drink or shoot

i miss the summr fun in tokyo this year.

in every summer, there're lots of festivals held in Japan, such as hanabi (fireworks) and traditional cultural fest. most of japanese people also wear in yukata (like summer version of kimono) and everyone looks really beautiful.

before i headed back to Hong Kong, i had a chance to attend a Yukata party night. it was fun and i took some photos there. and this photo was taken by my friend!

it is too busy to shoot at party when you love drinking! :P

reborn of my SX-70s

renovation* 01, originally uploaded by * tathei *.

Polaroid was a pioneer to digital photography nowadays - because it was first invented for instant photography.

"Polaroid was first patented in 1929 and further developed in 1932 by Edwin H. Land." - cited from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polaroid

it really changed the whole idea of photography for the world.

i discovered the cool design of SX-70 during my college time so i bought 2 of them at very reasonable price, about US$30-40 each from used camera shops. however, i only used it for couple years because SX-70 used Time Zero films which were not easy to find and quite expensive in California.

since i've been addicted to photography again in the past couple years and i found so many people from around the world still using Polaroid on Flickr, i couldn't resist to bring my SX-70 cameras out and shoot some instant photos again!

after more than a decade, amazingly my two little guys are still working great! it's lot of fun and fortunately i didn't lose or sell them!

after all, they are instant prints! we can keep them forever regardless of the death of hard disk! :D

mido revisit

mido revisit* 06, originally uploaded by * tathei *.

Mido Cafe - one of the oldest hong kong style cafe from 1950s which still exists in this fast-pace Hong Kong city.

western style cafe were used to be expensive places where only rich people could go. however, many cafe like Mido began to open in early 1930s after first world war, in order to serve lower class people who wanted to enjoy western cafe culture.

honestly i never enjoy the food at Mido Cafe because they are not that oishii. but i really love the interior design.

whenever i sit there and have a cup of hot hong kong style milk tea, i would try to imagine how people were chilling there in the past...

anyway, enjoy the moment whenever we could.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tathei/sets/72157594225492950/

cruising

to the east, originally uploaded by * tathei *.

i enjoy driving and cruising around in the city, especially in Hong Kong and Tokyo.

i didn't like driving much in the past when i was in the states.

i think, because driving in America is more like a-must thing to do. their public transportation is just so lamed. then driving becomes a task so it's hard to enjoy something when you do everyday and ride on the same route, right?

i love driving in Hong Kong and Tokyo more because there're lots of things to see on the streets, such as people, nice cars, shops, etc... also landscape and architecture are also more interesting and enjoyable to see.

that's why i keep a car in Hong Kong even i don't really need it. when i don't want to drive, i can commute on any transportation to any place.

anyway, cars don't mean to be transportation to some people like me! =)

here, there, and everywhere

old estate* 10, originally uploaded by * tathei *.

i always love to see old things, such as old music, old movies, old furniture, old architecture, old accessories, old toys, old people, and etc...

i'm not sure why i love them yet it's nothing dealt with my age...（ー＿ー；

maybe time really flies and world keeps changing, it's hard to keep the moments that we treasure and enjoy. when those things fade out, we might feel lost and missed.

recently i am trying to capture lots of old things in HongKong - a place where i was born. as you may know, HongKong is always a fast-paced city where things keep changing everyday. since here is too small to preserve every heritage, everytime i leave this place for a while, then come back and find something new and something gone.

i drove by the first public housing in Kowloon side few times but never got a chance to stop and visit. finally i got my camera and had a walk around there last week.

interestingly i could feel and imagine how people were living there, though i have never lived there. i reckon that's the most interesting way of learning history and culture.

so i created a set of "Hong Kong Classic" on my Flickr. hopefully i could capture more later:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tathei/sets/72157594220285086/

aged and experienced things are always the most tasteful and memorable! :P