Hong Kong image on Shanghai film

Camera: Nikon F4
Lens: Nikon 105mm f/2.5 AI-s
Film: Shanghai GP3 400 B&W

Attempted to get my film camera Nikon F4 to shoot in black and white for the first time, using Shanghai GP3 film (ISO 400). The venue is PMQ (元創方), on the historic site of the old Hollywood Road Police Married Quarters.

Shanghai was one of the first places where Western film photography was introduced in China in the late Qing dynasty. In late 1950s, Shanghai was also the birthplace of the first roll of black and white film 100% made domestically.

Shanghai and Hong Kong also have countless connections on cultural and business levels in the history. To put the images of Hong Kong on an old Shanghai roll sounds like an interesting historical idea.

Shooting at night on film proved to be quite challenging — it challenges your skill as well as your patience. I was quite worried about photographs being over-exposure or under-exposure, and I had to hold my patience until I saw the photos developed in the dark room.

The images are definitely not the sharpest ones, but they all feel more real. I wonder if the famous Shanghai/Hong Kong photographer Fan Ho were still alive, how would he shoot the PMQ today?

(Read here to learn more about the lens, Nikon 105mm f/2.5 AI-s)

The Way Ahead

Title: The way ahead
Camera: Nikon FM2/T
Lens: Nippon Kogaku Japan Nikon 50mm f/1.4 non-AI manual focus
Film: Kodak Gold 200

My long Christmas + New Year holiday is coming to the end. Let’s be honest: the year of 2022 apparently didn’t start in a nice way, from Hong Kong to Kazakhstan, not to mention the new wave of Covid-19 almost everywhere in the world.

But, yes, there is always a but, whatever the challenges or opportunities facing us. But the only way ahead is to go ahead. Keep going and let’s solve the problems and make impact together. This is the only way the world can move ahead.

I took this photo during my short trip to Sai Kung in Hong Kong. It was shot on a Nikon FM2/T film camera, recently acquired by me from someone who decided to migrate to the U.K. with his family. Ironically he acquired the FM2/T during his trip to London many years ago from a local Nikon collector and now I become the new owner of the camera, still in mint condition. It will stay with me in Hong Kong.

Nikon FM2 was invented in 1982 and the 50mm lens I use was first manufactured by Nikon in 1962. I went to Sai Kung in the first week of 2022 and got this photo on my FM2/T (T means titan, a special edition of FM2) and the very old lens.

Time and space are all relative. So are big or small problems facing us today. Whenever we get into the next chapter and then look back, the world may feel simpler than it was.

Btw, Sai Kung feels like Japan in this photograph, or perhaps it is because I miss flying and a real holiday too much.

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.