I realise the title is a bit misleading since there are no actual photos of Jay Chou to show you... but I was at the airport immigration desk at Xian when a small female airport official elbowed me out of the way, brandishing a camera phone. What was the reason for this unwarranted bodycheck from this most unlikely of assailants? Jay Chou was on the desk right next to me, getting his IDs checked at the same time. There was a huge commotion as we both walked out together. Naturally he was whisked away by some h...Read more
I wake up on Sunday reeking of booze, jagermeister seeping through my pores.
Bugger.
I'm supposed to meet film photographer Steve and his gf Anny in Kowloon. They're here from Korea for the weekend and I'm taking them out to shoot photos.
Still retching from the excesses of the night before, I survey my collection of cameras before selecting the one that's easiest to load film into. I bung a slide film in and take off into the 10am sun.
We go to Shanghai Street, negotiating th...Read more
As reported in my last blog, here are some scans of my interior pics in the latest edition of Elle Decoration Magazine. The design of the flat itself was the brainchild of my very talented architect friend, Linda Ching. Congratulations to Linda on her latest successful project. Always a pleasure collaborating with her.
It's always a ripsnorter going to watch local bands in their element, and especially inspiring for me as a sometimes-guitarist and occasional jam sessioner. Really all I wanted to do at the most recent HK Live! was do some mild headbanging and sink a few cold pints, but in the end my trigger finger got the better of me once more despite not being there on "official duty". Perhaps it was the alivenotdead.com sponsorship of the event and my recent elevation to artist status which acted as a subconscious sp...Read more
September seems to be a really busy month, every weekend this month's got something happening. So if you're rushing around like me, remember to take time to reflect or, even better, if you shoot film like me, don't rush the development. Some things were meant to be enjoyed slowly.
Have a good 'un, everybody.
self-portrait, 2008 - shot on bronica sq-ai using fuji 800z...Read more
My friend Denise has just opened Urban Eatery, on Lyndhurst Terrace near Lan Kwai Fong, a new burger joint (I'm saying "burger joint" - I really don't get why so many new burger places call it a "burger concept"). She asked me to come along to the Grand Opening party and take some shots. Come and try their chunky burgers, with a side of evil cheese 'n' gravy doused po...Read more
It was quite a hard slog getting down to the HITEC for the Kooks gig. I ended up taking the car, and getting lost somewhere in Kowloon City. Being the HK Islander that I am, this posed some huge difficulties, for which I apologise profusely to Jon, my faithful travelling/gig companion. In the end I practically circled the whole of Kowloon and just got there in time. Really I have no excuse having already been there for BAPE and Incubus earlier in the year.
It was worth the extra gas getting there though, as a good ol...Read more
It was Drafus' birthday at Racks on Monday, and Jeri Lee & Nikita Esco helped him to celebrate...
Wasn't on photographic duty as such, but managed to get this one shot in. Happy Bday Drafus!
Nobody can deny that summer should be all about sunshine and sangrias... but in what has been the wettest summer in HK since record-taking began, the photographic possibilities have flowed thick and fast. I snapped this on a lc-a+, using hastily-obtained ultramax film from 7-11 at 3am in Lan Kwai Fong, on my way home from Racks MDB. I got soaked in the process, but managed to shield the camera long enough to fire a few decent shots off.
A few shots from Norm's Studio 8 opening in Chai Wan last Sunday. Shot on kodak gold "supermarket film" on my rangefinder. Out of respect I try not to be too intrusive when I am a guest at such events, especially with a lot of other heavy duty cameras around, so I only took a few shots. It is a beautiful space though, brimming with artistic sensibilities. I hope to see more of (and, indeed, from) it in the future!
more of my photos: www.flickr.com/photos/justinlim