Purple Nostalgia 紫之忆

  突然想看看以前拍的照片。二十年里所收集的照片真的好多，应该有超过一万张吧。已经注入电脑里的都超过五千张了。 以前我用的底片都是专业摄影师拍的那些幻灯片。因为没有存好，所以很多张幻灯片都已经聚了霉菌。


当时玩相机，只是嗜好而已，不过却好认真。去游玩时都会不屈不挠的背著一款那时蛮先进的NIKON 801s, 附带一个 20mm 和一台 28－75mm 的镜头，一个 polarizer, 可以用来把自然的色素线条调净的一种镜框。游山玩水时还扛著一个三脚架，背包里还装著二十卷的菲林。背包好重，可是锺爱摄影的那种心得总是把背包的重量无意间减得好轻。就这样的走遍了好多个国家，喝了好多种咖啡，温暖了无数了阔的心扉，把视野也加深了那种菜根谈的透视，心宽了，思维四海为导因，人生的脚步也如云一般轻松自在的遨游，好写意。


The storm had begun. The torrential rain beating the zinc roof with such force it was deafening. The strong hustling wind whistled through the gaps in-between the wooden houses. They were built on stilts in the middle of the ocean. It shook them so much the houses rattled to its forces. But these were houses built with strong arms and centuries of nomadic experiences. They stood the test of times and of all that weather condition off the coast of Semporna. It is a tiny fishing village in Sabah, which is also the gateway to the world renowned dive site of Pulau Sipadan.


The Sulu Sea continued to roar with the rolling waves, hitting the stilts just below the master bedroom. Between the gaps of the wooden planks that made up the floor, the sound of the waves pushing the sampan against the column was eerie to some, but it was melodic nevertheless. It was pitch dark, nobody was moving. The wind continued to howl, as if there was a terrible thing had happened and nature was mourning its lost. The windows were well shut, but through the cracks, the rain seeped in and licked the wood as if eating up its grains.


Strangely, I felt safe. Amidst all the howling, the rocking and the sound of the wind, in the darkest time of the night, I actually felt cuddly and warm. I was given the best room in the wooden stilt house of a family of 9 members who were the descendants of the nomadic sea gypsies called the Bajau Laut people. The head of the family, who was the father, brought me here to stay with them while I used his boat exclusively for my seafaring trip around the isles off Semporna. 


I was offered his master bedroom, the only room in the whole house, for a few days. As it happened, it rained the night and I was enjoying the lullaby while I cuddled into my sleeping bag. 


The next morning, I witnessed the most wonderful scene. The water retreated a little and right outside the window, a man with sun-drenched skin and a body of muscle hugging stature, carried a long wood, I guessed it was meant for fishing, straddling it across the sea water. All the houses were built on the ocean floor, so when the tide was high, people who walked in the water looked as if they were walking in the middle of the ocean. 


It was one of those memorable scenery caught on film. And many of these fantastic shots are made available in my picture stocks with Picture Library, a company who stocks my pictures and offer the copyright to publishing companies.  These are some of my grade AAA pictures taken throughout my earlier years of traveling with Fuji Velvia films and a Nikon 801s camera. I carried a tripod, 2 camera lens, a 20mm and a 28-75mm lens. Stuffing up my rucksack were 20 rolls of slides, each with more than 36 exposures and a polariser. 


Those were some jaw dropping beautiful pictures I took when I was in Ho Chi Minh City, Semporna, Jugra, Mt Kinabalu, Miri National Park and Angkor Wat. These have been converted from slides to digital. They are available for viewing at Picture Library's website.


Looking back at some of the pictures, I am appalled by the artistic drape of the whole composition of my camera works. It is always astounding to look back at some of the wonderment of my creativity. Also, to reminisce the many places where I had been. The feeling is nostalgic.


  重新再看一些以往的摄影著作，真的好惊讶我那时候拍照的心情。可以那么自在的拿著相机，脑海里立刻浮现一个美丽的画面，用相框把视线内的真实框在一个图画里。把生活美化留影。


很遗憾的是，好多的照片不是被霉菌侵蚀了，就是电脑失灵导致全部软件受毁，包括了我所有的照片。所可以挽救的照片历历可数，还蛮好的了, 失而复得。原來的路途雖然跋涉了千里，心情的留步，如今又有照片回憶，是褔吗？褔亦富也。