Exhibition Prints with Piezography in Hong Kong

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SuperUJ

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My new book, My Father's Kowloon City has just become available with the corresponding exhibition starting next weekend at the Stone Houses (a newly designated historical site in Hong Kong). Getting this book published has been a great experience, from approaching bookmaking professionals, to deciding on what music to play at the venue during the exhibition. Among other things that I have learnt, I got out of my comfort zone (traditional wet darkroom) and had my prints done with Piezography. With the help from Cal that I met at the monthly RFF NYC Meetup (began over 6 years ago), the steep learning curve became a lot less intimidating.

http://www.johnchee.us/blog/2016/3/10/67g4afqv3jctczrba1xhyvnbegn0ys

P.S. My Father's Kowloon City has a number of images of the ruins of the Stone Houses before it was restored and reopened with the designation as a historical site by the government for being the last standing stone family house of the city of Hong Kong. And the exhibition is located in the gallery newly built next to the houses.

John
 
John,

Congrats on the book and the show. I think you really captured and documented some history in this body of work.

BTW I love the glow that we got on the staircase shot.

Cal
 
Calzone said:
John,

Congrats on the book and the show. I think you really captured and documented some history in this body of work.

BTW I love the glow that we got on the staircase shot.

Cal
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Cal,

I was very impressed by your knowledge on Piezography. Reading your writing about it on RFF is one thing. Seeing your workflow and your pursuit for perfection during this collaboration is quite something. Your guidance on printing along the way has been a tremendous help. The fact that I am now sitting down enjoying my coffee (as opposed to procrastination) is greatly attributable to the high standard of your professionalism.

John
 
SuperUJ said:
Cal,

I was very impressed by your knowledge on Piezography. Reading your writing about it on RFF is one thing. Seeing your workflow and your pursuit for perfection during this collaboration is quite something. Your guidance on printing along the way has been a tremendous help. The fact that I am now sitting down enjoying my coffee (as opposed to procrastination) is greatly attributable to the high standard of your professionalism.

John
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John,

Thanks for the praise. I don't consider myself a "master printer" BTW because I like to identify myself as a crazy artist. LOL. Anyways crazy artist is kinda what I want to be known for. LOL.

As far as perfection goes only the best for my friends.

Cal
 
jsrockit said:
Jeez John... you don't let us see any of your work? ;) Congrats.
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John,

This was a big project and was a work in progress. Glad I was part of it. We had a March 1st deadline.

Some shots were M9, most were film shot with retro glass for the look. John displayed a lot of skill in blending the two mediums. Not easy to do.

Cal
 
I'm more concerned with the content than the printing (which looks nice). I'd love to see the book John.
 
jsrockit said:
Awesome, thanks John. Good luck in HK! And if it's for sale, I'll take one.
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Yes, it is. Will have one signed for you, John. Thanks very much.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1364384604/

Besides Amazon, the two major bookstores in Hong Kong, as well as some boutique bookstores also carry it. It's an interested process navigating through the book selling process outside of the U.S.

John
 
SuperUJ said:
Yes, it is. Will have one signed for you, John. Thanks very much.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1364384604/

Besides Amazon, the two major bookstores in Hong Kong, as well as some boutique bookstores also carry it. It's an interested process navigating through the book selling process outside of the U.S.

John
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Awesome, that's great. I will wait to get one direct from you then.
 
Calzone said:
John,

This was a big project and was a work in progress. Glad I was part of it. We had a March 1st deadline.

Some shots were M9, most were film shot with retro glass for the look. John displayed a lot of skill in blending the two mediums. Not easy to do.

Cal
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Good thing that only a few images were shot with the then newly released M9, otherwise the film emulation process would be a bit too much to handle. I only had the M9 with me when I got to the site the first time. When I returned with a my trusted team, M6/M2, the site was fenced up getting ready for the renovation. Later on, there was security guards as well. I then shot in the neighborhood on film, talked to the locals to learn more and more about the dramatic changes that it is going through. That forced me to blend the output.

John
 
SuperUJ said:
Good things that only a few images were shot with the then newly released M9, otherwise the film emulation process would be a bit too much to handle. I only had the M9 with me when I got to the site the first time. When I returned with a my trusted team, M6/M2, the site was fenced up getting ready for the renovation. Later on, there was security guards as well. I then shot in the neighborhood on film, talked to the locals to learn more and more about the dramatic changes that it is going through. That forced me to blend the output.

John
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John,

I'm really glad you explained this because otherwise history would be lost. The timeline starting with the release of the M9 (you were one of the first adopters, I remember at the Camera Beauty Contest you had the "Vintage" M9 with the lower S/N) really anchors the start of this project.

Anyways this is very relevant work because of the way redevelopment and demolition is destroying the character of a city. It really mirrors what is happening here in NYC.

My dad was from Kowloon, but he jumped ship in New York Harbor in the late 20's or early thirties. For about a decade and a half he was an illegal immigrant during the time of the Chinese Exclusion act of 1882. In 1943 he was one of 1428 Chinese that were first allowed to become an Naturalized American due to his service in the U.S. Army during WWII. In 1952 the Chinese would be considered the enemy again with the outbreak of the Korean War.

I visited the address on my dad's immigration papers Harrison Avenue in Brooklyn. The building still stood and was run down, but being on the Southside of Williamsburg in the Jewish quarter it was surrounded by new buildings. My dad's building stood defiently showing it's poverty arrogantly.

Funny thing is like a Salmon I lived not far away by the Williamsburg Bridge when I made the discovery that my dad lived not far away.

Cal
 
Calzone said:
John,

I'm really glad you explained this because otherwise history would be lost...

... Anyways this is very relevant work because of the way redevelopment and demolition is destroying the character of a city. It really mirrors what is happening here in NYC.
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Cal,

The Stone Houses in Kowloon City was saved through some serious preservation effort, but another historical place that I also covered in this book, Nga Chin Wai was not so lucky. Right before this book was published, residents there were ousted and the last walled village of Kowloon was destroyed about a month ago. Kowloon City is the area that many immigrants from China first settled during the Chinese civil war period, followed by the WWII. They had escaped from the Communists and got to Hong Kong, a British colony at that time. It's definitely some history worth preserving.

You are right, we are seeing similar phenomenon here in NYC as well. I wish folks can take a walk inside the Grand Central and compare it with the Penn Station to experience the "character" that you were talking about.

John
 
Are the rest of the shots as nice as "Faith"? :) That is a great quote.

Any possibility of receiving a signed book? What about prints?
 
Thardy said:
Are the rest of the shots as nice as "Faith"? :) That is a great quote.

Any possibility of receiving a signed book? What about prints?
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Thanks. Please PM me. Will be able to work something out starting from mid-April upon my return to NYC.

John
 
Hi John,

Looking forward to the exhibition during the Easter weekend!

I didn't see much promotion about the exhibition in HK (maybe I have been living under a rock lol).

Have you spread the word about your exhibition on HKLFC? (HK Leica Forum)
 
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