project 365 - G12... 31-03-11

selfie 31 (click photo to enlarge)

last day of the month, so i thought i'd do something a little different. the only editing trickery was to flip the shot so it didn't read mirror image (too hard to write backwards). manual exposure, nd on, f/8, 15 seconds. i used an led light and off camera flash. it was actually a little tricky getting it all done in 15 seconds, but eventually i got it.

project 365 - G12... 30-03-11

jimmy (click photo to enlarge)

i was over at a buddy's place today and took a few shot of one of his two bulldogs. this is jimmy. he was a bit concerned with what the camera was all about at first. but as you can see, he settled into his modeling role eventually.

project 365 - G12... 29-03-11

graffiti 29 (click photo to enlarge)

i found this graffiti in western district near the whitty st tram depot. i thought it was pretty cool but wanted to come up with something other than just taking a shot of some graffiti. i went for the slow exposure 'zoom' combination. it added to the apparent fear on the green and yellow guy's face! unfortunately you can't zoom the G12 while shooting, which meant i had to physically move the camera in a zooming motion to achieve the same effect. the exposure is 1/3 second and i also used slow synchro flash (second curtain).

project 365 - G12... 28-03-11

shrine (click photo to enlarge)

there are dozens of these mini-temples or shines dotted all over the city. this one is on peel street.

project 365 - G12... 27-03-11

grand stand (click photo to enlarge)

i was at the hong kong rugby sevens today and noticed what i thought might be an interesting shot underneath the grandstand. here it is.

project 365 - G12... 26-03-11

western tunnel (click photo to enlarge)

there are three tunnels that pass underneath victoria harbour here in hong kong joining the island with the mainland. this is the western tunnel. i think the taxi driver thought i was weird, sticking my arm out of the window with my camera!

project 365 - G12... 25-03-11

liz (click photo to enlarge)

this was taken on queens road in central today. it was a promotion event for a clothing label. there were four models inside a perspex container on the back of a truck. i was quite surprised at the frenzy this all created! the event organiser was kind enough to tell me if i moved to a different spot i could get a better view. but i was looking for a different angle to all the photographers that were there.

project 365 - G12... 24-03-11

envy (click photo to enlarge)

i was shooting the gfi hkfc rugby tens tournament today when i took out the mighty G12 and took a shot of some of the big guns sitting next to me. one of the guys gave me a puzzled look when he saw the camera! you can see some of the shots i took (not with the G12) on my facebook page.

project 365 - G12... 23-03-11

push (click photo to enlarge)

i saw this woman on the way home tonight. for those of you that aren't from hong kong, this is a common sight here. this is how the majority of trash and recyclables are moved around - by an army of hundreds (maybe thousands) mostly older women. there's a mantra in photography that goes roughly "learn all of the rules - then break them". as far as composition goes, this breaks the rules (probably should have learned them first though!).

project 365 - G12... 22-03-11

writing on the wall (click photo to enlarge)

down another alleyway today. this was on the wall of a small grocery store/kitchen. can anyone tell me what it says?

project 365 - G12... 21-03-11

welcome (click photo to enlarge)

i've lived in hong kong for nearly thirteen years now and she still surprises me. i was wandering around central today, in the back alleys as usual when i stumbled upon an abandoned building. there was nobody around so i went on in. it was a three story 'walk-up' and although there was nothing inside, all the front doors were chained closed. this was the entrance to the top floor apartment. judging by the condition of the posters the building hasn't been abandoned for very long.

AirAsia Hong Kong Beach 5's Rugby Tournament

AirAsia Hong Kong Beach 5's Rugby Tournament

today i was shooting the AirAsia Hong Kong Beach 5's Rugby Tournament for Rugby Asia Channel. you can click here to see my facebook page of images.

project 365 - G12... 20-03-11

corner (click photo to enlarge)

i was out and about today shooting a beach rugby tournament for rugby asia channel and unfortunately didn't pull out the G12 until the taxi ride home! i was experimenting with different shutter speeds from the taxi window. this is a dried seafood shop at 1/20th second.

project 365 - G12... 19-03-11

rain (click photo to enlarge)

woke up after surgery this morning to a pretty dreary day. we haven't had much rain lately here in hong kong, so not surprisingly, we get some on the first day of the beach rugby tournament! this was the view from my hospital room window. i like this photo. can the photographers out there see anything unusual in this shot?

project 365 - G12... 18-03-11

2:42 (click photo to enlarge)

in hospital for two days - so pretty limited subject material people! i understand the need for hospitals to be sterile in regard to germs - but does the furniture and decor have to be so sterile too? this looks like it's come straight from the 70's... or north korea!  photographically, nothing too much here, just rearranged the furniture a little and tried to come up with a composition that summed up the boring feel of the room.

project 365 - G12... 17-03-11

transporter 109 (click photo to enlarge)

the creative juices were flowing again today. i went a little 'old school'. i bought a filter adapter for the G12, an ordinary, cheap uv filter and some vaseline! this is how they did it back in the day - smudging vaseline on the lens (filter). i left a spot in the middle to stay sharp. this is an elevator in the ifc shopping mall. i overexposed by 2 stops to wash it out. i think it has a bit of a futuristic feel to it.

project 365 - G12... 16-03-11

smoke (click photo to enlarge)

i felt a little bit guilty at the lack of effort with yesterdays shot, so i put a little more time into todays. i won't go into too much detail... low key, candle, tripod, off camera flash, photoshop, colourised and blended layers - done!

project 365 - G12... 15-03-11

thirds (click photo to enlarge)

today was a dreary day outside and i had quite a bit of work to do inside, so i came up with a shot at home. this is a section of tiled wall outside my bedroom looking up into the clouds. there's very little going on in this shot - it relies on a couple of the oldest rules in the book to give the composition (some) interest. 

project 365 - G12... 14-03-11

fishy (click photo to enlarge)

this was taken in the market around graham and peel streets in central. i think one could probably spend a day shooting in there, so many sights, smells and sounds. although not all of the vendors are friendly - i got a good thirty seconds of abuse from an old lady for taking a shot of her cat!

project 365 - G12... 13-03-11

market (click photo to enlarge)

this was taken at the centre street market in sai ying pun. it seems that a lot of the small business owners are being priced out of their locations by 'greedy landlords' and some of these markets are closing down too. i wanted to get a different perspective so i went up to the next level and shot down from above.

project 365 - G12... 12-03-11

concentration (click photo to enlarge)

today was club rugby grand final day here in hong kong so i was out there shooting all day. this shot was taken in the locker room just before the first division match. i was trying to capture the concentration and intensity on some of the players faces, although each player has their own way of mentally preparing for big games. i converted to black and white to give the shot more of a 'press' feel.

project 365 - G12... 11-03-11

project (click photo to enlarge)

i'm going to stop apologising about posting shots of buildings now! i live in hong kong... it's gonna happen. in fact, i think i've only posted three or four building shots out of around seventy shots so far. anyway, this was taken in kwun tong today. it's a world away from life here on hong kong island. i really felt like i was in another country! and judging by the looks i got from the locals, they don't see too many gweilos out there. this was one of the government housing estates. they mostly looked old, run down and a little depressing.

project 365 - G12... 10-03-11

shark fins (click photo to enlarge)

...................... end shark finning now .....................

project 365 - G12... 09-03-11

mushroom (click photo to enlarge)

i was taking some macro shots today with fruits and vegetables (and fungi) with my slr camera. so i threw the G12 on to the tripod and took a few with it in macro mode as well. it's a little trickier than you might think coming up with an interesting composition with only a mushroom. this is what i came up with.

project 365 - G12... 08-03-11

recycle (click photo to enlarge)

a lot of folks here in hong kong don't think there's much - if any recycling going on here. i contend that although it's probably not anywhere near the level it should be, recycling is happening. i think the system is just different here. most people don't separate, they just throw away; then somewhere along the line some low to no income people sort through, separate and take to collection centres like the one where i took this shot. although the photo lacks composition of any description, i like it. i think it still makes an impact and i like the contrast. it looks dirty, which is how we should feel about filling up landfills all over the place.

project 365 - G12... 07-03-11

fish lights (click photo to enlarge)

yes, it's true... i should probably get out of my own neighborhood a little more! another shot taken within 1km of home. but there's so much to shoot around here. i used the widest aperture i could to achieve the shallowest depth of field possible. i also used the lights to help lead the eye into the subject. i'll try and get out a little more, i promise!

project 365 - G12... 06-03-11

j j  (click photo to enlarge)

i had a long lunch with some new friends today, so i didn't have the opportunity to take many shots today. later in the evening i had the pleasure of meeting jj and whiskey, two very cool rescue dogs. this is jj. after the initial excitement of having so many people in her house, i think she eventually became a little bored of our company; hence her look in this shot.

project 365 - G12... 05-03-11

elvis (click photo to enlarge)

nice subject material today. elvis costello live at the hong kong cultural centre as part of the 2011 arts festival. taken from the back row so i had to use full zoom. i also had to stop down two stops to avoid the subject being overexposed and to help lose detail in the background. i like the way elvis and his guitars are isolated by the lighting; it reflects the intimate mood of the concert.

project 365 - G12... 04-03-11

drying

i can usually find something interesting going on in my neighborhood. there's lots of drying going in around here; fish; seafood, flowers, vegetables and fruit etc. what surprises me a little is that the shopkeepers don't seem to mind that their products are drying on the street, next to a construction site and right next to the exhaust of the vehicles passing by. i guess it gives it that unique 'hong kong flavour'.

project 365 - G12... 03-03-11

mr magoo

i first took a shot of this taxi driver in a documentary sense, he looked so comical to me. very old and hunched over with his face right next to the steering wheel, he reminded me of mr magoo. then i realised there was an 'artistic' opportunity. so, iso 1600. f/2.8. 1/4 sec. lots of camera shake but not so bad the shot becomes unrecognisable. i included the mirror in the shot and was lucky enough to have another taxi come in to view which i like.

project 365 - G12... 02-03-11

no parking

back in hong kong again, late. i took this when i went out to buy some supplies after being away for a few days. it's a construction site for a hotel being built in my neighborhood. i was using slow syncro again with the flash set to second curtain. without going too techno, that means the flash fires at the end of the exposure. this way the scooter is at the front of the light trails rather than having the light trails coming out of the front of the scooter. make sense?

project 365 - G12... 01-03-11

busselton jetty

this was taken in a picturesque town called busselton, on the coast of western australia. this jetty is 1.8km long and veers around to the right (out of view in this shot). there were storm clouds around so i didn't quite get the light that i was looking for. a nice place though. i haven't decided on a theme for march, so i'll just freestyle and come up with a specific theme for april!

february reflections

my thoughts on february...

i enjoyed 'poladroid' month! it's a fun program. on the flipside, i think it made me a little lazy. poladroid photos kind of look cool no matter what the shot.

there are quite a few things i would like canon to do to improve on the G12 for the 'G13' when it comes out. i still think it's a nice camera - these are just some ways i think it could be better. it's noisy. it's slooow! it needs more zoom, maybe 8x or 10x. i will give the full report at the end of the year.

facebook   flickr

project 365 - G12... 28-02-11

what the quokka!?!

i was on rottnest island today, a beautiful island off the coast of western australia. this is one of the natives, a marsupial called a quokka. they're not shy so i got right up close to this guy. i shot in macro with slow syncro flash on low power. he moved just as i took the shot so he's a little blurry, but i think it still works for the polaroid style.

speaking of which, that's the end of february and that's the end of poladroid month. it was fun!

project 365 - G12... 27-02-11

parsley

i've been away for a few days which is why i haven't been posting. on the 27th i was up early and on a plane for eight hours of the day so i decided to come up with something on the flight. i took a few food shots and then tried to come up with a nice composure of a lone sprig of parsley! i shot in macro mode and as it's a 'high key' type shot i overexposed by one stop.