photography: what do I do.

(No one has commented on my photographs yet, how come?)

The very first place where I lived on my own for the first time, was a pseudo-commune in San Francisco.  There I met a photographer who was my neighbor at the time.  He got me into photography.

I shoot mostly transparencies and color film, B&W once in a while, some digital.  I mainly print color though I have yet to find a darkroom for transparencies.  I don't have too much experience but it's definitely one of my favorite things to do.

I use primarily Fuji Reala, Velvia and Provia, which all act similarly.  I have used it for 10 years so I know it well, though I haven't explored too many other types of film stock.

All my photographs are hand-held, shot in natural light, including the ones shot in night time.  I might soon go into studio photography because I have been living in the same  city for many years that I feel like I have become desensitized to the light, which is the primary  factor  that makes me pick up my camera.

(Hong Kong, TaiKoo Shing, Reala film)

Photography is costly.  For further investment, I am torn between paying for darkroom fees and materials, and a digital camera.  I am one of those photographers who has played with film long enough to become attached, yet also know the digital world well enough to easily switch over.  But man, it's not an easy decision to make!

Color darkroom is pitch black.  You rely on your sense of touch to get things done, and hence you develop a strong relationship with the space - the darkroom.  If my studio closed down for some stupid reason I'll be very mad, or at least feeling uneasy printing somewhere else in the beginning.

(Allan, South Africa)

I do fine art photography, and I also have a collection of my travel shots.  Most of my work, if I were to put it, is about atmosphere, shapes and color; a lot of walls and random objects that form patterns or shapes; many are about color, I must say.

(Hong Kong)

I might never exhibit or publish some of my travel photographs because I am still having a hard time with them.  I feel like they don't belong to me.  If I get a grant I'll make prints of those people that I took pictures of, travel back to those places where I took them and give them a copy, or donate to the city.

(Xinjiang, China)

I am trying to put a show together some time soon, perhaps at the end of the year.  Hopefully they won't be displayed behind glass.  If I could, I much rather displaying them as pieces of photo paper because that's what they are (matting and framing is a whole different school).