The Calligrapher, Wan Chai, Hong Kong - John Alexander Travel Photography

John Alexander Travel Photography - The Calligrapher, Wan Chai, Hong Kong

After roaming the food markets in Wan Chai for an hour or so I hadn't found anything of particular interest. It is hard to take any more than quick snapshots of the vendors in market stands as it is too fast paced and I always feel I am getting in the way of their potential customers.

On the way back, feeling a little deflated about how the morning had turned out, I headed to Central for a spot of Dim Sum.

Just as I was about to hail a cab, I noticed an old man setting up a small stool and fold-away table across the street in front of an un-opened shop front. He began un-ravelling some of the red paper inscribed with chinese poetry, typically to be hung on doorways throughout the Chinese New Year celebrations for good luck.

Brushes and inks were laid out systematically and previous inscriptions were hung up on the absent shop-keepers real estate (you snooze you lose).

I approached him and asked if he would prepare some calligraphy for my brother, my girlfriend and myself and asked his permission to photograph him. He obliged.

He asked me for my chinese name and I replied "Teen Ying" which means Heavenly Eagle (of course).

My brothers: Teen Yat (first son or something similar)

CE-LI-A for Celia (She doesn't have a chinese name).

As he carefully dipped his brush into the pot of black ink and dabbed it to get rid of the excess, I took a series of photographs hoping to capture a bit of his personality as well.

This is how I prefer to take my travel portraits - It is mutually beneficial, not just to photograph him unawares like the paparazzi. We both feel more comfortable and I always take better pictures this way.

Each time he had finished an inscription he pulled his brush back and took a brief moment to admire his creation.

As the ink was drying, he told me the meaning of each inscription he had hung up and gave me a brief calligraphy lesson - he was less than impressed with my version of "The Year of the Dragon". As I have been told I write like a 6 year old dyslexic child and am unable to draw even a slight resemblance to a stick man, chinese calligraphy was hardly going to be my forte was it?

I later found out, over Dim Sum with my family, that my brother's 'Teen Yat' I had asked him to write actually turned out to mean 'Green Day' instead of "Heavenly First Born". Apparently I said 'Tsing Yat' instead of 'Teen Yat' - Hey ho, close enough.

Kung Hei Fat Choy "Happy New Year", I hope you have a prosperous Year of the Dragon.

John

John Alexander Photography

www.johnalexander.me.uk