Archive for the 'Take To the Street' Category

22
May

Little Bun: Superhero

By Sue Anne 1 Comment
Categories: Portraits of Strangers, Street Stories and Take To the Street

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“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Trapped in a bustling mall at the worst possible time – lunch, I was in line at a restaurant when I spotted Captain America riding the escalator. Kitted out from head to toe in a leather headgear, handsome blue jacket and jeans and of course, a red-white-and-blue shield - he strode confidently while examining his surroundings.

I watched him as he ambled around the cinema on the seventh floor of the shopping mall, obliging passers-by for photographs. There was no sign, no accompanying Avenger partners, nothing. Just him. Strolling.

It was too good an opportunity to pass up. I dashed over and waited patiently past eager children and giggling office girls. His face, half-covered, appeared handsome and strong. He posed strong-man style next to his younglings, staring off into the distance with a look that said, “Yes, I am here to protect and pose.”

When it was my turn, I shook my head when he shifted into yet another stance.

“I just want to know if you made this costume.” I asked.

Caught off-guard, he relaxed and nodded sheepishly. I replied, “That’s just awesome. What’s your name?”

It was the first time he appeared abashed. His Cosplay (costume play) name is “Little Bun” or xiaomantou (小馒头). The irony struck me as I tilted my head backwards to speak to his 6″2 frame. The movie Avengers was playing in the theatres then but he wasn’t paid to be walking advertisement. There was no need to given the glamorous lure of Hollywood and Marvel combined. Why are you here, if unpaid and simply posing for pictures in a random mall? I asked.

He shrugged, “I had time. Besides, this is fun.”

Little Bun was born and bred in Shanghai, and currently studying in university. He participated in Cosplay events, even performed in the annual ChinaJoy Cosplay Competition – where lusty men photographed endless half-naked young women in World of Warcraft costumes and Goth-dressed, pimply teenagers acted out their favorite Japanese anime novels.

I took down his number, much to the embarrassment of my colleague who commented that I was too old to be chatting up a young boy. Undeterred, I showed up per his instructions the next weekend in Jingan’s shopping mall, where he and his Cosplay friends were participating in an “American Heroes” exhibit. After that, he said, they had to practice for their play for the upcoming ChinaJoy.

Sure enough, on a hot and sweaty afternoon, I arrived to a smorgesboard of costume-clad teenagers in a copyright confusion/crossover from Marvel to Star Wars to DC Comics. Storm troopers posed with a Red Darth Vader, ambiguous interpretations of Spidermen and Supermen jumped around.

Little Bun was popular as Captain America, holding babies and embracing young girls in mini-skirts. He was shy by nature clearly but the mask gave him a veneer of confidence as it did anonymity.

But isn’t that the case with all our favorite superheroes? Continue reading ‘Little Bun: Superhero’

17
May

An encounter with laundry … and a wall

By Sue Anne 0 Comments
Categories: Take To the Street and The Lives Within

It’s odd to see the screaming pronouncements “WASH! IRON!” through a sea of laundry along a busy alley. Sunday afternoon meant residents were out in the streets, and hanging every piece of clothing on bamboo poles, wooden pegs, thin string that hung from one house to the next. On a beautiful day, it could almost pass as a quirky art installation.

As I moved closer, the hiss of steamers and thudding of the washing machines grew louder. The shop’s plastic shields used for staving off the cold swayed to a soft ryhthm as the billowing steam bumped gently against it. Poke your head through them and the noise is deafening.

I approached hesitantly and began my inquiries despite her blank expression. Do you get mostly uniforms or civilian laundry? Do you do dry cleaning? Why, when most residents would prefer to save money, would they drop their clothing here? Can you really de-shrink a badly laundered sweater?

Her scowl was unfriendly and persistently silent to my questions. After a flicker at my camera, she stared ahead as if right through me.

Soon, the tumbling stopped, as did the spitting steamers. There was only the backnoise of the alley, and her unwavering wall that said, maybe you should return back to the street.

February 2013

16
May

Instagram glory

By Sue Anne 0 Comments
Categories: Take To the Street

I confess that nowadays, the Iphone has become de facto of a wieldy DSLR despite my occasional dissatisfaction with the output quality of my old Iphone. My recent spat of short trips both in and out of China - Hunan and Hubei provinces, London, Paris, Milan – required light packing and a DSLR was too much of a burden if I wanted to retain the sanity of no luggage check-in. However, now that the Ricoh GR V is out, my wallet may soon be (en)lightened in an exchange for a less conspicuous presence in the street.

Don’t get me wrong, a DSLR and tripod set up is still optimal for shooting old houses but each trip is ultimately an expedition. I miss terribly the process of carefully framing details and angles, and returning repeatedly to get it right. The sense of accomplishment is more purposeful and different.

Putting aside issues of photographer’s rights that has ignited debate since Instagram was acquired by Facebook, I love that photo apps have further democratized photography, forcing higher standards of creativity given its easy accessibility. We now have war photography shot in Hipstagram, such as NYT photographer Damon Winter who had his Hipstagram photo on the front page of the broadsheet, awards and exhibitions dedicated to mobile photography, fashion influenced Instagram and of course, the street photography genre has only been boosted in itse popularity by the smartphone.

I recall the morning I discovered Instagram, I had offered to shoot a friend’s wedding as a backup. I ditched my DSLR by the afternoon what with runnnig around in high heels and ended up shooting all 12 hours on my phone. I processed and delivered the best photos in real time, to the joy of the couple. Society today is such that we prize speed first, quality is a close second.

The highlight of my week has to be reading about this fantastic Instagram project of @echosight, a joint-Instagram account between photographers Danny Ghitis in New York and Daniella Zalcman in London.

“The entire process takes place on a phone: Images are uploaded to a Google Drive folder, each pulls photos from the other and creates the final piece in an app called Image Blender. Each photo is uploaded to the Instagram account with a quote, something that Ghitis initiated in order to communicate the feeling being conveyed. “Photos are very abstract and words can be very literal so I didn’t want to go too far in one direction,” he said.”

This goes to show you the boundless potential of photography and art with none of the trappings of cost and burden of equipment. With no exuses, it is the photographer’s eye that has to prevail.

 

Above: A signboard/scaffold of an aspirational Chinese skyline, shielding a sadly torn down lane near Shanghai Xintiandi by Xinye Lu

09
May

The first step is the hardest … and we’re back

By Sue Anne 10 Comments
Categories: Take To the Street

The first step is always the hardest

The silence has been deafening around here, no? The guilt that has ballooned over my absence from the blog nags at me constantly, only made worse when I run into friends/readers who ask with an arched brow, “So … I see you’ve stopped blogging…”. I would smile sheepishly with mumbled promises to return with that one story of an old Shanghai gangster’s villa on Beijing Lu, or my Instagram series on Hamilton House, or my interview with the founder of Disappearing Corners.

Now I am quite horrified to see that in another month, it would have been a year since I last posted on the blog. For shame! Excuses are aplenty – a wedding (and in two cities no less), my increased involvement in a policy-oriented speaker series for the Hopkins China Forum and Young China Watchers (YCW) in Shanghai, a new job that has wholly and utterly consumed me, and a lot of traveling in between.

Mind you, I have not entirely forsaken all that is related to the blog. For those who follow me on Facebook, I am still actively posting China-related and photography-related links and giving small updates about talks and interviews.

Most of my recent publications have been on the China-Central Asia project including for Asia Society (“Gallery/Interview: Photographer Sue Anne Tay Captures Kyrgyzstan’s Bustling Bazaars, Jul12) and 信睿 (The Thinker) (”Interview: From Shanghai to Central Asia”《从上海到中亚: 城市街头摄影指南》, Sep12).

This year so far, I have given a talk on the former Jewish Ghetto in Hongkou at the Limmud (Hebrew for learning) China conference, and given a presentation to a group of Chinese history PhD students at the University of Bristol studying under Professor Robert Bickers, who is also the project Director of Historical Photographs of China and Visualising China. I couldn’t be more pleased to meet the dedicated team helmed by Jamie Carstairs that has digitized tens of thousands of archived photographs of China dating as far back as late 19th century, researched and catalogued them to share in the public domain. Bristol is simply lovely.

They say the first step is always the hardest. So to all the (remaining) readers out there, thanks for the occasional email and tidbits of places I should photograph. Shanghai Street Stories is up and running again! But we’ll be taking baby steps, so bear with us.

22
Feb

Winter walking

By Sue Anne 0 Comments
Categories: Street Stories and Take To the Street

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It was only a few weeks ago, the cold and dampness of Shanghai’s winter had gotten to me in the worst possible way.

Hibernation swiftly took over and I stubbornly refused to get out of bed on the weekends. One Saturday afternoon, I woke up groggy, my heart and bones felt heavy as if trying to break out of a funk. I stared out of my window to see overcast skies and a dull fog. Grey seemed to constantly plague my weekends. I crawled back into bed.

I have often thought to myself that there was simply no excuse for bad weather to get in the way of shooting. We are reflecting society as is, and bad weather, warts and all, are exactly that. I knew deep down the most amazing pictures would come out of people fighting rain and cold. Nature versus man! Authenticity! I thought, yet laughing at the absurdity of my city-mindset. I lived in Shanghai, for pete’s sake.

And so it went for days, then weeks.

Then suddenly, there was a buzz around me. Sunshine this coming weekend! A colleague clutched my arm to exclaim. strawberries picking! Window shopping! Hot coffees in the streets! Picnicking!

Satuday came and it was half of what had been promised. Sunshine bathed busy streets. Frowns and hunched backs turned briefly into easy smiles and relaxed postures. I counted on two hands, youngsters snacking on ice-creams even when their breath was visible as they spoke.

In my first hour of walking, the camera felt unwieldy, almost alien in my palm. Still, it felt good to be get my rhythm back, measuring people and distance on my 35mm. Children were screaming as they played thieves and robbers in alleys. Shopkeepers joked back and forth. Loud conversations and the clattering of mahjong tiles drifted out of open windows.

By the 2nd hour, I pressed deeper into alleys and emerging in equally quiet streets where the temperature fell from the absence of bustling human bodies. The soundtrack of the warm afternoon had dimmed. My cheeks were pinched pink from the brisk air and my fingers felt slightly numb even in my gloves.

Adjectives failed me. I was freezing. As the sun slipped back behind clouds and the proverbial mountain, the evening chill forced bodies indoors, leaving only those out with a purpose. Places to go, bellies to be filled.

Bodies began to hunch again and layers piled on you only see eyes and red noses. Another 12 more hours and good weather will be upon all of us again. I was waiting. For Sunday promised to be as brisk but infinitely cheery.

February 2012

12
Jan

Grappling with Street Photography

By Sue Anne 2 Comments
Categories: Take To the Street

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I’ve been sitting on this series for a while. Well, not just this, there are a dozen others, but let’s talk a little about this one in particular.

There isn’t a specific or exciting story to tell. It was a thoroughly enjoyable day-long amble on a Saturday in Hongkou district (虹口区) which I ended with cramped feet but a happy heart. Everything came together: cool weather, sufficient light, optimal crowd density and diversity of characters. It was days like this that reinforced my affection for Shanghai.

Yet when I reviewed my work the next day, I felt uninspired, almost disappointed. I found some perspectives unoriginal and compositions lackluster, a bit of a waste given the pleasant circumstances. Where was the motion, flow and wit? One photo seemed like a variation of another barely a month ago.

It took weeks to filter a dozen shots I could live with, another several days to do another cull. I remain undecided, deleting another as I write this post.

So what of it then, you ask? It was an exercise for my own gratification, a weighing of one’s minor accomplishments. But really, it is a reminder of how difficult the process of street photography can be for some.

Many photographers consider street photography to be challenging, perhaps the most difficult of genres within photography. The random and often uncontrollable elements in composition and people’s growing sensitivities about privacy are just some examples. Ironically, these are also the reasons that drive some to embrace street photography.

Personally, I’ve had little trouble with photographing people in Shanghai’s streets, something I’ve discussed at length before. Where I find constantly challenged is in creativity, sustainability and speed, especially when detecting and assembling an interesting composition quickly.  The process is easily suceptible to weather conditions as it can by your emotional state. Often times, it can be both relaxing and frustrating.

My partner often teases me about being too hard on myself, and how little of my work I share (ironic given that I have a blog) but I discover this to be surprisingly common among some photographers. It’s not a vanity thing but rather about skill and expectations.

Last September, as part of organizing the exhibit “The Living Streets of Shanghai and The Hague”, I spoke at length with photographer Lu Yuanmin (陆元敏) who was the event’s guest speaker.

Lu 老师’s (or Teacher ‘Laoshi’ Lu as most call him out of respect) street photography, largely shot in black and white film, is concentrated in his hometown of Shanghai. Pushed by high contrast and heavy grain of the film, his photos exude a dreamlike feel (also a recurring theme in interviews). His inspiration “comes from visual memory; the moment of collision of memory and reality.” It is as if one is drifting through Shanghai with an invisible cloak, peering intimately (and fleetingly) into people’s souls.

When I asked him if he encountered much difficulty shooting in the streets, he acknowledged how angry some people can be and it has grown more difficult of late. Being exceedingly shy in public, Lu is adverse to conflict.

“When I notice an argument in the street, I tend to walk away rather than towards it.” he said once in an interview. All of this has shaped his stealthy approach in street photography.  Before, the Lomo camera used to be one of his many weapons of choice. Of late, he has switched to a toy camera which hung like a small key chain no bigger than his thumb.

Once, I blurted out that despite practice, I find myself with no more than 8 good shots after a long day of shooting.

“So many?” Teacher Lu remarked in surprise. “That’s quite good already. I usually have just one or two,” he laughed. My face reddened and I slunk deep into my chair. That only made me feel worse. Clearly, my bar of excellence wasn’t very high.

When shooting film, Lu insists on developing all of it himself, fearing others might see his “mediocre” work if he sent it off to professionals. There was nothing militant about his approach to photography, he really was that humble. Perhaps with fame comes growing expectations, and you can be your own worst critic. Despite decades of experience, even veterans still grapple with the process. But it is Lu’s passion for street photography that presses him on. Nothing was too trivial. Nothing was to be passed up.

And so, the weekend is coming. Another day-long amble is expected and the frustrating process of shoot and review will reoccur.

But I never said I’d stop. Did I?

28
Nov

The Posture of Youth

By Sue Anne 10 Comments
Categories: Street Stories and Take To the Street

“Youth is easily deceived, because it is quick to hope.” ~  Aristotle

I had unintentionally trailed the two young girls for much of the block.

One walked with a swagger, the other with hesitation. Both had their heads buried in their mobiles, their fingers texting furiously. Without looking up, they weaved in and out of the Saturday afternoon crowd along Hefei Lu (合肥路).

They paused for a moment on the sidewalk to decide their next move. Swaddled in trendy winter wear, they chatted absently while continuing to play with their phones. The dialect was incomprehensible. Though their soft tones suggested Jiangsu, their attitudes spoke of enough time spent in the city.

Sometimes we forget that it is more than commerce that defines Shanghai’s pulsing vibe. Its fast pace rides on the depthless energy of countless youths that flood the city. Many of them moved around with their parents who sought better lives in Shanghai, others were bundled into buses and dispatched to work for distant relatives when crops failed in the countrysides.

Most finish high-school with no expectations of further studies. Instead, they arrive in Shanghai with stars in their eyes which are eventually dulled by their unglamorous lives as shampoo boys/girls, shop assistants, security guards, masseurs, waiters and waitresses.

But the fervour of youth is impossible to extenguish. After 12 hours attending to demanding (and often verbally abusive) customers, they shed their uniforms and plunge into crowded streets and bright lights. On their days off, boys and girls strolled along the Bund, window-shopped along Nanjing Lu, gossiped about budding romances and watched hours of Korean soap dramas. In a city with an extreme income disparity, Shanghai was theirs as much as the next person.

That was the thing about a large and mean metropolis. If it doesn’t care for you, it cannot judge you. Unlike tightknit communities back home, the city barely bats an eyelash if you have become a married man’s mistress, are being sexually harassed by bored housewives, joined an underground Christian prayer group or studying for the real estate exam after failing three times in a row (all true stories).

Shanghai carries the hopes and dreams of the wild-eyed youth, hoping to strike it big and live the modern life that his/her parents could never have imagined. Maintaining one’s dignity can be challenging in such circumstances.

Once, I watched a property agent, no more than 25 in his ill-fitting and shiny suit, stand outside a luxury estate distributing property listings. As only the help staff would walk out of that area, all other residents entered and exited in their flashy cars. The young agent would stuff the flyers eagerly into open car windows, much to the annoyance of the drivers. I watched a haughty woman in large sunglasses fling it right back out on the ground before speeding off in her BMW.

The young man picked up the flyer and smoothed it out for reuse. His hopes were not quite dashed but just a little shaken.

29
Aug

Zaijietou.com (在街头) perspectives and the 1-year anniversary “Relay” (在接力) project

By Sue Anne 5 Comments
Categories: Behind the Camera Interviews and Take To the Street

I’ve expressed my thoughts about street photography in China before and how it does not seem to be a genre that is widely understood or practiced in spite of the growing prevalence of niche camera equipment and the snap-happy society at large. A Chinese friend recently joked that Canon 5D MKIIs and Leica M9s are now considered ”entry-level kits” for China’s nouveau riche while  for the younger generation,  photography has become a natural outlet for self-expression made easy with the ubiquitous camera phone.

But to be fair, street photography is very much alive here in Shanghai, considered to be the best city in China (and arguably one of the best cities in the world) for said craft. Like New York and London, Shanghai’s sprawling metropolis of 22 million people can awe as it can inspire. Which is naturally why the street photography collective Zaijietou.com (在街头) or “in the street” in Chinese, is largely made up of contributors from Shanghai, with the rest peppered across the country. You can view my recent collaboration with them here.

Below are excerpts of two bilingual interviews with a Chinese and a German contributor of Zaijietou conducted by the site’s admnistrator Liu Miao (刘淼). Local photographer Lahem (拉黑) describes himself to be an individual “imprisoned” in Shanghai and believes honesty and photography to be the highest forms of humor. His work below seems to reflect this philosophy well.

Lahem has set up his own photo club, a platform to further advocate his philosophies about photography.

We insist photos must care about life. We insist the neglected facts are in our daily life. We use photos to discover these facts. We face joy, pain and sadness. This is how we define our photo club. During this age, anybody can have a camera, Anybody can be a photographer, taking photo can be as easy as breathing. But in the mean time, we found that though more are more people are taking pictures, they do not have a free will, they are taking photos according to someone else’s will and to cater for others’ needs. In 2009, I knew some friends, we all thought photography should care about life itself,to confront the inner heart.

我们坚持照片须关乎生活；我们坚信被忽略的真相存在于日常之中；我们用照片发现日常掩盖下的真相；我们直面快乐、痛苦和悲伤。”这是我们图片社对自己的定位。在这个人人都有相机，人人都可能成为摄影师的时代，拍照是一件如呼吸一样简单的事情。但与此同时，我们发现越来越多的人虽然都在拍照片，但拍的都不是自己，大家都在按照别人的意志拍摄别人需要的照片。2009年，我结识了一些朋友，我们都认为照片应该关乎自己的生活，直面自己的内心。于是大家在2010年5月底一起组了拉黑图片社，定期交流拍摄心得与想法，并建了自己的网(lahem.info)。拉黑图片社并没有实体的工作室，也不以盈利为目的。

Berlin-borned Ingo compared street photography in Germany and China (his work above), sharing a view I find common with many foreigners who call Shanghai home. A foreign environment is often most stimulating whereas a familiar one can dull our senses.

The streets in China are more colorful, people and places more divers. Also a bit “luan” (乱 or ‘messy’, ‘unruly’)which is nothing negative and can be very inspirational. Things are changing and are constantly on the move. It’s easier to spot interesting pictures. When I’m in Germany on the street I don’t know what I should photograph. It all seems so boring. But it might be because I grew up there. The city view for me is just something I have known my whole life.

Regardless of background or motivations, Zaijietou contributors share the same qualities of street photographers all over. Ingo captures this perspective well.

I think for me it’s definitely not a way to make a living but more like an obsession that doesn’t let me go. It’s also not a lifestyle. Photography is all about watching and observing. I’m good at that. This is me. I like to stay back, observe and discover the small and interesting things around you. Maybe some situations tell an interesting story about life in a pure and straight way and some details even let you smile to yourself while participating in this situation: I’m always trying to find those small moments.

Zaijietou is celebrating their site’s one-year anniversary with plenty of pomp. In addition to an upcoming exhibition, they have launched an ambitious ”tagging” exercise called Zaijietou Relay (or “在接力”). Essentially, a photographer will post a photo and a short story and another photographer can respond in a similar fashion. Ideally, the relays will create a continuous dialogue on street photography. You don’t need to be signed up as a member of Zaijietou, getting involved in easy.

For street photographers outside of China, this is a good opportunity to interact with China-based counterparts through the common language of the viewfinder. So take to the streets and join in!

25
Jul

Reflections at high noon

By Sue Anne 8 Comments
Categories: Take To the Street

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12 o’clock. The heat from the asphalt emanated with a kind of fury that dulled the senses and eventually the body. I tasted the salty perspiration on my lips and noticed the blazing sun was forming a haze in front of my eyes. It was exacerbated by the fact that I was growingly tired and after an hour of mindless wandering, I was lost, yet again.

This time, it was somewhere in north Jingan district (静安区). No heavy gear, just a 50mm and I was on the prowl for an afternoon of “decisive moments”.

But sanity prevailed amongst the general public which mostly stayed huddled indoors. Along quiet streets, one could only hear the whir of air conditioner units and muffled conversations from the television set. The occasional cyclist would wheel quietly by, making a most idyllic picture against leafy trees. Yet inspiration eluded me, leaving only a throbbing frustration.

On the verge of surrender, I stared longingly into a convenience store, contemplating a cold drink. Like a strange puzzle, the reflections of the street scene were especially illuminated by the afternoon sun, superimposing itself against the inside of the shop.

As if a special pair of rose-tinted glasses had been slipped over my eyes, I noticed another world unto itself – laundry hanging on the side of the road, a handsome girl cycling by with ribbons fluttering in the wind, a telephone booth and a leathery old man shuffling across the street.

Suddenly, the streets weren’t bleached by the powerful sun but cooled and colored by an interior world of sundries and shopkeepers. Feeling a hop in my step, the afternoon suddenly became a lot more interesting.

July 2011

08
Jun

Loitering youths and homemade tattoos

By Sue Anne 4 Comments
Categories: Street Stories and Take To the Street

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Unless you have a specific purpose, hanging around the human crush at the clothing wholesale district of Qipu Lu (七浦路) is best avoided unless you take particular joy in having your teeth loosened from flailing around in a moshpit.

Qipu Lu is a giant morass of buildings and shops selling low-priced to wholesale clothing and accessories. It’s a mass of humanity on a busy day, with vendors, touts and patrons pressed sweatily against one another, yelling, shoving, shifting wares … you get the point.

I sought respite from the chaos by ducking into one of the old longtangs, or alleys behind Qipu Lu. The soundtrack shifted to that of more pleasant everyday activities: cooking, dogs yapping, kids giggling, old grannies knitting, clattering of mahjong tiles … and the banter of raucous youths.

Because of the wholesale business nature of Qipu Lu, the concentration of out of town migrant folks living in the longtangs is high, especially from Zhejiang and Guangdong where much of the clothing is still made. The range of ages runs from teens to mid-40s, with the youth quota very high for this kind of business.

And with young men and woman come a tendency to experiment styles, this is after all the wholesale fashion district!

I spotted this young bony fellow strolling, no …. strutting would be the better word, up and down the alley. I admired his body art of animals that spoke of power and aggression while he posed readily. In the distance, his friends howled and whooped.

As he gazed at me with sleepy model eyes, I noticed a fresh tattoo on his arm, burning red, bruised and blood-lined. It then struck me that all his body work had a distinct amateurish feel to it, as if done by hand rather than machine. Like how prison inmates you see on television mark each other with a needle and a bottle of ink. The young man saw my eyes trail to his fresh wound and casually covered it with his hand.

Then, signalling he was done with me, he sauntered off with the longtang alleys as his personal runway.

May 2011

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