment.

"A moment could never be complete in itself, since it belonged to a context of movement and mood, and only in this context had meaning; and moreover part of this context was the observer himself, interpreting the moment in the light of his own mind -- his own personality and knowledge," writes Richard Mason in his famous 1957 novel about Hong Kong, The World of Suzie Wong. That has been my favorite line to define the uniqueness of photography since I read Mason's book more than 15 years ago.

People love to talk about NFT these days. Actually I believe film photography shares the same concept of NFT. The famous Andy Warhol used to produce very limited edition of his photography work. That did help to push up the market price in every single art auction.

Each film has its own life, or "destiny" I should say. You can easily screw up one roll for whatever the reasons could be. Film also carries a sense of mystery because you only see your work when it is fully developed. That could be several days or even months later. Time and space are all relative when it comes to film photography and to the whole journey for one roll.

I happened to catch the moment of this 7-Eleven photo when I carried my Nikon F4 on way back home in Happy Valley. I didn't hesitate at all, as I knew that was the moment and this moment could mean something.

After I got the film developed -- Kodak ColorPlus 200, in fact my very first roll since I bought the F4 and began to shoot film just about a month ago -- the 7-Eleven photo naturally became my favorite moment of the full roll. I decided to title it "Hong Kong needs a break" as 7-Eleven represents our daily life. Btw, this particular 7-Eleven shop located at 15 Wong Nai Chung Rd in Happy Valley is actually the first 7-Eleven opened in Hong Kong in 1981 on the same location.

Every photo is your point of view, about the world, people and everything and every idea around you. A picture is worth a thousand words.

Nikon made F4 in 1988. I began to learn how to shoot film in 2021.

Pak Sha Road

Pak Sha Road (白沙道) is a quite short path in the Lee Gardens area in Causeway Bay.

The little path helps to connect different properties of Lee Gardens and houses several nice local cafes and grocery shops including perhaps the most famous one for Shanghainese foodstuff, the Old San Yang (老三陽). (Hint: now it is the hairy crab season!)

Hong Kong’s only official Leica coffee shop is also located on Pak Sha Road, named after a Chinese philosopher Chan Pak Sha who was born and remained active during the Ming dynasty. You won’t miss the Leica place when you walk around the area, given its high profile graffiti which already has the whole building covered.

There are some nice restaurants and cafes, including one selling Taiwan beef rice and the other well known for the mixture of international coffee and Chinese tea. You can certainly explore more inside the three shopping malls of Lee Gardens.

If the nearby SOGO is considered more for the ordinary, the Hysan is more for the middle-class, and then Lee Gardens certainly has more luxury brands for the rich to study.

Related reading: Basao Tea

Basao Tea

I always wanted to try this elegant cafe in Causeway Bay but it was always full of people plus a long queue of customers in waiting outside.

Fortunately we dropped by the shop and happened to grab a table easily today. The cafe is famous for its fusion-style combination of coffee and tea (including Chinese tea like Da Hong Pao (大紅袍). I don’t like sweet coffee, hence coffee with tea flavour tastes pretty good for me.

The cafe is located on Pak Sha Road (白沙道), a short path in CwB that is easily neglected by many. But the whole street is really a hidden gem for CwB. There are many other fun places in the same street also for you to explore. CwB is not just about all the shopping malls. Actually, Pak Sha Road feels more like a small town in Europe.