Greetings from Hong Kong

[Winedemonium]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Hi,

 

I've responded to and started a few threads in the past couple of weeks or so, after about a year of lurking here.

 

I got into photography as a teenager in the '80s, but never really learnt much about it - except that taking photographs back then put the meanings of shutter speeds, apertures, and ASA/ISO into my head.

 

I picked it up again in 2008 with a Nikon D200, which I later upgraded to D800 and some nice primes. I thought it was a terrific camera and still do.

 

At the beginning of last year, going through some difficult times, I recalled where photography began for me, and feeling that everything in life had become digital / virtual, I responded to an ad offering tuition in black and white film processing and wet print making. I really enjoyed that, and bought a Leica M3 (with a Voigtlander VCII meter), and an M6, and then a Zeiss Ikon ZM. The big spend was on a near-new Leica 35mm Summilux "FLE".

 

I found that I loved taking that camera out everywhere and gradually the D800 got less and less use. Eventually in December 2013 I bought the M-240, and sold off all the Nikon kit.

 

This year I have filled out the kit with both old (35mm Cron IV, and 75mm Lux), and new (2.8/15 ZM, 3.4/21 SEM, 2.8/25 ZM, 50mm Lux, 2/85 ZM) lenses. I read both or Erwin Puts books (which I bought as PDF downloads from him), and learned a lot from him, while also looking at a lot of photos made by others (including buying a lot of books showing the works of various photographers - I love Nick Brandt, Jane Brown, Andreas Feininger, Marcel Heijnan, Saul Leiter, Bill Brandt, Don McCuilin, Sammallahti Pentti in particular).

 

I am also a follower of numerous bloggers and writers - Thorsten Overgaard, Ted Forbes, and Ming Thein. I am currently one of Ming's students. I think the essays he posts on his site are amongst the best stuff on photography I've read.

 

I've also found the advanced search function here in the forum archive to be really valuable on so many subjects - as well as the helpful replies I've received from participants here.

 

For all that though I consider myself still very early intermediate. I understand the rudiments of theory now I suppose, but I need to actually get out and photograph more.

 

I continue to shoot some film, but I am making more use of the M-240, which I really enjoy.

 

Hong Kong has turned out to be a great place for photography - both the enthusiasts I've met here (including the numerous specialty Leica traders - though I have bought 4 items from forum classifieds listings), and as a source for a variety of subjects.

 

Cheers!