Photography as an Expression of Personal Freedom

This photoset was the last time I went on a photowalk. It was still relatively warm in mid November. Hong Kong had managed to stave off the advance of the pandemic with a zero infection strategy. So for the most part, life in Hong Kong was idillic - or as much as it could be - given the strict decree of the restrictions. It is not as if we could leave Hong Kong at a moment’s notice to exotic locales without having to accept the very real prospect of quarantine upon our return. In any event, the people of Hong Kong made the best of a very trying situation.

During much of the calendar year 2021 - when most of the world was enduring the hardship of the pandemic - I was still able to go out on photowalks to update this dog and pony show. And I would have continued to pad my archive of rainy day photos, if it were not for the fact that I injured myself. How I did that, I truly do not know. All I can say is that I cannot lift up my arm. Still, I was hopeful that I was going to be able to adapt to my painful new normal and eventually get back on the saddle again. After all, I did order the Leica M11 a few weeks ago.

But by the eve of the Lunar New Year, the dreaded breakthrough Omicron variant had finally found its way into Hong Kong. The fortifications that our government had proudly set up to prevent the advance of the virus - the vaccination drive, the social distancing edicts, and the mandated quarantine for travelers - had finally faltered. The writing was on the wall. I only had a few weeks before Hong Kong was going to be under full lockdown. As such, I did what any rational person in my privileged position would do - I decided to hightail it out of Dodge.

Kodak Portra 800 @ 35mm Focal Length. Two photobombers has been removed from the background.

Yes, I am privileged. I have options. I can leave. Even so, leaving Hong Kong wasn't exactly a walk in the park. It took me three weeks of preparation to make my exit from Hong Kong happen. I had to cut off loose ends and I had to knock on new doors. Plus, it is not as if I could get flight bookings right away, given that there were only two to three flights a week departing Hong Kong for the United States. On top of that, there was the Covid test I had to take within 24 hours of flight time - a near impossible task since all testing centers were fully booked.

In all my life, I have never felt so trapped as that contemptible last three weeks before leaving Hong Kong. The bureaucrats have become extreme in their attempts to contain the virus from spreading. None of what they’re doing makes any epidemiological sense. They’re all playing a political sleight-of-hand game of whack-a-mole with consequences affecting the lives of over seven million people - all under a heightened state of anxiety. In that sober mood afflicting us all, no one is thinking about frivolous outdoor pursuits like going on photowalks.

Even with a good arm, I know I will not be able to go out on regular photowalks anymore. Hong Kong will be in lockdown. The bureaucrats say it will only last for two weeks. But, we all know better. What started out as a two week social distancing measure has already tripled to six weeks, with no end in sight. To make matters worse, we are no longer allowed by law to take off our masks in public. As such, I no longer find Hong Kong a friendly place for photo taking, since the freedom to photograph smiling faces in public has been taken away from us.

So, I cannot photograph a smiling face in public anymore. Big deal. Lives are at stake - hundreds of lives, if not thousands. But, it’s not just photographing an unmasked face. It’s also the freedom to congregate in public to conduct frivolous pursuits like going out on photowalks. And before long, it’s also the freedom to go out at all! Under such a suffocating regime that expects nothing less than total civil obedience to be observed, how can I continue business as usual when my freedom to photograph whatever I want has been taken away from me?

For the sake of surrendering to the mandate of a zero infection strategy, who knows what else the bureaucrats will hatch up next and subject onto those still remaining in Hong Kong for this three ring circus show? Already, the bureaucrats are doing their best to demonstrate their commitment to save lives as the count of confirmed cases surge unabated. Sadly, such a narrow calculus of confronting the surge will only further erode whatever freedoms we have left. You just don’t know what else the authorities will do to us in the name of saving lives.

A few days ago, the US Department of State issued a travel advisory warning for Hong Kong. It said that Hong Kong was no longer a safe place to visit - owing to the arbitrary application of the law on those testing positive for the Covid virus. In other words, due process no longer exists in Hong Kong, where mindless compliance to a zero Covid policy supersedes even fundamental legal rights. As such, anyone testing positive in Hong Kong for the Covid virus will be isolated at a quarantine detention center for a few weeks without any legal recourse.

Kodak Portra 800 @ 35mm Focal Length. A plastic bag has been edited out under the trolly.

Seldom do photographers think about their freedom to take photos of smiling faces in public. Why would we? Most of us are merely enthusiasts taking photos for recreational purposes. It’s not as if we’re photojournalists tasked to document sensitive photos of despotic regimes tyrannizing the oppressed. We’re just taking photos of our friends and families. We want to see their smiling faces in our photos - not just masked faces! Or at least not just masked faces in every photo. And, we want to take photos of them in public places - not just at home.

I know there is nothing particularly consequential in taking photos of smiling faces in public. Whether a face is masked or unmasked should not be the cause for such outrage. But then again, why should it not be? After all, what is more fundamental to photography than the freedom to take photos of smiling faces in public? In other words, photos of friends and family unobscured and boldly revealed at a get together? At a milestone? Or at a proof of pilgrimage bucket list place? Without the freedom to do that, what is even the point of taking photos?

Throwing out the baby with the bathwater, am I? Maybe? Even so, I do not see how I can continue business as usual under such a stifling regime, I cannot go out on photowalks anymore with someone in tow. I cannot take photos of anyone unmasked. As such, I will no longer be allowed to take the photos I want to take. That means I can no longer be me - which is the crux of the problem - because being me is the reason I take photos in the first place. Frankly, if I cannot be me and take the photos I want to take, then what kind of photos am I taking?

When we take a photo, the act is an expression of personal freedom. Yes, I choose to go out on photowalks to take photos of my partners-in-crime. It is what I do. It is what I do for fun. And as for the photos I take, they are taken because I choose to take them. Who I photograph, what I photograph, how I take the photograph, when I take the photograph, and where I take the photograph are all choices afforded to me when I decide to take a photograph. Thus, I can take the exact photo I want to take because I have the freedom to make that decision.

Through that freedom to decide, I can then express who I am as a photographer in my photographs. It reveals my aesthetics. It uncovers my compositional biases. Plus, it hints at my playfulness. In turn, these qualities that I impart into my photos is what makes these photos truly mine. As such, seeing my photos always fills me with a sense of satisfaction because I can see so much of myself in them. Because of that, I know not to take these freedoms for granted, since without them, I would not be able to take the photos that fill me with satisfaction.

We should never take our freedoms for granted. Our freedom to take the photos we want to take is clearly the most important part of photography. Through the process of choosing and making decisions, we impart onto our photos our individuality. It’s what makes all our photos distinct. And the minute our precious freedoms are undermined, that distinctiveness which makes our photos special and satisfying will invariably erode. Without freedom, our photos will suffocate. Given that, we must recognize the importance of protecting our freedoms.

Kodak Portra 800 @ 35mm Focal Length. Evidence of focus breathing 😮‍💨

But like I said, the writing is on the wall. Hong Kong will be photographia non grata for the foreseeable future. I for one cannot be a part of this three ring circus lockdown show - since the freedom I used to have to take the photos I want to take will no longer be afforded me, given that the city has fully surrendered to this zero Covid policy enacted by executive order. Mind you, it is not as if I have anyone to photograph in Oregon. Then again, it is not as if I can photograph any smiling faces in Hong Kong, since all my partners-in-crime have left too!

By the way, I am not advocating against mask and social distancing mandates. I almost always wear masks in public in the United States. And being a rather private person, I seldom congregate in crowded public places. That said, I am against oppressive mask and social distancing mandates because its enforcement will end up being arbitrary. Nothing about Hong Kong’s zero infection strategy makes epidemiological sense.

Special thanks to Ania for accompanying me on this final photowalk. Desejo boa sorte e boas viagens!

Disclaimer

Mar 7 Photography as an Expression of Personal Freedom

Disclaimer

Mar 7 Photography as an Expression of Personal Freedom

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