Trump International Hotel and Tower

August 02, 2017 by Ming Hung in People, Street Photography

No matter where you stand on the political spectrum there is no denying that the current president is making some noise. Closer to home the Trump Tower has become a gathering place for protesters, supporters, artists, and tourists.

The artist who created this sculpture was not being political, as this piece was made several years ago. Whoever decided to install it across the river from the tower was probably practicing some political commentary.

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Vivian Maier

July 21, 2017 by Ming Hung in Urban Exploration, Art

I dabble in street photography. I am a recent dabbler so I do not know very many of the masters of the genre. However, the relatively recent discovery of Chicago-area nanny Vivian Maier's work sort of opened the door to street photography for me. Maier was a prolific shooter, and often had the kids she took care of in tow. Her work is brilliant.

Brazilian artist Eduardo Kobra created this beautiful, colorful tribute to Maier. Her work was mostly shot on black and white film so I also made a monochrome version.

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Alone at Work

July 12, 2017 by Ming Hung in Black and White

I have not been out shooting very much in recent weeks, as I am in the middle of a nine-week classroom and on-the-job-training regimen for a new position at work. However, during an earlier training session a few months ago I took a few shots inside the training facility. We are required to complete annual and quarterly recurrent lessons in a computer lab. I usually zip through them and am often left to my own devices afterward. When there are not classes of new hires for various departments in the building then there are not very many people in the building at all, especially during afternoon and evening shifts. I was able to wander the halls of the building alone for a while.

I really liked the light cast and shadows created on the concrete walls in the shots above and below. The building is relatively old so I wanted some shots before it gets torn down some time next year. I will have to shoot some more when I get the chance.

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Happy Accidents

June 09, 2017 by Ming Hung in Black and White

I have been having trouble keeping this blog updated. I go shooting frequently, but I do not want to use this blog as an image dump--I also want to write more meaningfully about the photographic process. The drought temporarily ended yesterday with a happy accident. Happy accidents happen in photography just as they do in life. The backstory on this is that I have not ridden my bicycle very much at all over the last few years, including not riding it even once last year. So a few days ago a buddy reached out and asked if I wanted to go for a bike ride. I agreed, and we laid out a specific course because there was a sculpture I wanted to take some photos of.

The stainless steel piece titled Looking Up is by American artist Tom Friedman. It stands 33.3 feet tall and currently stands near 53rd Street along Chicago's lakefront. This is one of three such figures looking up to the heavens. One is a proof and another stands in New York City.

The happy accident here was the position of the sun. I did not plan to be there at that exact moment. I have driven past the sculpture on several occasions and never stopped to shoot. Several things had to happen: my friend had to reach out, I had to not come up with an excuse not to meet him, and I had to arrive at that time. My images would have been boring without an element of interest in the sky, and I would have taken fewer frames. I was delighted when I arrived and saw the sun where it was. That is not to say that I would not return when the sky above is really cloudy.

If not for the position of the sun I would not have played around with as many angles as I did. I would not have played with flaring as I did in the above image. What is a happy accident that happened to you in your photographic experiences?

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Land/cityscape in Black and White

May 09, 2017 by Ming Hung in Black and White, Landscape, Cityscape

There are not that many obvious or "traditional" landscape shooting opportunities in Chicago. I am not looking hard enough. I live just over two miles from Lake Michigan so the lakefront is a good spot for doing some landscapes. But they are technically cityscapes.

This particular day was a fairly nice day. It started with nice blue sky with puffy white clouds, but it was windy and rain was coming. Thicker clouds started rolling in. I envisioned taking these shots as monochromes from the start. Even though the sky started nicely blue, the images were just too blue because the water was blue as well, and there were no other interesting colors present.

I used Fujifilm's Acros black and white film simulation with a red filter as my base. Then I adjusted whites, blacks, highlights, and shadows in post.

I wished there were some more clouds in the sky for the shot below to balance it out better.

The clouds thickened and made for more drama.

As an aside I do not currently own any zoom lenses on my Fujifilm X system. When I was shooting Canon my main lens was a zoom lens. For all of these shots I may have either zoomed in or out if I had a zoom. However, I am enjoying using just prime lenses. I see things differently, and I do not miss having a zoom at all. I used to shoot just primes prior to my Canon system so it is not something new to me. I also do not feel that one type of lens is "better" than the other. They are all tools, just with different applications. It is up to the individual to utilize them as they see fit.

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Architecture Light Lines Monochrome Shadows Shapes Windows

May 01, 2017 by Ming Hung in Architecture, Black and White

I titled this blog post with a bunch of tags that I arranged in alphabetical order. That is pretty much it. I was exploring a convention center space, and the light streaming in through the large windows beautifully painted shadows and shapes on to the walls. These two images were taken on two separate weekends. It was great being able to get some images devoid of convention goers. I shot over a balcony and up into a corner to avoid including any people. I did not have a tripod with me, otherwise I might have taken some shots in the main lobby and just remove people in post.

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One Year In

April 10, 2017 by Ming Hung in Photography

I have been using the Fujifilm X-Pro2 for a little over a year now, and it has been the best shooting experience I have ever had. Many have likened it to Leica's system in looks and feel. I would not go that far, but I will agree with what has been described as an "organic" shooting experience for the Fuji X system. I look down on the camera and my exposure triangle controls (for ISO, aperture, and shutter speed) are right there. I can have all my settings down before I even turn on the camera.

I learned to shoot in the film days, and the first camera that I used that made me want to go out and shoot with it was the Nikon F2. I owned some non-memorable cameras before and after it, and that F2 was brilliant. Fast forward a decade and I made the jump to digital. Canon's 5D mark II was the camera that I have used most. It was a terrific camera. I was content. Then mirrorless cameras started coming out. A friend of mine bought Fujifilm's X-E1. I liked it, but not enough to replace the 5D. But the 5D really started weighing on me. I was getting tired of carrying the size and weight of the camera and gear, especially when shooting all weekend at conventions. Then I discovered the Sony a6000. No, it did not look professional at all, but bang-for-the-buck it was one of the best deals I have seen. It had some great features all packed into a tiny body. And Zeiss lenses! Yet it was not enough to get me to sell my Canon gear.

Then Fujifilm announced the X-Pro2. I had never even noticed the X-Pro1, but I started reading about the X-Pro2. Then I started reading and watching review articles and videos. I was sold before I even touched the camera. I ordered one. I was excited. When I got it I was in love. The rangefinder style fit my way of shooting, and brought me back to my childhood, using my father's Konica. It was not long before I sold my Canon gear and fully bought into the Fuji X system. This camera makes me want to go out and shoot. What camera(s) have made you want to go out and shoot?

I shot this image with the Sony a6000, lol.

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Color Street Photography

April 05, 2017 by Ming Hung in Street Photography, People

I generally prefer producing and seeing street photography in black and white. However, sometimes color works. I guess monochrome gives images that "classic" street photography look, but I do not think photographers should say this should be one way and that should be another, but to just concentrate on creating the best image they can. There are too many rules. Rules are great guidelines--especially for those learning photography--but each artist has the freedom to do a variety of things for any given shot.

As I approached this couple I fired off a shot as they were setting up for a selfie (or is it celfie?). I captioned this image the way I did because at a quick glance the man's profile reminded me of famed comedian Jerry Seinfeld. I liked this scene because of the blue of the sky and in the two glass buildings, and the muted colors of the other buildings and the couple's clothing.

I was fortunate that this woman walked by because I wasn't waiting for any particular shot. I saw her and I saw--I'm pretty sure subconsciously--the golden light from the restaurant and I tilted my camera that was hanging by my navel toward the woman. I am still a bit shy about shooting street photography with the camera up to my face. I fire from the hip over half the time. It's something I have to work on.

I noticed this man as I was waiting to cross the street. I hoped that when I got to him that he would still be preoccupied with whatever he was doing on his phone. He did not disappoint. And he was standing right in the middle of the sidewalk! What attracted my attention was his outfit. To many people a plaid pattern is loud or tacky. I would not say that this man's plaid jacket was particularly loud in that the colors are not vibrant, and so it meshed well with the drab, gray day.

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GAS - Gear Acquisition Syndrome

March 26, 2017 by Ming Hung in Photography

I have owned a fair amount of cameras and lenses over the last 15-20 years. I am not a collector of any cameras, as I do not have any vintage gear sitting on my shelves. Even my favorite cameras are gone. But no matter what brand and system I was using at any given time I had GAS. Many photographers suffer from Gear Acquisition Syndrome. Those of us who suffered had to have gear--the latest and the greatest. I could not afford the latest and the greatest, but I did buy my fair share of gear that I never needed, only wanted. Having a lot of stuff has not made me a better photographer. That was something I had to learn the hard way--too bad for my wallet.

My current kit consists of one body, the Fujifilm X-Pro2. And less than 10 lenses, lol. I mostly carry the two "Fujicron" lenses, the 23mm and the 35mm. They are both F2 and weather-sealed like the camera body. The lenses are tiny! I have pared down my day bag to just the camera and these two lenses and a few miscellaneous items. In the past I felt I needed to carry more lenses to cover a wider focal range, but my body ached. I had to learn to just "see" in one or two focal lengths, and that's how I operate now. The Fuji X system is really "knocking it out of the park" for me.

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Two Days in Manhattan

March 20, 2017 by Ming Hung in Urban Exploration, Travel

I love visiting New York City. I would not live there, but I enjoy my visits every time. These are a series of images from my latest trip there last October. It was raining one of the days I was there, and to say that I do not like being out in the rain is an understatement. However, I wanted a few shots of the city in the rain, and my Fuji X system made it possible for me.

I am not being paid by Fuji, I swear. I wish that I was. The Fujifilm X-Pro2 is one of the few cameras that I have owned that makes me want to go out and take photographs--even in the rain. Having a weather sealed camera body and lens made things much easier. I just had to deal with rain on my glasses. The classic Nikon F2 and the Canon 5D Mark II were the other two cameras that I have owned that I really loved photographing with. I no longer shoot film, and my Canon system was terribly heavy. Fuji has been perfect for walking around and travelling. And the colors are beautiful.

The street performers in Times Square are a cast of characters, and the Naked Cowboy is one of the most well known. He is technically not naked, and I wonder if he was ever really a cowboy.

Food carts are a big thing on the streets of Manhattan. I want to get something every time I pass one. Seeing them is a big test in self control. I did not buy anything when I took this shot.

This image embodies much of the allure of Manhattan for me. The smokestack, the construction, the traffic, the shadow area beneath tall buildings. I have never driven in Manhattan and I never will. I would not be able to deal with this, but it makes for great images.

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Snowy Day in Chicago

March 09, 2017 by Ming Hung in landscape

We have not had accumulated snowfall for the months of January and February in Chicago. This has not happened in nearly 150 years. So I was glad that I went out on a heavy snowfall day back in December. The snow was wet and the flakes were big. I took advantage of the weather-sealed camera and lens combination of the Fujifilm X-Pro2 and the Fujinon XF35mmF2. I wore a good water repellent coat and a great pair of boots, but my pants were soaked in some spots so I was not completely comfortable. The camera and lens though? They performed phenomenally.

I wanted to show park spaces in downtown Chicago devoid of human presence. These spaces are often populated when it is warm so my goal was to show the exact opposite. It was a gray day and I decided to present the images in gray scale. Fujifilm's Acros film simulation is beautiful. Despite the highly-touted quality of the jpegs I used and worked with the RAW files.

This group of 106 head- and armless bodies is called Agora. They are iron sculptures crafted by Polish artist Magdalena Abakanowicz. They wander in every direction just off the intersection of Roosevelt Road and Michigan Avenue.

This scene has become one of my personal favorite images. I was not particularly a fan of this park space at all, but it just looked so beautiful at the moment I walked by. I liked the symmetry of some of the scene. I actually got this one in one take. As you may know, we're not always so lucky with our shooting. Sometimes I take frame after frame and get nothing and move on. This was one of those happy moments I have as a photographer, knowing that I got the shot right away.

I made one decision to disturb the continuity of the series. The red and yellow sculptures in this park added a pop of color to an otherwise gray day and environment.

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Peaceful Protest

February 21, 2017 by Ming Hung in People, Street Photography

There were two anti-Trump protest rallies/marches this past weekend, February 19 & 20. The first was on the one month mark of Donald Trump's presidency and the second was dubbed "Not My President's Day," a play on the holiday. I originally thought about approaching these protest/street style shots in monochrome. However, people made all kinds of colorful signs, and the makeup of the diverse crowd was colorful as well so I shot it in color, with Fujifilm's classic chrome film simulation.

I do not have a zoom lens for my Fuji X-Pro2. I spent my time switching between three different prime lenses: the 23, 35, and 56mm lenses (35, 50 and 85mm full-frame, respectively). I was kind of slow with my lens changes, although I don't feel like I missed any shots. The difficulty I faced was that I would see framing for the lens that I did not have on the camera, lol. The next such event I go to I might just carry one prime with me, and that would help me to just look at framing scenes for only one focal length.

There was a band called the Sousaphones Against Hate. They played some Pink Floyd tunes and standards such as "The Imperial March" (Darth Vader's theme).

What I found myself doing was just taking picture after picture of signs, something I didn't want to end up doing the entire time, but I saw interesting signs every direction I turned. I just chose this one to share here randomly.

There were three pro-Trump supporters at the rally--that I noticed anyway. The interactions between them and the anti-Trump crowd made for more compelling images.

This red, white, and blue clad woman with the megaphone repeatedly chanted "Happy Trumpiversary! He is your president..."

It was great seeing young people engage like these two young men talking to the pro-Trump guy in the suit. There was some yelling from both sides, but this guy remained calm and talked rather than yelled. That's something we all need to remind ourselves to do. The boys asked him some questions, but I wasn't able to hear over other protesters who were trying to drown out the pro-Trumpers.

The woman in black was really trying to drown out the pro-Trump woman with the megaphone. She led various chants, and the anti-Trump crowd responded.

There was a group of Muslims who arrived together, perhaps bussed in for the event. I missed a shot when they arrived. One Muslim man was taking in the rest of the crowd--how diverse it was, how loudly they chanted, and how they were all there to support Muslims and each other. The man nodded and his eyes were welling up with tears. Seeing the emotion on his face touched me. That was the only shot that I regret not getting.

This was my favorite sign.

"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses..."

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Chinese New Year Parade

February 08, 2017 by Ming Hung in People, Culture

There are two lunar new year parades in Chicago. These images are from the "south side" Chinatown. I am a lazy photographer, lol. I went out only twenty minutes before the parade was to start so I did not have a good spot from which to shoot. I must confess. I have not been to this parade since I was a child. So when I started the editing process I knew I wanted to use some film presets for a "retro" look. Only problem is that digital grain doesn't look exactly like film emulsion, but hopefully the mood comes across in my images.

I actually got a good spot for the lighting of these strings of firecrackers. Switching to the Fuji mirrorless camera system has been great. I can use the LCD screen on the back of the camera to shoot shots like this. I just stuck my arm up in the air and looked at the screen. I never shot with live view when I was in the Canon SLR system. I like the people across the street covering their ears.

Most of the time I spent at this spot I had to look through a window such as this. I need to be a little taller!

I was shooting pictures of Chinese members of the American Foreign Legion parading by when this gentleman walked into the scene. I included the image because I like this character.

I like it when the guys swoop the dragons down toward children in the crowd. Some kids delight in it and some show apprehension like the little girl in pink below.

I will forever have the lion dance drum and gong beat in my head.

I don't have great images from the parade, but it was still hard to keep the number of images here to a limit. I don't want these photo essays to be very long, but I don't have a very good reason for that either. I'm still trying to figure out what this blog is supposed to be.

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Foggy Day Urbex

February 04, 2017 by Ming Hung in Urban Exploration

I was out exploring and shooting a couple weeks ago when Chicago was blanketed in fog. The streets of downtown were great. I was attracted to the bluish-gray hue. I enhanced the blue in the following two images in post to emphasize the mood I felt while shooting. A friend remarked that the space in between the buildings in the middle of the frame looks itself like an upside down skyscraper. It does!

The yellow of the street lighting was a nice contrast to the blue. I am not a patient photographer. I should have waited for a train to arrive at my station for additional foreground interest. I have another shot like this I took last year where there I did wait for a train, so I guess I simply felt it wasn't needed.

Then I switched to monochrome for a more gritty urban mood in the following two images. I love how the fog in the air made the lights glow. The first image was shot in my neighborhood. There is a viaduct on every block for quite a long stretch. I love them. Some of them still have exposed cobblestone. A railway runs along the top on the left side of the frame.

The lighted dots in the upper half of the frame are lights from a distant highrise. They look a bit like stars.

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Lunar New Year

January 28, 2017 by Ming Hung in Culture

Happy lunar new year to those who celebrated today! I meant for this blog to be more about my creative process, but since it's a holiday for Chinese people (and other Asians) I decided to share what little I know about it.

This table was set up facing a window where we honored ancestors and some diety(?). We invited my grandparents to come "eat." Then we faced the table toward a portrait of my late father so that he could "eat" too. Then my mother and I ate for real.

I'm terrible because I don't know what anything symbolizes. I just go through the motions and do what my mother tells me to do, lol. I don't have children so these rites and traditions will end with me. And when my parents' generation passes, my cousins' kids would be the ones to carry them on if they wish.

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Chicago in a fog

January 27, 2017 by Ming Hung in Landscape

Chicago was enveloped in fog for a few days last week. I ventured out to the Museum Campus area by the lake, first not knowing what I would capture. When I saw that visibility over the water wasn't very far I knew I wanted to show that in a minimalist shot like this in a square format.

The thickness of the fog made it difficult to see the museums from afar. I thought I would use some humor with this caption because the Adler Planetarium is supposed to be at the end of this embankment. I originally wanted to make monochrome images because of the gray day. But I decided to stay with color and gave them a bit of tone, blue for the images above and below this one because of the water, and just a hint of green for this image because trees are an element.

The building in the foreground is the John G Shedd Aquarium. Normally in the background would be the great Chicago skyline. It could not be seen on this day until I got to the other side of the aquarium where the fog wasn't as dense as it is here.

Two men enjoying the beautiful Chicago skyline

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