February 21, 2012

Hammerhead Shark - 1950's and 2010's

In the 1950's my father's hobby in photography took him to many places in Sarawak where he took many black and white photos and developed them into the 3 inch square copies. The Anna Studio and the Art Friends of Sibu used to print his photos. Indeed their work is very commendable because these prints remain in very good conditions after almost 60 years!!

In those days photography was an expensive hobby and my father being quite frugal did not make many copies . Furthermore he did not buy many of those Kodak films for his Rolleiflex camera. His hobby was simple and I must say he was not overly productive where his photographs were concerned. Not like today when photographers who use digital cameras  DSLR  can "click away".and delete when the photos are not that delightful.
This photo was taken in the 1950's. A juvenile hammerhead was hauled up after it was hooked.
Lovely eyes of a hammerhead.

Hammerheads are very overfished because they have huge fins and they are furthermore commonly found in South East Asian waters and the Pacific.

In fact Fuzhou(China)is one of the largest exporters of shark meat (both fresh and frozen). Salted shark meat is also very popular amongst the Asians in general. A lot of the shark meat is made into fish balls. Sibu also has large frozen fish and fish ball factories which provide not only a good income for the locals but also has made some of the local Foochows multi millionaires.

By the way the ancient native Hawaiians consider sharks "gods".
I am not a shark expert but this looks like a scalloped hammerhead.







Full body picture. I thank the fishmonger for allowing me to take this photo  of a  seldom caught hammerhead

Today the Hammerhead is on the endangered list.

 But when an occasional hammerhead arrives in a market it does not mean that our fishermen are the culprits of overfishing of the hammerheads. This hammerhead is one of the rare ones caught and is put on display. For fish fans like me I really appreciate such a view.and the friendliness of the fishmongers who are very knowledgeable.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ya, it was an expensive to have photography as one's hobby in the long ago days. How things has changed. Yes, now delet button comes to be so ever useful that I remmeber before the computer era, we have to type our assigment and we cannot afford to make mistakes as that would mean retyping all over again! And best of all, someone (a typist actually) later came up with the blanco or liquid paper!!!

When we look back, we will realise that how things have changed for the better. Whne my grandmother passed away, she has not even seen a television beofre. Now, we have youtube, and more recent internet tv!!!

Well, let's see what things will be like in another 8-10 years from now!! Current research is trying to grow human organs in lab using just stem cells! Maybe in futre, we can get spare parts for our body!

Ensurai said...

Thanks Anonymous for your input.
Yes technology has changed so much!! I have friends who are 90+ and can use handphones with simple functions. And I have many other friends who are "afraid" of the computer. I agree that the Blanco is a great invention!! I typed a great deal in my school days and even on stencils!! It was not good to make mistakes...those were the days!!
thank you again.

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

your Dad and Mr Chong, how are you related? Mr. Chong took great photos. My Dad bought his camera in England in the 50s, I thought it as very modern, it's in a flat rectangle case, when you take photo, I think you push a button, and the hat's it's name comes out. All my siblings , my sis E;s friends and my friends used it during the photography club. Yes, it as expensive.

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

CY, I found we have another sweet potato entangament. Anna Studio, it as our family studio. Then in Kuching in 2005, my Dad celebrated his birthday, we had the photographers come in, contacted by a sis too young to remember Anna studio in Sibu. Guess what, they were the originals of Anna Studio.

Ensurai said...

My father's mum was sister to Mr. Chong's father..hence first cousins. Me and Ivy Chong therefore second cousin. I think we can find your dad's camera if we search Google. Like you I used my father's Rolleiflex for my Girl Guide photos and school photos...You were lucky to have an early start..I joined the typing club...!!

Ensurai said...

Dear Ann..The Anna Studio has been the foremost photo studio in Kuching/Sarawak...my goodness me..your DAD must have been overwhelmed when the Studio photographers came...Show us some photos.thanks.

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