Candid shots might feel brash or intrusive, but they capture raw, unfiltered truth. Posed shots seem polite and composed, yet they often hide behind a polished mask. It’s like life’s paradoxes—sometimes what seems “wrong” reveals deeper authenticity, while what’s “right” can feel staged. Could it be that society’s ideas of “proper” or “improper” in photography actually miss the heart of what makes a moment real?
My Sony A300, with its CCD heart, captures spring like a time traveler stuck in 2008. It doesn’t record light—it whispers it. Those greens? Not emeralds, but fresh chlorophyll still trembling on willow buds. Those pinks? Not petals, but the shyness of first blooms caught mid-sigh.
CCD sensors are digital photography’s adolescence. Their color science stutters like a teenager’s heartbeat—overexposed whites blooming into halos, shadows clinging to blue like denim jackets in March wind. Every image wears a vintage sweater, all soft edges and nostalgic noise. This isn’t imperfection; it’s the raw grammar of beginnings.
CMOS is summer’s sober adult. Precise, efficient, flexing dynamic range like sunbaked muscles. Its colors don’t blush—they declare. Where CCD stumbles into accidental poetry (a blown highlight mimicking overeager laughter), CMOS calculates every photon like a banker counting daylight.
Yet I choose to wander with my CCD relic. These spring frames pulse with what EXIF data can’t quantify—the way morning light spills through Beijing’s hutong cracks like stolen apricot jam, how bicycle baskets overflow with pear blossoms pretending to be snow.
Youth isn’t in the device, but in how it fails. The A300’s blooming highlights? That’s spring refusing to hold its breath. The chromatic aberration around temple eaves? Time itself lens-flaring. When my focus hesitates on a girl’s flying hair instead of her face, the sensor shrugs: “So what? She’s moving, alive—aren’t you?”
Come July, I’ll let CMOS harvest summer’s ripe light. But today, my CCD and I chase adolescent photons—those wild particles that haven’t yet learned to behave.
sony a300 with minolta 100mm-200mm f4.5sony a300 with minolta 100mm-200mm f4.5sony a300 with minolta 100mm-200mm f4.5sony a300 with minolta 100mm-200mm f4.5
After the sleet surrendered, Beijing exhales a sapphire sky— clouds dissolve into spun sugar, wind sheds its iron teeth.
This German lens, once sworn to contrast sharp as Black Forest pines, to colors steeped in Rhine wine, hesitates before such tenderness.
In the RAW womb of light, I knead shadows like dough— temper the steel-edged gradients, let pixels breathe chrysanthemum tea.
Now the frame remembers: how March air hums between ancient eaves, how dust motes cling to willow’s first yawn. Zeiss optics, schooled in Teutonic precision, learn to trace the curvature of time—
a city’s slow blink, softened by dynasties of thaw.
sony a7s with ziess jena 35mm f2.4sony a7s with ziess jena 35mm f2.4
Hey there, I’m Little White, a clever pup who loves lounging on the couch and watching the world go by. Recently, my owner took me out for a sneaky stroll to the streets, and wow—what a treasure trove of photo opps! Tonight, I squinted out the window, streetlights twinkling, as the night turned those cyclists and motorbike riders into my very own “moving stars.” Check out that pic—folks zooming by on bikes and scooters, racing through the intersection like they’re late for the next big adventure… or maybe just trying to beat the traffic light! I couldn’t help but wonder—humans, with all that speed, would you need me to lick your bruises if you wipe out?
The real laugh, though, is that dinosaur balloon tied to the fence at the crossroad! It’s slouched over like it’s saying, “Hey, pup, I’m lazier than you—wind blows, and I just sway. Pretty cool, huh?” I stared at it, nearly cracking up—clearly the inflatable “roadblock star” is putting on a deep, thoughtful act. The cars whiz by like a shiny river, red and green lights flashing, while people hustle through life—some grinning, some frowning. I come and go here, watching them live, laugh, and worry, and it’s like I’ve picked up a bit of life’s meaning myself. Maybe tomorrow I’ll nudge my owner to get me a camera to snap these street “actors”—though, of course, the real star should be me!
It’s hard to believe, but two years ago, everyone wore a mask! Now, many people have gotten into the habit of wearing masks, and of course, more people don’t wear masks anymore. Sometimes, what happened two years ago seems like two days ago. Time really does fly!
Nowadays, it seems that what people lack is not photographic equipment but the comfort of walking alone. I want nothing more than to carry my camera under the sun and enjoy the mere sound of the shutter. With the Leica M8 in my hands and the Voigtlander 15mm F4.5 Super Wide – Heliar lens, it was a beautiful day.
Leica M8 with Voigtlander 15mm F4.5 Super Wide-HeliarLeica M8 with Voigtlander 15mm F4.5 Super Wide-HeliarLeica M8 with Voigtlander 15mm F4.5 Super Wide-HeliarLeica M8 with Voigtlander 15mm F4.5 Super Wide-HeliarLeica M8 with Voigtlander 15mm F4.5 Super Wide-HeliarLeica M8 with Voigtlander 15mm F4.5 Super Wide-HeliarLeica M8 with Voigtlander 15mm F4.5 Super Wide-HeliarLeica M8 with Voigtlander 15mm F4.5 Super Wide-HeliarLeica M8 with Voigtlander 15mm F4.5 Super Wide-HeliarLeica M8 with Voigtlander 15mm F4.5 Super Wide-HeliarLeica M8 with Voigtlander 15mm F4.5 Super Wide-HeliarLeica M8 with Voigtlander 15mm F4.5 Super Wide-HeliarLeica M8 with Voigtlander 15mm F4.5 Super Wide-Heliar
Some people see street photography as a series of decisive moments. But when I’m out shooting, I realise I have no control over when and where my images will appear. I can’t predict which corner is going to pop up, and I can’t arrange for a moment to happen just right. In such a situation, I just have to choose the right camera, lens and exposure. The rest is down to luck.
I really like the look of grain in photos, especially in black and white. I like coffee in water, too. From analog film to digital, they’re my old friends.
When it comes to photography, it’s not just about the images we see. It’s the way it can capture the deeper meanings behind the photos that makes it so special. When I look at this photo, I feel a warm glow in my heart.
Take a look at the motor tricycle. It’s not just a heavy load; it’s like a messenger of warmth, full of intimacy and priceless emotions. I thought about whether I could use my camera to capture this warmth and make it last forever.
But who knows, maybe one day when they get a flashier car, the warmth from the motor tricycle may not be so direct and strong. I mean, that kind of warmth from the motor tricycle is pretty special. It really gets people’s hearts going when they see it.
Leica M9 with Elmarit 28mm f2.8 v3Leica M9 with Elmarit 28mm f2.8 v3