Peter Lam

Peter Lam

There is nothing like between a serious amateur and a semi-pro, I would rather be a forever learner polishing my skills and aesthetic sense. 

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Early Years

My photographing journey started at six when my father brought me a Kodak box camera using 126 cartridges. Yes, he brought - not bought - me cameras and films, as my father was a life-time Kodaker. From time to time, he brought home a new box camera and some rolls of films of various types and formats. There were 126, 110, Kodak-Disc, Kodak Instant, 135, both black and white and in colour. If not the cost, and my age, he might even bring home 120 or roll films. Unfortunately, very few of my photos did develop with fine images, even less survived till my adulthood.

 

During those days, my dad bought two single lens reflex (SLR) cameras. One Minolta (no idea with its model name) and a Nikon FM. Honestly, my dad was not a serious photographer at all, but he did take family photos fairly often with us. He passed me the Minolta SLR when he bought his Nikon when I was still in primary school. It was fairly amazing when everyone at school gazed at me taking photos in school events with a "real" camera on hand. Capturing events, running around while others were in action gave me some privileges and freedom, with which until today I enjoy much. 

 

Nikon FM

My interests in photo-taking shifted gear when I promoted to senior secondary school. Probably due to peer influence, I started to practice and experiment with my dad's Nikon FM. He later on simply let me keep this very decent camera. 

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For the next 20 odd years, this FM camera accompanied me in all trips in Hong Kong, and foreign places near and far. It also helped me kill the boredom during those years while I lived in Toronto, Canada.

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Black and White film was the norm in the 1970s. I still recall some photos I took with a box camera when I was a little boy. Yet, the very first roll of 135 film should be the one for my secondary classmates. The photography club guy asked me to take a set for the school magazine. Seeing my friends posing around the campus is still part of my cherished memory. It was when 1997 quickly approached then I picked up loads of Tri-X and Plus-X to capture the sunsetting British-era of my hometown. With my limited darkroom experience learnt at the HK Art Centre, I managed to shoot and process a good collection of street scenes, motif, symbols and memorabilia around town before I emigrated to Canada. Bad is I still yet to develop many of these yesteryear images. Good is virtually all rolls are well-kept in my storage sleeping... 

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Nikon D300

TBC

Nikon D850

TBC

Flash photography

TBC

Portraits - boudoirs and nudes

TBC

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