Tuesday, October 27, 2009 at 05:48PM Thanks to everyone that attended the China show on Friday night. We had a great turnout with over 50 people attending over the course of a couple hours. It was fun catching up with everyone and getting a chance to show a few of the photos from my trip.
For those that weren't able to attend here is a short video clip of the show. The photos will also be posted onto my stock website in the coming weeks.
Monday, July 27, 2009 at 10:15AM July 20th
Today I went to Cheung Chau Island, which is about a half hour ferry ride from Hong Kong. It is largely a fishing village and was an enjoyable place to take pictures and walk around. You can see fishermen fixing nets and preparing their boats to go out to sea all over the harbor.
I did learn that you can't always trust guidebooks. The book I was using said you could hike up Peak Road to a cemetery and look out over the harbor for some great views. I found Peak Road and I found the cemetery, but I didn't find the views. No matter where I went the views were blocked by the heave foliage on the hill. It wore me out hiking up there in the heat and humidity, so I wasn't very happy that I had tried.
I did enjoy a great lunch at a cheap seafood restaurant right on the harbor. I enjoyed my meal and a Tsing Tao while watching the boats go in and out. Every once in awhile when I'm traveling I have those moments where I think "I can't believe I am here experiencing this." For some reason enjoying lunch on an island off the China coast was one of those moments.
Looking at Hong Kong from across the harbor with the International Finance Center in the middle.
One of the deck hands for the Star Ferry taking a break. The Star Ferry takes people back and forth between Hong Kong and Kowloon.
A fishing boat resting in the Cheung Chau Harbor.
The Cheung Chau Harbor full of fishing boats.
A man walking by a couple fishing boats. I got lucky with how they framed his head.
An elderly man working on his fishing boat.
Me enjoying lunch on the Chung Chau Harbor.
A woman walking through an alleyway on Cheung Chau.
Cheung Chau, China, Fishing, Hong Kong, Village, island, photography, travel in Travel Friday, July 24, 2009 at 01:19PM July 19
I was woken in the middle of the night by a typhoon that partially hit Hong Kong. There were very strong winds and rain, but not enough to keep me awake longer than about 10 minutes. It actually ended up being a blessing because by noon all the rain had cleared out and taken the smog of Hong Kong with it. This allowed me to get crystal clear pictures of the city, which I hear isn't very common.
The city of Hong Kong is split into two main areas, Hong Kong and Kowloon. Today I visited the actual Hong Kong island side for the first time. It was still raining pretty hard when I set out so I decided to experience the escalators to Mid Level. A series of escalators that are about a half mile long take you up the steep hills of Hong Kong and by shopping, restaurants and apartment buildings. It is something you can't experience anywhere else in the world.
I then photographed a couple temples. The Man Mo Temple and the most famous in Hong Kong, Wong Tai Sin, which is a Taoist temple. It had beautiful gardens that were surrounded by the cities unique apartment buildings. They also had a very impressive pond with about a 30 foot waterfall that was filled with at least 100 large koi.
After that I took the tram to Victoria's Peak, which overlooks the city. From there I was able to take advantage of the typhoon clearing out the smog and captures some great shots of the city and then waited until dusk to get some night photos. It is an amazing view of one of the most unique cities in the world. I stood there for an hour and a half to keep my spot for the dusk shots and just soaked it all in.
I decided I had a little more energy left in me and walked through the financial district taking pictures of all the skyscrapers. Hong Kong has too have some of the most creative architecture for skyscrapers and many of them are lit up at night, which makes for great pictures.
Incense burning in the Man Mo Temple.
A woman praying in the Man Mo Temple.
A lion on the exterior of the Wong Tai Sin Temple.
The gardens at the Wong Tai Sin Temple.
The view over Hong Kong from Victoria's Peak.
The view over Hong Kong from Victoria's Peak at dusk. This is actually 4 images that have been stitched together. All together they create a 95mb file. The color of the dusk sky spread out evenly because of the layer of clouds above the city and the created an amazing blue hue.
Looking up at the impressive Bank of China building at night.
Hong Kong's tallest building surrounded by clouds, The International Finance Center. There is currently another building that will complete construction next year to surpass it.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009 at 12:54AM July 18
Yesterday was a full day of travel. The bus ride from Hanzhong to Xian was pretty uneventful, but the trip has multiple tunnels that go through the mountains, which makes it more interesting. You go through at least 20 of them and the longest one is over four miles long!
Today I took a bus to Tai O. A remote village on Lantau island that is known for its houses on stilts. It was a very small village and there wasn't much going on. The houses that are on the stilts are amazingly small. About 300-400 square feet spread out over two floors and in multiple rooms. The ceilings have to be 6-7 feet at most.
I then took a bus to Po Lin, which is home to one of the biggest Buddha's in the world. It is 85 feet tall and sits at the top of the hill. It has an amazingly ornate Buddhist temple nearby. It was definitely worth the trip to see. The "Big Buddha" is up in the mountains of Lantau island, so I then took a gondola back to sea level.
After that I came back to Hong Kong and did some night photography of the city life. Overall it was a very rewarding day of photography and very tiring. I photographed for over 12 hours.
The stilt houses of Tai O
Salted fish hanging to dry in the sun. I have found that if it comes from the ocean, they will salt it, dry it and eat it whatever it is. I've seen starfish, seahorses, blowfish, squid and everything else you can think of for sale.
A boat coming down an inlet between the stilt houses in Tai O.
The 85 foot tall Big Buddha at Po Lin.
A Buddhist statue at the base of the Big Buddha with the Lantau mountains in the distance.
Dragon detail on the front of the Buddhist temple at Po Lin.
An ornate building with the Big Buddha in the distance.
Dusk on Nathan Road on the Kowloon side of Hong Kong.
Neon signage on Nathan Road.
A woman serving fish balls with octopus on a stick in the foreground.
Stalls and shoppers at the Temple Street night market in Kowloon. Be ready to barter!
A creative shot of the neon signage in Hong Kong. I promise it wasn't an accident. It actually took 19 tries to get what I wanted.
Big Buddha, Buddhist, Hong Kong, Po Lin, Tai O, night, photography, travel in Travel Tuesday, July 7, 2009 at 09:45PM After a long 13 1/2 hour flight, some sleep and three movies I arrived in Hong Kong. I met up with some members of the group in LAX and we met up with even more once we arrived in Hong Kong. There are going to be 28 team members total when everyone is together in Hanzhong.
Hong Kong is a pretty amazing place. It is very unique and you are definitely in the heart of Asia. We are staying on the Kowloon side of the harbor, so I spent my first day photographing this area. I started out at the harbor overlooking Hong Kong and then slowly made my way back to our hotel. It always takes me a couple hours to get into the swing of things on a trip. Once I got going I found out that almost everyone I approached to photograph was very amicable. I found a “community resting area” where elderly men were playing some sort of board game and people were sitting around talking and enjoying the day. It made for some great photo ops.
Last night everyone went down to the harbor to watch a light show set to music that lights up the buildings across the water. The view at night is amazing. I was able to get some great dusk shots of the city and enjoy a light show set to some very cheesy music.
I'll be finishing off the trip to China with three more days in Hong Kong, so look for more to come. We are off to Xian and Hanzhong this afternoon and I will be posting images from there in a couple days from now.
Taxis in a tunnel from the airport into the city. The road is empty because we arrived at 5am.
Signage over Nathan Road
Looking across the bay from Kowloon to Hong Kong.
Silouhette of a girl walking and reading.
A very friendly man who was happy to have his photo taken.
Dragons carved into the side of a temple.
Guys playing basketball at the base of some old buildings.
The Hong Kong harbor at dusk with a boat going by.
The Hong Kong skyline