mood of the night...

Posted by hugo poon (hong kong, Hong Kong) on 5 February 2009 in Documentary & Street and Portfolio.

A "building attendant" and a passerby.

Wilmer Street, Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong

(An addition to the album of "my familiar places": http://www.pbase.com/hpicckcy/my_familiar_places)

Fujifilm FinePix F200EXR 1/20 second F/3.4 ISO 800 8 mm

I do not regard myself as a photographer. I'm an ordinary man but extraordinarily obsessed with capturing all the memorable scenes that I encounter in my everyday life. It's like an excited traveller craving to record his memorable journey in a memorable way, but in my case, it's the journey of my life ... If I can record my encounters in such a way that they leave an image on the mind of myself and other viewers, it's a tremendous joy and some accomplishment...
In terms of photography, I'm trying to preserve the moments as my eyes see "something" and my heart feels it too. As such, I seldom feel interested in planned, arranged or manipulated photographs...

Comments (12)

dik from McAllen, United States

Mood indeed! Very nice.

5 Feb 2009 6:01am

bluechameleon from Vancouver, Canada

Such a beautiful mood Hugo! I especially like the detail and shadows on the left of the frame. The man in the middle of the image is a curiosity as to what he is doing there, what he is looking at. Great shot.

5 Feb 2009 1:48pm

k@ from France

Soon, I'll have enough images of your world to be able to dream about it and have a stroll in ! Wandering inside under such yellow moods thanks to your shots is a gift !

5 Feb 2009 2:29pm

Steve Rice from Olympia, United States

The attendant seems to have a lonely existence late at night. But, maybe not. He seems to be sizing up a sign over the doorway. I like the mood in this image.

5 Feb 2009 4:48pm

Stephen Phillips from San Francisco, United States

Great light, line and composition really draws in the eye and the interest here, Hugo. It is fascinating to me after seeing your posts all these many months - how 'conditioned' my brain was around all of those images I'd seen of Hong Kong as a crowded, bustling, urban cluster of humanity. Seeing these many, moody, deserted night captures has shown me an entirely different Hong Kong - where isolation, introspection, solitude, and even loneliness - are all possible. Again, fascinating.

5 Feb 2009 6:35pm

Paco Díaz from Palma de Mallorca, Spain

I agree with the point of view of Stephen, and I feel something similar. Even in the pictures of the centric streets with all the lights I can appreciate this sense of isolation of the urban spaces. It's a very personal and deep and sentimental HK that I like very much. One day I will go there to meet your city.

5 Feb 2009 6:53pm

Mirko Herzner from Mühlheim am Main, Germany

You are clearly the Am3 king of nightshots. Your colors are so vivid. Amazing.

5 Feb 2009 7:39pm

Observing from West Cheshire, United Kingdom

In addition to Stephens comment: On seeing all these night images I often wonder about the time, is it midnight, or later?

5 Feb 2009 11:51pm

@Observing: This one was taken just before 7:00 pm...:-) Thanks Mike.

hugo poon from hong kong, Hong Kong

Thanks so much for your warm words and nice compliments on my night pics. As mentioned before, it's not that I don't want to take more photos during the day, but time seems more likely to be mine in the evening... Anyway, I'm gonna switch to some daylight pics in the next few days.:-)

6 Feb 2009 2:43am

Ron from Saint Louis, United States

Stephen's words are so true, Hugo ... you have a master's eye for seeing beyond the ordinary! I was sitting here (at my desk at work ... it's just after 9:00 in the morning) looking at this wonderful image when I received your comment on my post today ... it is so wonderful to share thoughts and ideas with people all over the world, here, on Am3 ... ron

6 Feb 2009 3:12pm

Fabien from Lyon, France

This pics is just amazing. The person is so small but all the pics is based on it. And it works more than perfect.
I'm fan of it !

6 Feb 2009 5:58pm

MrClick from Singapore, Singapore

Hi Hugo... I have been earnestly following your recent pics from your F200 EXR. As usual, your pics are great. They also show the capability of the F200 EXR quite perceptibly. However, I am wondering what your PP workflow was for these F200 EXR pics. I ask this because I am very interested in considering the EXR camera on the condition that the Dynamic Range benefit should be perceptible without the need for much PP. Thanks in advance for your clarification. God bless.

10 Feb 2009 1:47pm

@MrClick: Hey, Click, how interesting... maybe at the same time you left your comment here, I was replying to your question on the FTF: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1012&message=30958482
Best regards,
Hugo