| “The moment! Once you miss it, it is gone | | | | the glass, and minimize the possibility of a direct |
| forever.” | | | | contact with sunlight. This is important to avoid too |
| Most photographers must have known to whom this | | | | much glass flare, except if we desire some particular |
| sentence belongs. Henri Cartier Bresson. This French | | | | effects. |
| photographer believes that photography is not similar | | | | All the variants that I have mentioned above lines, |
| to painting. There is a little disparity of creativity | | | | shapes and shadows– are the dominating aspects |
| when pictures are taken. We have to be aware of | | | | of my today’s photos. At the beginning, I |
| the timely composition or expression and know | | | | practice with a digital medium, but nowadays, I do it |
| exactly intuitively when we should press the button. | | | | with a film one. By examining both, I gain a different |
| This is crucial due to photographer’s capturing | | | | satisfaction. For some particular effects that I cannot |
| moments. Once you miss it, it is gone forever. The | | | | get from the digital medium, I can get them from |
| worst part is; I often lose those crucial moments. | | | | the film one, and vice versa. |
| Sometimes, when I am in a good spot, which is I | | | | I do not want to make such dichotomy because in |
| think having a dramatic ambience and subject’s | | | | my opinion, both are just the media to make |
| perfect expression, unluckily I forget to bring my | | | | interesting pictures. Almost all of my photos are |
| camera. Or, there is a time when I am readily holding | | | | dominated by black and white. This happens because |
| a camera, waiting for long in a spot which I think is | | | | I think black-and-white can give me much more |
| interesting, and unfortunately, my intuition does not | | | | chances to express those dominating elements in this |
| work well. The result is obvious: I gain nothing special. | | | | case, shapes and shadows. |
| Experimenting Probably, I was too obsessed with | | | | Besides, some subjects do not have too many |
| Bresson’s photos at that time. Hence, every | | | | colors. An Intriguing Stage Luckily, I live in Hong Kong. |
| time I saw hundreds of frames that I had taken, I | | | | This nation used to be under the colonization of |
| saw them to be disappointing because I was not | | | | England, but now, there are seven millions people live |
| capable of capturing any decisive moment like | | | | in it. This makes me capable of doing the street |
| Bresson was. To deal with that disappointment, I | | | | experiments freely. Some tourists with their cameras, |
| start to make some experiments on everything I | | | | or citizens with their hectic and negligent habit; these |
| perceive whatever it is. | | | | are some of the reasons why I feel free on the |
| Everything that interests me, like a huge billboard in | | | | experiments. |
| the corner of town, colorful tram, big road surface | | | | Besides, a friend told me, Hong Kong has been giving |
| marking and line on the road to guide drivers and | | | | its intriguing “stage” which is interesting to |
| pedestrians, line and shape on the architecture of | | | | capture: from its modern townscape to the irony of |
| overpass or metro subway, shadow of a still or | | | | its megapolitan citizens. In the end, I consider that |
| moving object, also reflection on the billboard glass. | | | | we do not necessarily use a large camera when |
| Playing with lines, shapes and shadows can | | | | photographing in a public place; at least when taking |
| sometimes change the ordinary to something special. | | | | snapshot photos. How negligent is the people around |
| Also when doing an experiment on the reflection on | | | | us, I am sure that they will be inconvenient when |
| the glass, sometimes I can get some unpredictable | | | | they find a long lens appointing. |
| photos. To be honest, there is no particular trick in | | | | Besides, lately, I realize that how interesting is the |
| the process of photographing reflection on that glass. | | | | geometric shape that I capture, it will be sour |
| Usually, I only use a wide lens and appoint it closer to | | | | without any human element in it. |