Saturday, October 01, 2011

Day 4: Origins of Stanley '95

Just kidding. I realised I didn't actually take any photos or do any sightseeing on day 4 because it was a full day conference. Was also dead tired that night after the conference, so it was practically back to apartment and sleep. Or attempt to do work, I forgot which.

So I thought I'd go back to Hong Kong and finally write up how Stanley got his name, since February =)

From Hong Kong Trip
This is the very first photo I took with Stanley. Not sure if I bothered very much with whiteness correction or cropping, this is from February... now that I look at it, I'm tempted to do stuff with it...


From Hong Kong Trip
And this is the last photo I took with my old camera... verdict? I couldn't really tell at that time because much like the things of this world, I like to stay the same and opposed changes in many ways... probably due to laziness of having to adapt and learn to adjust to new items... it did take a while to warm up to Stanley and for me to put down my old camera. Poor thing, it never did get a name...

From Hong Kong Trip
This was at a simple HK cafe which my friends brought me to. Don't ask where, because, are you kidding me, it's been months, I can't even remember what I had for dinner last night.

From Hong Kong Trip
Stanley doesn't look that spectacular, it's just a little black compact with no grip whatsoever for holding, smooth and plain (which may be why I dropped it once already, but I swear it was only once!! My heart almost literally stopped the second it dropped... followed by a stunned frozen moment before frantically retrieving it and checking every little thing), but I suppose its minimalistic appearance is quite appealing in its own way. 

From Hong Kong Trip
Ohhh... I was smarter back then and took the exterior of the shop. Again with the lack of colour correctness....

From Hong Kong Trip
Hong Kong has badminton courts everywhere, and nothing like the dodgy courts we get here (ahem, Macquarie University), but spanking new and such shiny floors you can comb your hair against the reflection.

From Hong Kong Trip
What had me absolutely amused for the longest time was Stanley's tilt shift effect. Despite SOME people saying with disdain that it's a faux effect, I'm not good with photoshop, so I don't know how to do it manually. Stanley can do it with a simple turn of the dial! And if you look closely... in the middle of the photo somewhere, you can see the sign "Stanley Markets".

From Hong Kong Trip
More~ in a library where the badminton court was.

From Hong Kong Trip
Stanley got his name from Stanley- one of the first places he got taken to.

How original right? :D

From Hong Kong Trip

From Hong Kong Trip

From Hong Kong Trip
I think it's from here that I decided I like vivid colours and decided to saturate all my future photographs with vivid colours, disregarding details.

From Hong Kong Trip
Stanley (the place) was filled with tourists and the locals there were all walking dogs. So many types and the sizes so vastly different, it was too cute not to shoot. With Stanley (the camera).

From Hong Kong Trip
Huge poodle.

From Hong Kong Trip
Younger generation of Obie. And skinnier too.

From Hong Kong Trip
Such a poser dog, but so adorable XD I still think it looks very much like KFC Col Sander's dog.

From Hong Kong Trip
The owner.

From Hong Kong Trip
Clinging for life at the owner's leg, or simply eyeing the food?

From Hong Kong Trip
I'm not sure, but I think I was playing with the poster feature of the camera, which makes things even more vivid... ok, overkill, not good.

From Hong Kong Trip
More tilt shift! Hey, Stanley was new to me then, I had to get used to its features.

From Hong Kong Trip
Uncle chopping fish in a fishing boat nearby. I love this side of Hong Kong, not so much the commercialised busy life in CBD, but the whole culture that's embedded in its people.

From Hong Kong Trip

From Hong Kong Trip
A cemetery at Stanley.

From Hong Kong Trip
Stanley '95 even has a fisheye lens *wishful thinking*

From Hong Kong Trip

From Hong Kong Trip
It's around this time that I started getting used to Stanley and staring at its awesome LCD screen and wondering how it can possibly look so clear and sharp.

From Hong Kong Trip
THIS! If anyone can believe, this was taken from the window of a fast moving bus, with 1/1000 second shutter speed! I would never have been able to take this photo with my old camera.

From Hong Kong Trip
Uncle making gei dan jei~!

From Hong Kong Trip
Piping hot!

From Hong Kong Trip
Bus and taxis looking cute.

From Hong Kong Trip
Oh, this isn't at Stanley Markets anymore, I was heading home. Forgot where "home" was then, but yea..

From Hong Kong Trip
Hong Kong garden... with a backdrop of high rise building.

From Hong Kong Trip
Hm... perhaps I did overuse the tilt shift effect, but I've stopped!

From Hong Kong Trip

From Hong Kong Trip
From my hotel room.

I actually did go out with my parents afterwards that night, but this post is draining my brain juice because it's been so long ago and it's been a real test of memory. Goodnight!

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