Take the Photo and Blog

Please go there for my daily photo blog.

2010-08-30T23:40:00.001+08:00

Still The Moment

The End

2010-06-12T23:16:00.002+08:00

I've decided to make it all simple by moving myself here. See you there!

Cloud

2010-05-08T00:52:00.001+08:00

Sigma DP2s

Pipelines

2010-05-07T00:28:00.000+08:00

Sigma DP2s

Arrival

2010-05-04T23:34:00.000+08:00

Sigma DP2s

*

2010-05-03T23:08:00.001+08:00

Sigma DP2s

Rapids

2010-05-01T00:53:00.001+08:00

Sigma DP2s

Motorcycle at the Back Alley

2010-04-30T00:59:00.002+08:00

Sigma DP2s

I used to love the noises of the b/w jpg pictures straight from Ricoh GRDI at high ISO. Now such pictures from my DP2s are my new love.

JJC ALC-2

2010-04-28T19:20:00.004+08:00

Canon Ixus 70

Replaced the Ricoh LC-1 with this self-retaining lens cap specially made for Sigma DP cameras by JJC. It works OK. Just a little loose even after being screwed in place. And the colour is not in the black as the lens barrel. The make and model are too large... However, it fits much better than LC-1.

Tiger

2010-04-27T23:21:00.000+08:00

Sigma DP2s

The Seat #2

2010-04-26T23:07:00.000+08:00

Sigma DP2s

The Seat

2010-04-25T22:47:00.000+08:00

Sigma DP2s

Escape

2010-04-25T01:28:00.002+08:00

Sigma DP2s

PP by SPP3. For b/w, it's better than SPP4. The gorgeous noises remain.

I've been amazed again and again with DP2s after taking test shots for a few days. Its weakest point is definitely its low light performance. With some experiments, I've already grasped some simple techniques to turn such difficult condition into useful pictures.

Sigma DP2s + Ricoh LC-1

2010-04-20T15:00:00.004+08:00

Olympus µ 850 SW

After a hiatus, I'm back with a new camera, Sigma DP2s!

Although my previous camera, Panasonic LC-1, is a nice camera, it somehow doesn't work for me in a long term. It works like a rangefinder and looks cool. Its lens is great! Its picture quality is very good. I liked it a lot and thought it's the camera to stay. But after some extented use, I found it's quite big and heavy. Although it's not as big and heavy as a DSLR, it's much bigger than my old loves, Ricoh GR Digital and other compact film cameras. Of course, I knew its size and weight when I considered to buy it. I just thought it's not a big problem. As I found that I took less and less pictures with it, I knew it's really a problem. It stayed inside its soft case more and more as time went by.

After playing with my friend's new GRDIII, I just wanted to bring back the joy of taking pictures with a true compact camera. I wanted a 2nd-hand GRDI at decent condition. But I finally dropped the idea as such GRDI could break anytime after all the years. I may find a GRDI at a very good price later for its B/W quality. For now, I need a new good one. After learning the lessons with Konica Hexar and Panasonic LC-1, I must find one with a compact and light body and pretty good picture quality. I thought a little about GRDIII. But it's not a big breakthrough except for its high ISO performance. What else was a better option? I came across Sigma DP2s.

I heard a lot of comments on how poor DP1 is. Now DP2s is a result of improvements over the previous DP's with a prime lens. It doesn't work as great as GRDIII. It's just acceptable. With its amazing picture quality, I can say it's more than acceptable.

Do I really need such picture quality? Most of the time, no. But GRDIII can't bring me such quality. And with post-processing, I can turn a very detailed picture into a lower quality one. I can't do this another way round.

So, finally, DP2s!

As its lens cover is quite annoying, I've replaced it with a Ricoh LC-1.

Dead Fish

2009-10-02T00:59:00.000+08:00

T4 Super D

In the Ruin

2009-09-27T22:53:00.002+08:00

T4 Super D

Sleep

2009-09-25T00:53:00.001+08:00

T4 Super D

In the Drugstore

2009-09-24T00:07:00.000+08:00

T4 Super D

Panda

2009-09-21T18:23:00.000+08:00

T4 Super D

_uck

2009-09-19T00:46:00.000+08:00

T4 Super D

The Man with an Opened Month

2009-09-18T00:44:00.002+08:00

T4 Super D

The Shoes

2009-09-17T00:09:00.000+08:00

T4 Super D

Food

2009-09-16T00:51:00.000+08:00

T4 Super D

Adult Only

2009-09-13T00:12:00.002+08:00

T4 Super D

The Twins

2009-09-12T00:43:00.000+08:00

T4 Super D

The Call

2009-09-11T01:04:00.000+08:00

T4 Super D

Father & Son

2009-09-10T00:23:00.000+08:00

T4 Super D

The Post

2009-09-08T23:19:00.001+08:00

T4 Super D

The Rocks

2009-09-07T23:22:00.000+08:00

T4 Super D

The Trunk

2009-09-06T22:44:00.001+08:00

T4 Super D

The Waves

2009-09-05T22:54:00.000+08:00

T4 Super D

Dead Fish

2009-09-02T20:52:00.000+08:00

T4 Super D

The Wait

2009-09-01T23:00:00.000+08:00

T4 Super D

Get On the Bus!

2009-08-31T22:51:00.001+08:00

T4 Super D

Summer

2009-08-30T23:38:00.001+08:00

T4 Super D

Congee People

2009-08-28T00:31:00.002+08:00

T4 Super D

This is one of my favourite congee restaurants. I sometimes just can't meet their half-day operational opening hours. I respect all the people having all the wonderful congee inside. They know what is the best.

In Thru the Night

2009-08-26T23:42:00.002+08:00

T4 Super D

The latest issue of Photo Graphica arrived today. The new digital photographic works of Daido Moriyama in the magazine is much better than his digital pictures I've seen before. They are in colours. Great composition. Very emotional as his black and white photos. They are not blurry or noisy as his works before. Some of them do have digital noise. But such noise can't be compared with his film noise. I don't think he intentionally uses the noise for expression. It just happened inevitably when he cropped and enlarged part of the pictures. Very interesting. Based on the pictures, I can conclude that he is still strong.

I took this picture from a bus. I'm surprised that the picture is quite sharp. I like the lights and atmosphere very much. I don't want to edit anything. It's just a raw scanned picture from my Nikon Super CoolScan 5000ED.

On the Ride

2009-08-25T19:52:00.003+08:00

T5D

After my son was born, I have been aware of other babies more to see how they look and behave. Too many unknowns to a green father like me. Observation of other kids helps me to learn what may come next to my son or what better I can do to my son.

The baby in this picture is not my son. I don't know her or the driver. Actually, I can't see the baby. The canopy blocked my sight. How did she look like and and what was she doing? I was curious behind.

The Stare

2009-08-24T21:07:00.004+08:00

T5D

My targets are quite limited to my routes between my office and my home on working days. After work, I usually rush back home to see my little one. This further affects the chance of my feelings being aroused by different subjects.

I'm not very concious to take photos during my trips back and forth. However, whenever I felt convenient, my Yashica is always in my hand. Once I found an interesting scene or a scene that somehow touched me, I just point and shoot.

I saw the old lady on my road to bus stop in the morning. She was alone. She was looking away. I had no idea what she was looking. Maybe she was pondering after fighting with her husband last night...

Two Wheels

2009-08-23T23:49:00.001+08:00

T5D

Nam Van

2009-08-22T22:27:00.001+08:00

T5D

Two Cats

2009-08-22T00:39:00.001+08:00

T5D

All the Way Down

2009-08-21T00:28:00.000+08:00

T5D

Reaching Out for Happiness

2009-08-19T23:33:00.000+08:00

T5D

Let's Take A Nap

2009-08-18T21:46:00.000+08:00

T5D

The Feet

2009-08-17T19:01:00.000+08:00

T5D

The Beach

2009-08-16T01:18:00.002+08:00

T5D

Trees

2009-08-15T00:39:00.002+08:00

T5D

Another wide picture. I took it during my holiday with my little one at Hac Sa. While being busy taking care and playing with my son, I did take a few pictures for myself. This is one of them.

Car Park

2009-08-13T00:20:00.002+08:00

T5D

From the Ground Up

2009-08-11T21:21:00.002+08:00

T5D

Lotus: Finale

2009-08-10T20:52:00.000+08:00

T5D

Lotus: Act 2 Scene 4

2009-08-09T22:20:00.000+08:00

T5D

Lotus: Act 2 Scene 3

2009-08-08T23:45:00.001+08:00

T5D

Lotus: Act 2 Scene 2

2009-08-08T00:37:00.000+08:00

T5D

Lotus: Act 2 Scene 1

2009-08-07T00:29:00.000+08:00

T5D

Lotus: Act 1 Scene 3

2009-08-06T00:04:00.001+08:00

T5D

Lotus: Act 1 Scene 2

2009-08-04T22:38:00.002+08:00

T5D

Lotus: Act 1 Scene 1

2009-08-03T22:47:00.002+08:00

T5D

Lotus: Prelude

2009-08-02T23:17:00.000+08:00

T5D

Covered #2

2009-08-01T00:33:00.002+08:00

T5D

Covered #1

2009-07-28T23:22:00.002+08:00

T5D

The exterior of many buildings have been under renovation these days. For the coming new government?

Sunbrella

2009-07-27T23:13:00.000+08:00

T5D

Blue Man

2009-07-26T23:08:00.000+08:00

T5D

Let's Go Under the Shade

2009-07-25T22:53:00.000+08:00

T5D

It's been pretty darn hot these days...

Shooting the Lotus

2009-07-25T00:34:00.003+08:00

T5D

Macao Lotus Festival is over now. I took this picture during the festival. Many different kinds of lotus were displayed in different regions of Macao. I'm not interested in taking flower pictures. But looking at those seas of lotus flowers, I was moved to take some. I'll show them later. Today I preferred showing someone else taking his shots.

Mini-Temple

2009-07-24T00:53:00.000+08:00

T5D

Women

2009-07-22T23:03:00.001+08:00

T5D

The Ladder

2009-07-21T23:13:00.002+08:00

T5D

The colours grabbed my eyes so much that I couldn't help taking the picture and show it in colours.

Clouds

2009-07-20T22:29:00.002+08:00

T5D

I like watching clouds. They're fabulous. Never boring. I believe many kids are still being fascinated by their mighty power of delivering us plenty sources of imagination.

The Mast

2009-07-19T22:05:00.000+08:00

T5D

Macao

2009-07-16T15:17:00.003+08:00

T5DT5D

Another pictures of Macao from T63 of Macau Tower. Look at all those ugly tall buildings. The good old past is gone.

Taipa

2009-07-14T21:23:00.001+08:00

T5D

I took a few pictures up on the 63rd level of Macau Tower. I had a pretty good view of Macao. Here is the one on Taipa, the island part of Macao.

Hurt

2009-07-13T23:14:00.000+08:00

T5D

Dreams Go Far

2009-07-12T23:24:00.000+08:00

T5D

Twins

2009-07-11T22:51:00.001+08:00

T5D

Two Halves

2009-07-11T00:36:00.003+08:00

T5D

I've thought about getting a half-frame camera. I think it's cool. Before I really get one, I made this with 2 pictures. The result is not as good as I thought.

TV Game Arcade

2009-07-10T00:40:00.000+08:00

T5D

Welcome to Port Plaza

2009-07-07T21:58:00.002+08:00

T5D

Many people went to Zhuhai from Macao on holidays. Port Plaza is the most popular place for shopping.

Goodbye

2009-07-05T23:50:00.004+08:00

T5D + 5000 ED

Don't get me wrong. I still keep this blog. My goodbye was sent to my Ricoh GR Digital. I sold it. I don't want to take photos by any digital cameras at all. If I need to, I use my mobile phone.

My goodbye was also sent to Canon 8800F. In order to scan my film at better quality, I've replaced it with Nikon 5000 ED.

Comeback

2009-06-28T21:52:00.003+08:00

T5D

I predict. Just like vinyl records. There is going to be a comeback for film.

The Wheelchair

2009-06-26T00:45:00.000+08:00

T5D

The Bottles

2009-06-21T22:41:00.002+08:00

T5D

The Bones

2009-06-15T22:29:00.001+08:00

T5D

The Newspaper

2009-06-14T00:12:00.000+08:00

T5D

Mistake #2

2009-06-11T13:56:00.003+08:00

Yashica T5D

This time I accidentally pressed the self-timer button. The LCD showed a countdown from 10. I didn't realized it's the countdown for shutter release. I was worried that the film was being rolled back! Then I saw the lens moved forward and heard the shutter release...

Mistake #1

2009-06-10T00:26:00.001+08:00

Yashica T5D

The shutter of T5D is very light. This is the result of an accidental shutter release after taking a photo.

Under Threat

2009-06-08T23:52:00.003+08:00

Yashica T5D

A Bed Just Fits

2009-06-06T00:45:00.005+08:00

Contax T2

A beautiful and very well-built camera on a down-and-out man on the street.

Many say T3 is better than T2. I don't agree. I prefer T2 much more than T3. T2 is the only Contax compact camera I've been interested to own. Now I have one. But I may not use it as often as I thought, especially after trying Yashica T5D, a truly simple P&S camera that often amazes me. I'm truly lucky to find a new one, such of which is really rare nowadays. As T5 is often mentioned as a poor man's T2, I'll try to compare them when I have time later.

New Cameras

2009-06-03T23:19:00.003+08:00

New Film Camera A

New Film Camera B

I'm not a collector. I'm also not interested in playing cameras as toy. I see camera as a tool to capture my feeling. I prefer the process can make me feel good. After trying different compact film cameras, I still have a feeling that something is missing. Each of the cameras is great in different ways. I like them all. But I don't want to keep them all. I have a rule to myself. I can only keep one as my tool to bring along with me wherever I go. Should I keep on searching? I have been trying to. Now I have two new cameras in my hands. Both have been discontinued for a long time. I was lucky to be able to buy them new in box. They belong to different market segments. One is cheap and another one is not. I couldn't help testing their performances ASAP. I'll write my experiences and about the results later. Now let me post 1 photo from each of them. Guess what cameras they are. (Hint: Made in Japan.) Which one do you like more? :)

Into Another End

2009-05-30T00:28:00.001+08:00

Hexar

The Bride

2009-05-29T00:59:00.002+08:00

GR1v

Heard from people and shops that more and more people have returned to film cameras recently. This is good news to me. I believe more demand drives more supply. Hope film supply can really last longer.

I got another new film camera yesterday. It's truly new. Never been used. It's one of the compact cameras I looked forward to trying. The test film has not been finished yet. Will disclose the camera and share the results soon.

The Benches

2009-05-23T00:51:00.002+08:00

GR1v

Recently, I didn't have time to maintain the blog. Too busy taking care of my little baby son. I did take more than enough photos for daily pictures. Just couldn't organize and post-process them.

I took this by a now abandoned building. It looks very European. Hope it'll be put into good use some day.

No Entry

2009-05-15T01:02:00.000+08:00

TC-1

The Tunnel

2009-05-09T00:24:00.001+08:00

Hexar

Coke Power

2009-05-08T00:41:00.002+08:00

GR1v

The picture is a bit soft for my shaky hands under the low light situation in a small motorbike repair shop. I don't want to put any noises on it as I liked to do to my pictures before. I think metal has more character without any film noises.

Connected

2009-05-06T23:22:00.002+08:00

GR1v

Internet has become much more accessible in public areas. Like this shopping mall in Hong Kong. People can get online for free. No time limit.

The Mop

2009-05-03T23:52:00.001+08:00

TC-1

Bowling in the Air

2009-05-02T00:27:00.000+08:00

TC-1

The Smoker 2

2009-04-30T00:36:00.002+08:00

TC-1

I like the restaurant very much. It's one of my most favourite places to have breakfast. It looks like belonging to the past. Their sandwiches are great.

The Smoker

2009-04-28T00:28:00.002+08:00

Hexar

He's one of the workers working on the road near my home. I don't know what has been really done to the road. Maybe it's too old. Time to change the upper layer.

He's preparing some hot stuff. Probably for putting between the layers. While waiting for the hot stuff, he smoked a cigarette. He didn't burn enough.