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.

Back to 1988: Nikon F4

When Nikon introduced its F4 film camera to the world, I was only 8 years old. The F4 was my dad's favourite as he used it on daily basis, for his work as a professional photographer for many years. I remember the days when he didn't want me to even touch the camera mainly because it was way too expensive and quite complicated.

Fast forward. In the winter of 2021 I happened to find a F4 online and the camera seemed to be in pretty good condition. I grabbed it quickly.

The F4 was the first professional Nikon to feature a practical autofocus system. Nikon introduced the F4 as the next generation in Nikon's line of F-series professional cameras. Following the debut of F4 in 1988, Nikon brought F5 to the market in 1996. All F4 models were discontinued soon after, in May 1997.

A lot of film photographers may choose other models than F4 as the camera is a pretty heavy (or "solid", in my words) one. Of course, F4 means more personal to me as it was my dad's favorite one. When I told my dad I bought a second-hand F4, his first question was about the price. Yes, it is much cheaper nowadays than in 1988 when he got it.

Indeed, F4 used to be a camera that can make everyone around you very jealous in those old and good times in the 1990s.

Another interesting fact about F4 is its designer, Giorgetto Giugiaro, the legendary Italian designer probably best known for his car designs like DMC DeLorean. F4 was the first camera designed by Giugiaro as some fans may say the F4 viewfinder reflects the same style of DeLorean.

I'm going to learn more about film photography in 2022. Welcome any tips and advice.

Yes, digital photography makes our life much easier and more efficient. But sometimes we just want to enjoy those "back to the basic" moments too. I hope I can use my F4 to shoot some nice photos and perhaps someday can “show off” my work to my dad and make him proud.

王力宏

好像是2001年的時候，我當時在上海的一家電台做intern，某日因為主播有其他任務，我就被突然安排去專訪王力宏。那年他剛出新專輯《唯一》，CD中幾乎每首歌都好流行，各大電台都搶播⋯⋯

記得我按照指定時間到達王力宏住的酒店，他的助理已經在那邊等我，但是王力宏遲到了差不多要半小時。其實遲到對明星來說也很正常，有時時間也真的不是他們能控制的，我那個時候作為一個intern，心想只能夠做好採訪就好。

等王力宏到了以後，他第一件事情就是主動和我狂抱歉，一直說不好意思，遲到那麼久，然後還讓助理趕緊找來新的CD，現場簽名送給我。之後的採訪都很順利，王力宏國語很好，屬於很會聊天的人，加上態度和藹，和其他明星比起來，他真的不算有什麼明星架子。

臨走的時候，王力宏還順手拿了一束花給我，說是剛剛有歌迷在活動上送的，反正他也要很快離開上海，不嫌棄可以轉送我，也以此再度向我表示他因為遲到的歉意。

我也真是受寵若驚，回到辦公室後當然忍不住向同事們”炫耀”：看！王力宏有送花給我！

從此以後，採訪王力宏的故事成為我當年在上海做娛樂新聞記者的美好回憶之一。直到最近，哎，誰也沒想到⋯⋯

還是那句老話，人是會變的，又或許是這個世界真的變了，所以，有些人也變了。