Shrouded car beneath a favorite tree

[Don Ellis]

Don't ask me... I just felt like posting something.



On second thought, it might be useful to offer a little commentary...

Thanks to Hong Kong building regulations, homes in the New Territories -- by far the largest part of Hong Kong -- are invariably three-story flats (apartments) of 700 square feet per floor.

These are subdivided in a variety of creative ways:
1. One home of three floors (2100 square feet), plus a 700-square-foot roof.
2. Two homes -- one of ground and first floor (1400 square feet); one of top floor and roof (700 + 700).
3. Three homes -- ground floor (700), first floor (700), and second floor and roof (700 +700).
4. Six homes -- Two 350-square-foot flats on each floor, with the two on the top floor having half a roof each.

No carports or garages are included in that, as you can see from the photo.

Rentals vary, of course, but a typical ground-and-first-floor flat -- 1400 square feet plus a little bit of yard -- rents for about US$2000 per month. Speaking of which, I opened my South China Morning Post today to read that Hong Kong has overtaken all contenders to become the most expensive city for expatriates in the world.

It's followed by Moscow, Tokyo, Beijing and Shanghai. New York is a distant seventh. If nothing else, I hope this has made you a little happier with your rent or mortgage.

Shutter speed: 1/8 sec
Aperture: 2.0
Exposure mode: Program
Exposure compensation: -1/3
Filter: Hoya R72 Infrared
Tripod: Yes

Don

[Leighow]

DON

It is a mystery !

I was going to bet on Volkswagin Passat ! The front felt that way. I guess it is my mind trying to decide between a van or a car.

I liked the tree. Our evergreens are so much wider, and this one looked so narrow and clipped at the bottom.

Quite a story in the AC on the side wall.

HOWIE

PS: Was that your dog in the Bali IR's ?

[Don Ellis]

Hi Howie,

After posting the picture, I decided I might as well add a few comments -- probably after you saw it.

And here's another view...


People are very protective of their cars in Hong Kong so I'm not about to go lift the curtain on that one. I'll keep an eye out to see if it's ever uncovered so I can tell you what it is.

The tree isn't clipped; it just grows that way.

Despite the invention of split-type air conditioners, the in-the-window type is much more common. A two-level flat will usually have five.

Toby the Dalmation belongs to the resort where I stayed in Bali. We don't have a dog of our own because all my neighbors have them for us. Two girls living in a 350-square-foot flat across from us had seven (fortunately, they've moved). The people on the other side of us have five. Everyone else seems to have at least two -- usually big ones.

People long for the countryside but once they move here they're afraid of illegal immigrants from China breaking in and stealing their gold and canned goods so they buy some canine protection. And then there are the generic village dogs in contention for the Scruff-o-Rama Sweepstakes. They're our first line of defense against intruders and are fed by some of the older villagers.

Cheers,

Don

[Leighow]

DON

I was just signing off when I spotted that you were on the site.

Loved you "flash-fill-in".

I assume that we are looking at the " country side" of HK. We are not down to 350 sq ft here -- although our lakeside log cabin at 700 sq ft comes close ! I liked the IR of the sky and the far off hills. The sea is there too but not bright as in color.

I suppose, as regards the AC, that if you don't have forced air circulation, it makes sense to go with window units.

Thanks for ponging my ping.

HOWIE

[Don Ellis]

Fortunately, we're not down to 350 square feet either. Here's another shot: the view from my office window...



Don

[Griffin]

The shots are really nice.

I have been resorted to Fred Miranda's Digital IR action but I guess it still cannot replace a real IR filter. Any reviews on that, possibly? Are those "false color" as is? TIA.

BTW, you mentioned you had 2 girls used to live across the street. Are they sorta married? As a guy who has been lonely for over thrity years (not a typo), I guess I gotta do somethin. Sure.

Talkin bout rent. I live in Peng Chau in an apartment around 598 feet and paying HKD5,500.00 a month but I don't have to pay the management fee or any government tax. AFAIK, I am still paying too much.

Griffin.

[Don Ellis]

Hi Griffin,

Don't know about Fred's IR filter, so can't advise. As far as the ice-green color, it appears when I use a custom white balance during conversion from RAW to TIF in BreezeBrowser. If you don't set your own white balance, the pictures generally come out with purplish tones.

The girls have gone the way of the dogs but they weren't very friendly when they were here. You deserve better. Keep looking. Actually, don't keep looking -- looking makes you look desperate. The best piece of advice I ever got for meeting people was to go do what pleases you -- museum trip, botanical gardens, zoo, grocery shopping, sight-seeing, feeding ducks in the park -- and be receptive to talking to other people enjoying the same thing (if she hasn't got any bread crumbs for the ducks, offer to share).

Living on Peng Chau certainly limits your choices. And HK$5,500 might be a little expensive, but maybe not when you factor in the location and the serenity (which I hope you have). We won't mention the cost of ferry tickets.

Grab your camera and go approach someone new and ask to take her picture. Meet her later to give her a print-out.

Good luck,

Don

[Griffin]

Thanks for the tip. I am going to try it.

BTW, here is what the Fred Miranda's Digital IR can do:



Taken by Canon EOS D30, EF20-35mm f/2.8 L, handheld

Just darken it a bit.

[gandini]

With so little visible foliage, and so much cloud blocking the blue sky, this image really doesn't seem to benefit much from Fred's IR action. Can you show us an image like Don's with a big tree, or some grass, and maybe some sky? I know Fred's stuff is good, and I'd like to see how someone uses it.

cheers,

[Don Ellis]

leighow wrote:
It is a mystery! I was going to bet on Volkswagin Passat! The front felt that way. I guess it is my mind trying to decide between a van or a car.

Ok, Howie, he finally uncovered his... Honda Odyssey van.

You can sleep now.

Don

[Roger_Cavanagh]

gandini wrote:
With so little visible foliage, and so much cloud blocking the blue sky, this image really doesn't seem to benefit much from Fred's IR action. Can you show us an image like Don's with a big tree, or some grass, and maybe some sky? I know Fred's stuff is good, and I'd like to see how someone uses it.

cheers,

Philip,

Here's an example with trees, grass, sky AND mountains.

The original:



Fred's Digital InfraRed:



And here's a version I created based on an article on www.leppphoto.com:



Regards,

[Don Ellis]

Thanks for taking the time to do that and post it, Roger.

Don