May 24, 2013

Phnom Penh workshop underway...mudfest with x100s

May 24, 2013/ Gary Tyson

Well the day started slow as the flight from Hong Kong with the group of keen photographers was delayed by 2 hours but that didn't change anything other than a faster lunch once they arrived. We went through our composition presentations and were out crossing the river by 4pm heading to a small village on the other side for a baptism of mud and photography.

Fuji X100s in panoramic JPEG mode (12 images stitched in camera, works fine)

For myself I just took the Fuji X100s out and this is actually the first time I've tried to use it properly, its very different from my Leicas but nevertheless it did everything I asked it to without any issues, so all images you see in this post are from the Fuji.

Even though the first shoot was just a taster of whats to come, it was still great fun and everyone was fascinated by how energetic and happy the local kids are around here.

Winnie taking a break and trying not to slide downhill into the river as I almost did a few times!

I noticed Winnie taking some photos with the kids then as she took a break she had that look on her face of elation that happens to everyone when they are around Cambodian people, their zest for life rubs off on you very quickly and they really put our own lives in perspective. Just being around them, with or without camera is a positive life experience I believe.

These kids swim freely in the Mekong river, hanging on to passing boats and playing wildly in the mud.

Everyone had quick refresher on how to use their metering systems on the cameras and then it was some free shooting time to seek out some willing subjects, of which there is never a shortage in Phnom Penh.

No tyre swings here, but the bumper tyres on boats work well as a makeshift chair until the boat leaves.

We were lucky enough to have our own personal acrobatics display team at the village.

Who needs a diving board? Just climb up the nearest ferry and use that as your diving platform.

Lydia has her first mud spa shortly after arriving in Cambodia and Sammy our driver helps wash up.

Lydia joined Gary barefoot to try and get some extra grip in the mud, but it wasn't helping, luckily the rain had now stopped but left the ground soggy and slippy....photography can be a hazardous sport you know...but getting a good mudpack on your feet is good for you (so i'm told) :-)

Steve (right) and Andrew (back left) taking a break from the heat at a roadside cafe.

After an hour shooting it was time for a quick refreshment before hopping back on the boat to the other side and clean up for our first dinner at the FCC (Foreign Correspondents Club), an apt location for dinner on the first night as its perhaps the most heritage building for photographers and journalists in this town with its rich history associated to the Vietnam war era.

A curious girl watches us with nervous curiosity..."who's this gang of photographers in my village"?

Tomorrow morning its an early start, up before dawn to get the beautiful Cambodia sunrise and then off around Phnom Penh to some great locations and hours of photography....will update in a few days with the gang's progress here, watch this space...

May 23, 2013

Ready....steady..... WORKSHOPS!

May 23, 2013/ Gary Tyson

Here we are again in Cambodia about to start today with 2 back to back photography workshops, one here in the city of Phnom Penh, then a 2nd one next week down in the south around Sihanoukville, Kampot and Kep. Leica MM, VL 35mm 2.5

Myself and Steve have been in country 2 days and have checked out a few different locations to take the clients that should offer them some photo rich opportunities to hone their skills.

The heat is unforgiving so it will be early starts to get the best use of light and late afternoon shoots again for the same reasons, so long days ahead for the crew but the people of Cambodia always welcome us with open arms and I'm positive everyone will leave with a healthy portfolio and probably a healthy suntan also!

Leica M9P, 75mm summarit

One of the locations we will visit in Phnom Penh is a vibrant muslim village that is so full of life you can hardly move in the streets and alleyways. The only difficult thing here is isolating a subject as there are so many around. Here are a few images from spending just an hour or so walking around this district armed with the Leica M9P and M Monochrom.

Leica MM, 90mm summarit

Leica M9P, 90mm summarit

Leica MM, 28mm 2.8 ASPH

Leica M9P, 90mm summarit

Leica MM, 28mm 2.8 ASPH

The flight with our clients is delayed hence me writing this blog so soon....all the rest of the preparations are done and I am now heading out to meet them at the airport. Very much looking forward to 10 days of photography with a keen bunch of likeminded individuals....as well as indulging in some of Kep's finest seafood along the way.....and who knows...maybe even a bit of volleyball with the locals!

Leica MM, Canon 50mm 1.4 LTM

Leica MM, VL 35mm 2.5

February 08, 2013

Chinese New Year discounts - F8 Photography Workshops

February 08, 2013/ Gary Tyson

Over the period of Chinese New Year between 8th - 18th February if you sign up for ANY 2 of our upcoming workshop you will receive a total discount of 20% on the price. This offer is only valid on the dates 8th -28th February 2013, then the prices will revert to the normal rates offered on the event pages.

When enquiring please state 'F8CNYDISCOUNT' in your enquiry to apply the 20% discount.

Upcoming workshops and dates are as follows:

F8 TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY AND PORTRAITURE WORKSHOP IN CAMBODIA, 23 FEB - 3RD MARCH 2013

ERIC KIM - INTRODUCTION TO STREET PHOTOGRAPHY IN HONG KONG, 16/17 MARCH 2013

DAVID GIBSON - ADVANCED STREET PHOTOGRAPHY IN HONG KONG, 11/12 MAY 2013

January 20, 2013

Shooting the HK100 Ultra-Mountain Marathon

January 20, 2013/ Gary Tyson

It was 4.30am Saturday morning….time to get up and get to the mountains for the start of the HK100 Ultra-mountain marathon….I shouldn't complain about having to get up early, I haven't got to run 100kms over the mountains of Hong Kong, an event which covers more elevation than climbing Mount Everest!

So we arrived, split into two teams (2 x photographer and 2 x video crew) and set off around the various checkpoints to cover the race as best we could, focussing on the Team 'Vibram' participants from HK/China and the European Team that had flown in for the event.

The weather was cold in the morning, ranging too freezing by night time, so an administrative task for everyone concerned was making sure you had the right equipment and clothing to cover what would turn out to be almost 24 hours on the mountains and shooting thousands of images in the process, a selection which had to be edited on the laptop up the hills and sent to press the same day as the event.

These kind of jobs remind of my days in the army where we would work crazy long days in the cold, up hills…..at least this time i get to wear my F8 Photography hoodie instead of combat body armour and a helmet…although come to think of it that would have kept me warmer i'm sure…lol. There were a few outfits worn for the event, the ever present shark-fin soup protesters were out in force also which was good to see.

Here's a taster of the event photos that I took throughout the day, trying to capture the spirit and emotion of the race and its participants.

It was a very long day…..but worth every minute. We very much look forward to working with Team Vibram again in 2013.

Thanks for taking the time to visit our blog, if you like our blog and website, please ‘like’ us on our public Facebook page and share this story with your friends with the Facebook and twitter links below. You can also subscribe to our blog here.

F8 Photography provides commercial photography and photography and video training workshops, more details can be found via the ‘courses and workshops’ link and upcoming events via the front page of our website.

January 08, 2013

Canon 50mm 0.95 on Leica M9

January 08, 2013/ Gary Tyson

Christmas and New Year 2012/2013 was spent in Phnom Penh, Cambodia with a motley crew of other photographer friends from around Asia. Whilst there my ex-army buddy and fellow Leica shooter Trevor had brought along his old Canon 50mm 0.95 lens to test on the Olympus OMD. Me with the M9P and Canon 50mm 0.95 fitted to the camera

The lens has previously been converted to Leica M Mount so of course I couldn't resist to have a play with it on the M9P despite already having a 50mm summilux with me for this trip.

I have tested a few other fast 50mm lenses in the past on Leica, including the Voigtlander 1.1 and SLR Magic hyperprime 50mm 0.95.

A great portrait lens, dreamy backgrounds and smooth skin tones

This Canon lens is a different beast, as heavy as the Leica Noctilux or SLR Magic lens, but much shorter, almost stubby, which is cool.

Nothing plucks a subject out of the background like a 0.95 lens

The first day I used this lens i wasn't sure about it…the look of the images was so different to the 50 summilux, i almost dismissed it, but I gave it another few days and shot for several hours each day with only this lens and after less than a week have completely fallen in love with it.

For sure it has a unique look to it...some will love it, others may not care for it....but for sure you won't find it with other lenses

The reasons are shown in a few of the images below. Like any extremely fast lens, if you misfocus even slightly, you are screwed, it looks terrible, BUT if you get it right, the look is completely unique and like nothing i've shot before. I'm not saying its better than a Leica Noctilux, but two things for sure….its a damn site cheaper (i.e. you could buy this and a round the world trip for the same price as a Noctilux), and the build quality is amazing. I have no idea how old this particular lens I'm using is, but its built like a tank, solid, perfect glass, super smooth movement, zero focus shift at any distance as far as I can tell and technically as good as any Leica or Canon L lens build quality I've used. Shot in very low light, even the summilux would struggle in this light, a breeze for 0.95

The Bokeh is a bit of a 'love/hate' scenario I imagine for many people. I wasn't sure at first as i said, as its very swirly, almost painterly with some backgrounds, and of course this won't be to everyone tastes. That said, to try and reproduce these kind of looks with anything other than a 0.95 lens is impossible, so for that alone I think its a very interesting lens for any Leica user that seeks that 'dreamy' look.

I took a few shots with the lens wide open and stopped down to F4 and beyond and found it to be extremely sharp (images below shows this with 100% crops), however for me its pointless to use this kind of lens at anything other than wide open at 0.95. Its so much heavier and bigger than a 1.4 or F2 lens, it wouldn't make sense to use this instead for those apertures….this lens screams to be shot wide open for those dreamy looks, in fact if the aperture ring happened to jam locked on 0.95 I wouldn't be worried, as thats the only aperture I'm interested in shooting it at.

wide open at 0.95

100% crop at 0.95

stopped down to F4

100% crop at f4, as sharp as any other 50mm I have used at F4

I am looking forward to shoot more with this lens in the dark streets of Hong Kong (we generally have a few stops less light than most cities in asia thanks to the China factories spewing a cloud of pollution over the city that acts like a 30 miles wide ND filter!), it will enable me to get shots in light that is impossible with any other combo that I own.

Here are a few more shots of Trevor that are direct from camera JPEGS set to black and white mode with various contrast settings in camera only on the M9P.

This image below shows perhaps the most random thing I ever expected to see in Cambodia at Christmas....a reindeer!!!!!! lol, shot wide open at 0.95.

Final shot that showcases the bokeh again of this lens

Final thoughts and recommendations:

Do I recommend this lens? YES, 100% if you are looking for a 'dreamy' rendering super fast lens and don't have or want to spend the budget on a Noctilux, then look no further.

Is it sharp enough? YES, I have posted a few images above then a 100%crop from those images. I hope anyone viewing them will agree that for a 0.95 shot, its more than sharp enough when you hit the focus right.

Is it affordable? Its not cheap, but when you are looking at 10,000 USD for a Noctilux, it's comparatively extremely good value as another option to Leica. Of course other options are the Voigtlander 1.1 lens which is about half the price again….but I couldn't fall in love with that lens personally when I tried it a few years ago, it was nice, sure, but for me it lacked character any …..something the Canon 0.95 just oozes.

If you wish to see other images and blog posts from this trip and other Cambodia trips you can see a selection by clicking here.

January 03, 2013

Mekong River people - part 2

January 03, 2013/ Gary Tyson

A few days ago I blogged with some images from the Mekong River people along the Phnom Penh waterways. The experience I had was so good I couldn't resist returning a few days later. A typical scene of family life on the boats at dusk

This time I won't say too much about the experience, rather I just show the images from spending just 30 minutes on a few small boats. The original part 1 experience and images can be found here.

http://www.f8photography.com.hk/blog/2012/12/river/

The light is great on the river around sunset, so it seems to me the perfect way to end a day in Phnom Penh by exploring the waterways on a small boat, keeping away from the noise of tuk tuk horns and hustle and bustle and just taking in the sunset and sound of paddles and splashing water....a perfect day.

This time i just had one lens, the 24mm on the Leica M9P, as i was worried that changing lenses on the small boats was going to end in tears...therefore 1 lens it was, and I hope I managed to capture the scenes OK with just one focal length this time.

My chauffeur for the evening, a charming character

I got the impression that everything was about 'family' with this group of people, great to see

Kids with faces like movie stars

Great light welcomed us every time we went on the river

Grandmother and grandaughter

A youngster pops her head out to see who the stranger is

2 of my travel companions, Trevor (left) and Stephen (right). this photo by Steve Porte

Me and Stephen Patterson were the two who risked the small boats and I'm happy to say we returned to our bigger vessel later on with all our gear still dry...so mission accomplished :-)

If you wish to see other images and blog posts from this trip and other Cambodia trips you can see a selection by clicking here.

December 27, 2012

Golden hour on the Mekong River

December 27, 2012/ Gary Tyson

I was sitting drinking a coffee by the riverside, and I noticed the light was getting interesting so decided I needed to take advantage of this by grabbing a boat and going out to photograph the small fishing boats I had seen around. The view from the riverside was serene (apart from the eyesore of the new Sokha hotel they are building across the river that seemed to manage to get itself into most of my shots somehow...grrr... Mekong river people. This small boat is their workplace, as well as their family home

My initial idea was to take some sunset shots with the city backdrop of the small boats from the bigger boat, however, as nice as these shots can be, knowing myself, this wasn't going to satisfy my craving for close up action...so after a few minutes sailing around, I asked the skipper to approach a small boat and see if I could get aboard to utilise the 24mm lens to get 'amongst' my subjects.

Another small boat approached to see what I was up to

My only concern with doing all this was if the camera dropped into the river....I had lost an M9 last year due to rain damage in Hong Kong...so the thought of the Leica going for a swim in the Mekong river was not a good thought....however, the picture is far more important than the gear (apart from the fact that I would never have got the SD card back anyway if it had fell in!)....so I decided to take the risk and cautiously climbed over and onto the small raft to join the welcoming family on their boat with the M9P, a 24mm and 35mm.

You can see from these pics by Steve Porte that boarding with expensive gear could easily go wrong

They didn't speak any English, nevertheless we managed to somehow communicate and they were quite happy for me to hang out on their boat for 45 minutes and shoot a small snippet of their life.

The light was great, as were the subjects

Another BTS shot of me working above, taken by Steve Porte

A proud Captain on his ship

Silhouettes are standard shots in this light

Black and white worked well in this light

Both husband and wife took equal turns rowing, fishing and looking after their kids

Fishing the Mekong with the Sokha hotel complex behind

River kids...(who can't swim....could be dangerous in the Mekong...it has a very strong current)

Could have done with an even wider than 24mm lens for this shot I think

Great way to see the city from the river

Another day at the office

There is now a part 2 to this blog post with more images, you can see that by clicking here:

http://www.f8photography.com.hk/blog/2013/01/mekong2/

If you wish to see other images and blog posts from this trip and other Cambodia trips you can see a selection by clicking here.

December 23, 2012

Cambodian Colour - from dawn til dusk

December 23, 2012/ Gary Tyson

It was an early start today, 5.30am, out to the ferry port to shoot the workers arriving to Phnom Penh from across the Mekong river. The great thing about shooting this location is that I could see it easily from my hotel room window...so could do a quick check to make sure the light was developing well before getting ready...(I'm so lazy...this is why you see very few landscape photographs from me).

After shooting the workers and boat people arriving there for the 15 mins of good light, the sun was up and it was back for breakfast before we headed out to scout another new location just outside the city which used to be a lake but has mostly dried up with just a few water channels remaining.

The thing that struck me about this district was 'colour'....the light was great, the buildings were painted in pastels and the kids were dressed in vibrant colours, it just all 'popped'....the other thing that popped was my shoe, which 'popped off' when i got my leg stuck in some swamp when i was trying to shoot some kids sitting in old boats...lol...a small price to pay for the rewards of the images today.

Yet again we were met by all smiling happy faces, the kids were playing all sorts of games and keen to show off to us at every opportunity. Another successful day in this wonderful country, looking forward to a 5am start again tomorrow morning (you don't hear me say that very often...:-))

Here's a few more images from todays shooting, all shot with Leica M9P and lenses from 35-75mm.

If you wish to see other images and blog posts from this trip and other Cambodia trips you can see a selection by clicking here.

December 22, 2012

Shooting Phnom Penh - The Muslim quarter

December 22, 2012/ Gary Tyson

Its the second day of our Christmas 2012 expedition around Phnom Penh, spent this time exploring around the Muslim quarter , a district I have visited before only once before a few years ago. All images below shot on Leica M9P with Leica glass ranging from 24mm to 75mm.

In true Cambodia fashion, everybody was chatting away with us and smiling. We even saw one fish seller start slapping her friend with some raw fish and prompting Steve to shoot the comedy!

I did my usual trick of wandering off alone from our group (I always find it easier to shoot alone, rather than with other photographers, I find it much less intimidating for my subjects if I am by myself. I quickly found some interesting alleyways and residents that invited me into their homes and workplaces to see what they were up to.

One family took me into some dark back room where they had a 20ft python coiled up in the corner....i almost left my camera bag where it was and ran off! lol.

For some reason I am highly attracted at the moment to shooting people in hijabs, i find the m really interesting and the way they frame womens faces makes for lovely images, and I was delighted to find lots of kids and women wearing them around this part of town, not typically something you would expect to find in Cambodia I guess, but like most other cities in the world, theres a little bit of everything, you just need to know where to look.

And last but not least of course is my good friend Stephen Patterson, I couldn't resist a portrait of him with the great light as he was scouring the landscape for his next subjects from the back of the tuk tuk on our way back to town.

December 21, 2012

Back to Phnom Penh (Day 1)

December 21, 2012/ Gary Tyson

'In the avenues and alleyways' M9P, 35mm 8 elements

We've had a crazy busy few weeks in Hong Kong leading up to Christmas, shooting tens of thousands of stills images for commercial work and several commercial video projects have kept us busy right through December, so it was high time for a short break and catch up with some fellow photographers on a jaunt to Phnom Penh in Cambodia.

'Welcome back to Cambodia, step inside', M9P, 24mm

So far I've only been back here one day, but already i can feel the stresses of city life easing away into the background as I wander the vibrant streets of Cambodia meeting some inspirational characters and getting back to basics shooting only with Leica rangefinder.

Shooting thru the Tuk Tuk canopy to create a natural widescreen effect, M9P, 75mm

All the images here were taken over the space of 3 hours on the first day. Yet again for me i find inspiration on every street corner in this wonderful country, and am lucky enough to have 3 of my best friends all shooting with me, Trevor, my old army buddy has travelled all the way from Riyadh in Saudi Arabia to shoot here, Stephen Patterson from China has come via Thailand and the North of Cambodia to join us in Phnom Penh and Steve managed to escape Hong Kong a day earlier than me to get a head start with his trusty Canon rigs.

Pastel colours are everywhere, M9P, 35mm 8 elements

We are exploring some different areas of the city this time, as we have become familiar with several districts now so wish to explore some of the even less trodden sidestreets around town, am very much looking forward to unveiling some new characters.

Peek-a-boo from Mummys bike, M9P, 50mm Lux ASPH

We will be back in Cambodia for another workshop in the south in February 2013, but for the meantime we will continue exploring Phnom Penh...this must be my 12th or 13th visit to this place and it never ceases to impress me, the people are so friendly, the light is great, the colours are amazing and the company is good.

Heres a few more images from the first day and wishing all a Merry Christmas of photography that for me will be spent with a bunch of fellow photographers.

Cheers!

Washing line, M9P, 35mm 8 elements

Home Sweet Home, M9P, 24mm

Looking at me?, M9P, 50mm Lux ASPH

Colour, colour, everywhere, M9P, 50mm Lux ASPH

F8 Photography provides stills and video production for weddings, events, corporate, commercial, training, sports, documentaries and NGO projects around the world, to see more of our work our meet us to discuss a project, please contact us here: info@f8photography.com.hk or check out our work via the galleries that can be accessed from the front page of our website here.

December 16, 2012

A wonderful December wedding in Sai Kung

December 16, 2012/ Gary Tyson

Its almost Christmas.....but the weather in Hong Kong refused to cool down today for our final wedding shoot of the year (2nd one this week at this venue!) where we had the pleasure of doing the stills photography for Richard and Glos. I just want to share a few images from todays shoot and say thank you to the lovely couple for inviting us to be their wedding photographers.

Balloons were a key theme throughout the day making a number of appearances

We headed out for an hour on a yacht to take some images before the ceremony

131 is a great venue for a wedding and it shone through yet again (I think this is the 6th wedding we have shot at this venue, and it has some of the best backdrops for a venue in Hong Kong in my eyes (unless you want backdrops of skyscrapers of course....then there's plenty of good locations in Central!).

The setup was well underway when we arrived at midday

This was a cool idea I haven't see before

This little girl loved the camera

the first kiss.....always nice to have a picture to remember it by ;-)

Anyway, enough of my rambling, heres a few more images for the newly weds to see and share with their friends and family as a teaser for the rest that will come in a few weeks time, we wanted to get this post out quick so they can see it immediately, they've been married just over 4 hours now...so its about time the photographer delivered some images ;-)

Best of luck to Richard and Glos for the future, and thanks again for inviting us, we wish you the very best for your future together.

Great to capture the expressions on the faces during key moments

The happy couple just after getting married

The bride and her bridesmaids after the ceremony

(Speeches...another key moment in any wedding)

(more cool ideas for wedding venue decorations)

Richard & Glos invited all their guests to 'make a wish' together and release a balloon....yet another cool and touching idea!

When we met the couple last week to review our plan...the concern on everyone's mind was 'the weather'...as the 7 day forecast for Hong Kong said to expect monsoon rain....hmmm....it seems that couldn't have been further from what we were blessed with today......My advice for wedding photography in Hong Kong....make sure you pick the right photographer and video crew and don't listen to the weather forecast!

November 01, 2012

Southern Cambodia photography workshop - Feb 2013

November 01, 2012/ Gary Tyson

Our next Cambodia workshop will be concentrated in the southern part of the country for 5 days around Sihanoukville, Kep and the surrounding islands. This promises to be another successful experience for a small group of photographers (maximum 6) to fully immerse themselves in a photo rich environment with 2 instructors for personalised hands on training. For more information on the workshop and to register your interest, please follow the link below or click on any of the images:

http://www.f8photography.com.hk/event/southcambodiafeb2013/

Here are a few images of this wonderful part of the world from one of our previous trips there that we will enjoying exploring with you again soon.

Thanks for taking the time to visit our blog, if you like our blog and website, please ‘like’ us on our public Facebook page or on the ‘LIKE’ box to the right side of this blog. You can share this story with your friends with the Facebook and twitter links below or on the left side of this blog. You can also subscribe to our blog via the RSS link below or on the right of this post OR by clicking this link.

October 05, 2012

Manila Photography Workshop Recce

October 05, 2012/ Gary Tyson

Details of our November 2012 workshop in Manila can be seen here: http://www.f8photography.com.hk/event/manila-photography-workshop/

I have been to Manila 3 times in the last 2 months and am starting to get familiar with a few of the locales for shooting street life and have hung out with Kurt Kamka a few times, hes an American photographer based in Manila, so its great to have good communication with someone who already has 'boots on the street' (ironically the name of his blog also, which can be seen here).

All images below are shot on the Olympus OMD with 12mm, 25mm, 45mm lenses and processed in Adobe Lightroom 4 with VSCO film presets or Niksoft Silver Efex 2 for black and white images.

(Welcome to Guadalupe, OMD, 25mm)

This last trip we explored the Guadalupe area of Makati which yet again proved to be a fruitful location full of life and great friendly people. Every single person we met was more than happy to be photographed - if anything the only problem was that once you stopped to talk to people and take an image or two, a crowd sometimes gathered which made it more difficult to get good compositions due to the scene becoming far too 'busy' with willing subjects.

(Kurt shows the kids their portraits, you can't help but smile when you see their reactions)

Kurt was shooting with his Leica S2 camera, a beast of a machine capable of producing some amazing image quality, its a bit out of my price range unfortunately and since I am recently divorced from Leica, luckily I am avoiding their gear, although I do agree with him that the quality is second to none. I was using my trusty OMD for this trip again, as it constantly delivers the goods for me, is lighting fast and the lenses are unsurpassed for these 4/3 sensors.

(My tribute image to James Nachtwey style composition, OMD, 12mm)

(Mini-gangsta, OMD, 12mm)

We met all sorts along the way, small kids, elderly people, mini-gangstas...all totally friendly. It's easy to see how some people get worried walking around Manila, as of course there are some dangerous areas, much like any other city, however, just knowing which areas to avoid is all that is needed to ensure a pleasureable experience shooting in the streets, I found the place each trip to be more enchanting and you can't help but appreciate the people.

(Friendly lady, OMD, 25mm)

(Need a shave?, OMD, 25mm)

When you look at these images, bear in mind that all of them were taken in the space of 2 hours, that should give an idea of the versatility and range of interesting people that we found in just a short walk down a few streets. Its not easy in some countries to find so much diversity of characters, especially ones so willing to be photographed. I think Kurt is a lucky man to live in such a cool city.

(View across to Makati, OMD, 25mm - HDR effect - combined 3 images in Photomatix Pro)

When looking over at Makati from a bridge the mix of poverty with the new world is evident, with slum housing blending into skyscraper towers only a few metres apart, there is a lot of contrast in Manila, I noticed that, with high end shopping malls and designer brands all around certain areas, but I am not shocked or surprised by this anymore as Hong Kong is exactly the same in my view with these kind of contrasts.

(Manila in colour, OMD, 25mm)

(More colour in Guadalupe, OMD, 12mm)

(Every little shop window greets you with a big friendly smile, OMD, 25mm)

If I could describe Manila in colour tones I would say its 'Kodachrome'....the pastel colours that I see everywhere remind me of this, and it really is a place that lends itself to colour photography....the last few trips as its still monsoon season, there have been lots of muted grey skies which helps give the colours a nice soft look, perfect for photography...as long as you take your umbrella in case of a downpour.

(Jeepneys in monsoon season, OMD, 25mm)

(Big Mommas house - OMD, 12mm)

(Street scene, OMD, 25mm)

(Need a room? OMD, 25mm)

(The daily news, OMD, 25mm)

(More street scenes, OMD, 25mm)

Just shooting street scenes on every corner interest me in Manila, the characters all seem to be just 'hanging out' in interesting poses or compositions, it makes photography easier in this sense, and of course I still love black and white photography in these streets even though I just said earlier that it lends itself very well to colour imagery.

On the way back at the end of the shoot we were strolling along the Pasig River banks and came across a bunch of crazy kids jumping off a road bridge into the river, which looks pretty polluted and has a very very strong current.....these kids must have amazing immune systems, and can swim like olympic athletes to resist that current....not to mention the dangers of jumping off a 50ft high road bridge....one kid had climbed right to the top of the girders as can be seen in the image below...i didn't see him jump from there, maybe he has second thoughts once up there, but Im quite sure some of them have done that before...have to admire their fearless attitude and passion for having fun, no matter the risks.

(The jumpers, Pasig River, OMD, 75mm)

(Underpass, OMD, 25mm)

We will be returning to Manila to run a workshop with Kurt Kamka in November, its really a great place to shoot, its perfectly safe, my only advice there is don't go street shooting at night, keep to areas that are safe and be wary of taxi drivers, almost every taxi driver I met always trys to tell me 'the meter doesnt work' or the fee is an extra few hundred pesos....its just one of those things...confirm the price before you set off with a cab or ensure they use the meter, then you'll be fine and still have a few hundred pesos left over to buy the kids a coke for being so friendly in their village :-)

Details of our November 2012 workshop in Manila can be seen here:

http://www.f8photography.com.hk/event/manila-photography-workshop/

Links to Kurt's work can be again seen here at the links below:

http://www.kurtkamka.com/

http://bootsonthestreet.tumblr.com/

If you want to see other posts we have written about Manila, please click this link below which will search out all the Manila posts for you on our blog for your convenience:

http://www.f8photography.com.hk/tag/manila/