Dear Vicky: The Nocturnal on Portra 500

Hello, everyone!

I hope you had a good weekend.

I am getting tired of America’s performative shock over Trump’s racist post about the Obamas. Really? Everyone who has ever voted for him knows exactly what he is, and they voted for him because of that, not in spite of it. He’s the permission slip for all the racists, xenophobes, homophobes, misogynists, fascists…. Damn it’s hard to be exhaustive about this list. He’s not the dog whistle; he’s the fog horn. And everyone knows what it means when they hear him. It’s 2026 now, and let’s be real, the “I voted for him, but I’m not….” shit is getting really old. He won the popular vote in 2024, so save your performative rage, and get your shit together. The rest of the world does not want to be dragged down by this dying fascist lunatic. Seriously, get your shit together.

Anyway, I watched La Vie En Rose over the weekend, the biopic of Edith Piaf. The performance of Marion Cotillard is beautiful, but it’s a depressingly sad movie.

Quick update on the photo front, I finally put a roll of film in my camera, but again, I only took two photos after wandering downtown for half a day. I saw a copy of Mapplethorpe Flora in a bookstore today. It does give me the itch to starting shooting again.

Before I get back to shooting, y’all are stuck here with me and my Hong Kong photos. Today’s batch is again, nighttime shots, but on Portra 800, rated 500.

I don’t like this one, and I am not sure why I shot it. Typical Hong Kong Cha Chaan Teng, or diner.

Yung Kee Restaurant in Central famous for roasted geese, I think. And there’s a family feud story behind it.

Re-occurring Man Fai Fishball Restaurant in Causeway Bay.

Lady’s Street Dining Company, an indoor Dai Pai Dong style restaurant. I was meeting former colleagues here for dinner one day. Lady’s street is a street market in Mongkok, where one can get a lot of things cheap. This is the Tsim Sha Tsui branch of the chain.

Pawn shop and a van, Tsim Sha Tsui.

The Sign says New Marco Polo, and the small characters say Luxury Villa, which looks suspicious.

Another pawn shop in Central.

Tak Wah Pawn Shop, Central.

Tai Ping Koon Restaurant in Tsim Sha Tsui.

And that’s it for today. I like Portra 800, it’s reliable, and, you may not see it in these photos, but it’s a beautiful film stock. It is, however, a bit too warm for these nightly scenes, at least compared to the Kodak 500T. Look at me! I am rambling again! Thank you for sparing your time with me, and I hope I’ll see you back here again soon.