Interesting places in Hong Kong:

Hong Kong Island		Kowloon, Hong Kong
Victoria Harbour 維多利亞港		Tsim Sha Tsui 尖沙咀
Yau Tsim Mong District		Reclamation Area of Central & Wanchai (新填地)
九龍城區		黃大仙區
Victoria Peak 太平山 (香港) 山頂		Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden
Kwun Tong District　（觀塘區）		Hong Kong Park
Tsuen Wan		Shatin
Lamma Island, Hong Kong		Central Ferry Piers
The Peak Tower / 凌霄閣		Tsing Yi (青衣)
Star Ferry Pier, Kowloon		Hong Lam Court
Academic Building		官涌山
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University 香港理工大學		Cheung Chau Island
Peak Tower

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (Traditional Chinese: �������� pronunciation) is one of the two ) is one of the two special administrative regions (SARs) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), the other being Macau. The territory, comprising over 260 islands, is commonly known as Hong Kong (Chinese: �), but was often written Hongkong in older English texts. The Hong Kong Government officially changed the name of Hongkong to Hong Kong on 3 September 1926.^ In Chinese, it means "The Fragrant Harbour," and it has also been called "The Pearl of the Orient," "The Gateway to the East."

The skyline of Hong Kong is one of the best in the world. See the stunning skyline from .

Guided Walk

Hong Kong Tourism Board offers many free walking tours, including Nature Kaleidoscope Walk and Architecture Walk.

Victoria Peak

Get a stunning view of Hong Kong Island on the with the giant, Wok shaped Peak Tower. Within the building are shops, restaurants, museums, and viewing points. The Peak Tram runs from Central to the bottom of the Peak Tower.

Horse Racing

The racing season runs from September to June, during which time meetings take place twice weekly, the location alternating between Shatin in the and Happy Valley near . Of these, Happy Valley is the more convenient and more impressive location, although live races only take place here on Wednesday night. For only $10 entrance fee, a night in Happy Valley can be filled with entertainment. Get a local Chinese gambler to explain the betting system to you and then drink the cheap draft beer! Be sure to pick up the Racing Post section in the South China Morning Post on Wednesday to guide you. A 'beer garden' with racing commentary in English available at Happy Valley near the finish line, and many expatriates congregate here during the races. One good tip, take along your passport and you can get in at tourist rate of 1 HKD.

Local life

The most effective way to know how Hong Kong people live is to experience the local life of an ordinary Hong Kong resident.

Go visit a public housing estate and a private one in a row, you witness the difference of rich and poor; go visit a fresh food market and a larger supermarket called "superstore", you witness struggle between small retailers and corporations; go visit one of the small shopping malls in Mongkok, you witness teenagers spend their pocket money on overpriced sneakers and youth fashion.

Just wander and observe - and don't worry - most areas in town are quite safe.

Traditional heritage

There are many traditional heritage locations throughout the territory.

• in Tin Shui Wai,
• in Kowloon City,
• in
• in the
• in the Sha Tin,
• in the
• Temple of Ten Thousand Buddha's Located 5 minute walk from Shatin KCR station. This is one of the best temples to visit in Hong Kong. There are over 12,000 buddha and you can usually see monkeys. There is also a pagoda that you can climb. If you are hungry before you climb the large number of stairs there is also a very delicious hot pot restaurant on the way. Although, at the top of the hill there are also amazing vegetarian spring rolls.

.

• Stilt houses in Tai O (aka Hong Kong Venice) -- to have a taste of traditional fishing village.
• Po Lin Monastery and the Tien Tan Buddha Statue on Ngong Ping, which can now be accessed by riding on the Ngong Ping Cable Car that takes you to the massive golden buddha on Lantau Island. A 20-25 minute ride on the Cable Car with a fantastic view of the island and a great way addition to this already amazing trip.

Museums

There are a variety of in Hong Kong with different themes, but to be honest, the people on the streets seem to offer more insights than the exhibits in most of these government-run museums.

One exception is the which gives an excellent overview of Hong Kong's fascinating history. Not the typical pots-behind-glass format of museum you find elsewhere in China. Innovative galleries such as a mock-up of a colonial era street make the history come to life. Allow about 2 hours to view everything in detail.

Nature

Hong Kong is not all skyscrapers, and itis worthwhile to go to the countryside (over 70% of Hong Kong), including the and .

• is twice as big as Hong Kong island and is well worth checking out if you want to get away from the bright lights and pollution of the city for a spell. Here you will find open countryside, traditional fishing villages, secluded beaches, monasteries and more. You can hike, camp, fish and mountain bike, amongst other activities.

• The Sai Kung peninsula is also a worthwhile place to visit. Its mountainous terrain and spectacular coastal scenery make this a special place. If you like challenging routes, try going to Sharp Peak (Nam She Tsim in Cantonese). Sharp Peak is famous for its steep slope with a height of more than 400m. The view from the top is fantastic. For a more relaxed route, try to walk along Section 2 of Maclehose Trail.

• is a relaxing park set amidst an ecological mitigation area. One can stroll along a network of board walks built over the marshy area and watch birds from a tower. The park also features a large visitors centre/museum. The museum has many interactive exhibits ideal for children, as well as some live animal habitats. To visit, take KCR West Rail to Tin Shui Wai Station, then the #705 light rail to Wetland Park. The park is pushchair and wheelchair friendly.

• North East New Territories is also famous for its natural environment. Yan Chau Tong Marine Park is located in the North East New Territories. A few traditional abandoned villages are connected with hiking trails in the territory. North East New Territories is one of the famous hiking hot spot for the locals.

• Short hiking trails (2 hours) can be found on Hong Kong Island and the New Territories.

• For further information, please visit the homepage of .

Theme parks

• opened on September 12, 2005. It is on and may be reached via the MTR Disneyland Resort Line from Sunny Bay Station. (Note that, to get to Disneyland from the HK Airport, you must make two connections, the first at Tsing Yi and the second at Sunny Bay.) Though smaller in size than other Disney parks elsewhere, it does offer some great attractions ("Festival of the Lion King" stage show, "Golden Mickey's" stage show, "Mickey's PhilharMagic 3D" show) and very short queues most of the year (except the week of Chinese New Year). Disneyland has not been as successful as anticipated and reports in the indicate that it has failed to reach its visitor numbers by as much as one million people. It's not all bad, though - a second theme park should open next door in the near future.

• is on the . With roller coasters and large aquarium altogether, it's still packed on weekends with families and tourists after opening to the public for 30 years. The cablecar is an icon and an essential link between the two parts of the park. The views of the South China Sea from the car is always terrific. It would be fair to say that many local people would choose Ocean Park if they had to pick a single theme park to attend. For many, the chance to see Hong Kong's pandas would be a deciding factor. Young adults will be attracted to the wider range of rides.

Seeing different sides of Hong Kong by Public Transport

Travelling on a bus or a tram is ideal for looking at different sides of Hong Kong. Not only it is cheap to ride on a bus or a tram, it also allows you to see completely different lifestyles in different districts in a short time. Below are some recommended routes.

Bus

• starts from the downtown in Jordan. It goes along Peninsular and heads through the . Then it goes into Sha Tin new town. Afterwards it goes through Tai Po Road, where you can see many traditional Chinese villages and the sceneric Chinese University of Hong Kong. The bus further goes to Tai Po and you can see the traditional Market. After Tai Po, the bus again passes through the countryside and eventually reaches its terminus at Sheung Shui (below Landmark North), which is near the Hong Kong - Shenzhen boundary. The journey takes 105 minutes and costs $8.20 for the whole journey with a traditional non air-conditioned bus.

• starts from Central (Exchange Square) to The Peak. It is an alternative way for getting to The Peak by bus rather than by Peak Tram. Your journey to Hong Kong will not be complete unless you have visited the Victoria Peak. You can see the beautiful view of Hong Kong Island, Victoria Habour and Kowloon Peninsula along the Stubbs road during the journey. When you arrive, there are two shopping malls: The Peak Tower and The Peak Galleria, which provide restaurants, a supermarket, and souvenir shops for your convenience. In addition, is temporarily closed for renovation, and it may be re-opened in May 2006. Direction: you can take MTR and get off at Hong Kong station. You can approach Hong Kong station by the underpass from Central station. After that, follow the exit B1 to Exchange Square and you will see the bus terminus. You can also get off at Admiralty station. Then, follow the C1 exit toward Queensway Plaza. The bus stop is located at the motorway beside Admiralty Garden. After you get in the bus, just stay on until it arrives to The Peak bus terminus. The bus fare is $9.2 and it takes about 30 minutes for the journey.

• starts from the Tsim Sha Tsui East Bus Terminus which is located at the Concordia Plaza, which is directly opposite the Science Museum at Science Museum Road. It goes along Salisbury Road, where the Avenu of the Stars, The Space Museum and the HK Art Museum is located. Later it goes to Hong Kong University, which is the most prominent and the oldest university in Hong Kong after crossing the Western Harbour Crossing. It later pass through the country side of the southern part of Hong Kong . It will reach the Hong Kong southern side, where the is located at Aberdeen. Not long after, the bus past through a football field, which is a 5-10 minutes walk to the Ocean Park. Finally, the bus past through the beautiful sandy beach of Repulse Bay, before it actually arrive its terminus station at Stanley Village, where the famous and the Stanley Village Market is located. The fare is HK$13 and it takes about 95 minutes for the journey.

Tram

• Take a tram journey on .

The tram system refers to , a slow yet special form of transport running on Hong Kong Island. It, has been operating since 1904 and is an obvious relic of the British administration. A trip on a tram is a perfect way to have a leisurely tour around Hong Kong Island's major streets and to have a glimpse to the locals life. Fares are relatively cheap, 2 HK dollars per trip for adult and 1 HK dollar for Senior citizens (age 65 or older)and children

It is recommended to ride from as far as in the west, to as far as in the east, in order to get a strong contrast of "East meets West" and "Old meets New".

A new, modern, tram system operates in the north west New Territories and serves New Towns between Yuen Long and Tuen Mun. Few tourists will be inspired by these trams but they may appeal to trainspotters.

Avenue of the Stars and A Symphony of Lights

Hong Kong's version of Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Avenue of the Stars celebrates the icons of Hong Kong cinemas past century. The seaside promenade is also offers fantastic views day and night of the Hong Kong harbour and skyline. The Avenue can be reached from the Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station or the Star Ferry.

The Avenue of the Stars is also a great place to see , a spectacular light and laser show syncronized to music and staged every night at 8:00pm. This is the world's "Largest Permanent Light and Sound Show" as recognized by the Guinness World Records. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, the light show is in English. On the other nights, it is in Cantonese. However, whilst it is not such a big deal, during festival times the light show is supplemented by fireworks that are worth seeing.

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Peak View (Hong Kong)
Made by Greg Benz Photography
There’s a tram that’s been taking passengers up the steep incline to the fabulous view from the top of Victoria Peak (aka, “The Peak”) since 1888. I, in my infinite wisdom, chose to hike from Victoria Bay (1400 feet below in humid 90 degree heat). Thankfully, I brought a hand towel from the hotel to blot the sweat from my forehead before my glasses are so wet I can’t see. After all this hiking, the last thing I expected to find was a shopping complex including multiple restaurants, 2 shopping malls, and even a large grocery store. But this is Hong Kong. My feet are killing me, and I haven’t eaten since breakfast, so I decide to sit down for a beer and some Indian curry while watching the view below. There’s a table outside where I can cool off without looking too obnoxious in my sweaty state. The wind is blowing about 20MPH up here, and it feels great to start drying off. In the picture above, you see the towering metropolis of Hong Kong Island, then Victoria Bay, and across it is the Kowloon Peninsula. I’d say there are several things about Hong Kong that really blow my mind, and you can get a sense of many of them in this picture… First is the sheer number of people is astounding (similar to Chicago, but it just feels much, much more crowded). Every other street feels about as packed as Chicago’s Magnificent Mile on a sunny Saturday. The second thing that really gets me is the air quality is horrendous. The first day I got here, the pollution was so bad that you couldn’t see the tops of the tallest buildings and the sun was literally blotted out of the sky for most of the day. Granted there’s a bit of moisture in the air, but a lot of it is pollution. The picture here is my third day in HK., the humidity is only about 50%, and you can still see a dense haze. You may notice many bright colors on the buildings. At 8pm every night begins a light show (the “Symphony of Lights“) that is the biggest in the world (according to Guiness). The fact that Disney put a theme park here is both unsurprising and completely redundant at the same time. Hong Kong feels like a big Disneyland merged with a financial hub merged with an Asian megalopolis. The tall buildings you see in the foreground are Hong Kong Island. The buildings further (beyond the river) are the Kowloon peninsula. What you can’t see is that these sorts of buildings are scattered all around various parts of Hong Kong. It’s amazing how many tall buildings there are here. Land is quite dear.


Chinese Junk Boat
Made by Jim Boud
Check out my VIDEO TUTORIALS of the workflows I use to create my HDR images. For limited edition fine-art prints please email me at prints@jimboud.com Your comments and feedback are greatly appreciated! Please do not post large images/banners or invitations to award groups. ****************************************************************** From Wikipedia: A junk is a Chinese sailing vessel design dating from ancient times and still in use today. Junks were developed during the Han Dynasty (206 BC–220 AD) and were used as ocean-going vessels as early as the 2nd century AD. They evolved in the later dynasties, and were built and used throughout Asia for extensive ocean voyages. They were found, and in lesser numbers are still found, throughout South-East Asia and India, but primarily in China, perhaps today most famously in Hong Kong. Also, found more broadly, is a growing number of modern recreational junk-rigged sailboats. This particular shot is of the Aqua Luna....a tourist boat patterned after the traditional Chinese junk boats. (I didn't see any real ones while I was there) Canon EOS 550D REBEL T2i Canon 50mm f/1.8 II prime lens (Nifty Fifty) Exposure 0.004 sec (1/250) Aperture f/5.6 Focal Length 50 mm ISO Speed 100


THIS ONE GOES OUT TO THE PLACE I LEFT BEHIND
Made by xavibarca
Yet another panorama of Hong Kong. I have been up there too many times looking at my harddisk. 16 image pano (8* 2 row). The bottom row around 50 sec @ f/7 per frame. The top row for the sky was 4 sec @ f/3.5 or so. Taken with my cheapest lens the Canon 50 1.8 II. High res:http://www.flickr.com/photos/xavibarca/5389474121/sizes/o/in/photostream/ Many photographers come to Hong Kong for its skyline. I have one major advice after living there almost 4 years. Come in the typhoon season when the winds clean the polluted airs and great clouds blow in from the tropics. Besides some days in June, July and August there is no way to photograph far distance cityscapes. For the most of the year one can hardly see across the harbors. According to the latest statistics last year we had the most low visibility day since they started recording these stats. If you have only a few days in HK on a photo trip skip evenings on the peak. Mornings are much more spectacular in Hong Kong. Sunsets are rather boring and after a day of life in the city the air pollution is much higher. I'm not yet using my own pc and the image seems to come out a bit darker than it should now... I have just arrived back in Europe. I'm trying to catch up on the images of my contacts who I have been neglecting lately during our move...


Please don't drink me
Made by Melissa.Tse
I really didn't want to drink this because the kitty was sooo cute! This was in a friend's cafe in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. Didn't hurt that the latte was good too! ;) I've been tagged by . So here's 10 things about me: 1) I love to snorkle to see fishes and turtles, but I can't swim. 2) I love to eat chocolate, especially dark chocolate truffles that just melts right in your mouth. 3) If I open a bag of chips or cookies, I just have to finish the whole thing up. Can't help it. 4) My favorite cuisines are Asian - anything Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai. 5) I used to run track in high school, but I'm so out of shape right now. 6) I used to prefer dogs, but my bf likes cats so now I like cats too. (Hence the kitty latte art I requested. I know, I have no backbone.) 7) I never thought I can be creative until I picked up my DSLR last year and started on Flickr. 8) I love to travel to anywhere that I haven't been yet. (Machu Picchu please!) 9) I especially like beach vacations. I think I need at least one a year. Love Hawaii! 10) I get tanned pretty easily. I'm not going to tag anyone since I think most of my friends have been tagged. Have a great weekend! Please do not use my pictures without my permission.


Packed like sardines in a crushed tin box Part I
Made by xavibarca
Another image from earlier this summer. 9 image 1 row pano. Blended from 3 exposures partly automated and partly manual. The trick with night pano's is to progressively increase the exposure time as you add frames by looking at the histogram all the time. Another trick is to end at the side where the sun sets. Taken right after a topical rain shower. Clarity at night is rare in Hong Kong. It only happens when the air gets cleared by the rain. I'm not a huge fan of the pano format but I wanted to show how colossal the Hong Kong cityscape is. Therefore I tried to squeeze in as much of Hong Kong as possible. From the Tsing Ma bridge to Causeway Bay. I'm still working on Part II which is taken from the other side (Kowloon) looking towards Hong Kong also taken after a rain. These images take me ages to process. ICC the tallest skyscraper in the middle is the new center of Hong Kong. It's interesting that the new addition to Hong Kong - the Stonecutters bridge - looks tiny in the Hong Kong cityscape/ skyline. In any other city it would be stand out massively. I added some notes with explanations. Chek out the super high res: The title is taken from a Radiohead song.


4 minute glow
Made by xavibarca
Hong Kong this morning. Every morning well before sunrise the city gets this amazing glow which only last a few minutes. Check out the super large size. This is how Hong Kong looks with a Southwestern wind. The remarkable thing is that the wind changed this afternoon to a Northern wind. Within a matter of hours clean skies were replaced with dirty polluted skies from the factories just across the border in China. Visibility is less than a few hundred meters now. This is the kind of pollution we are in about the whole winter period with wind blowing from the North in that season. 6 image panorama with my new Zeiss 35mm lens. Starting on the right with a 55 sec (exposure) @ f/6.3 (it was near dark 40 minutes before sunrise) and moving to the left progressively shortening the exposure times. Blown out skies were blended in as well in some frames from a 6 second exposure each. To do pano's as these Prime lenses that are sharp at larger apertures are key. Still need to match the skies between some frames a bit better and fix it up slightly. N.B. The image is unprocessed. No saturation or vibrance adjustment have been made.


Evening at Victoria Harbor
Made by Jim Boud
Check out my VIDEO TUTORIALS of the workflows I use to create my HDR images. For limited edition fine-art prints please email me at prints@jimboud.com Your comments and feedback are greatly appreciated! Please do not post large images/banners or invitations to award groups. ****************************************************************** This particular shot is an Exposure Fusion rather than an HDR. From what I understand, Exposure Fusion is a literal blending of multiple exposures, where Photomatix, or whatever software you happen to use, will take an actual pixel from one of the exposures; whereas an HDR may create brand new pixels that differ from the pixels within any of the blended exposures. It actually seems to make quite a big difference...and definitely provides a more realistic effect. I have started using it more often...although I still enjoy a good HDR! ;-) Canon EOS 550D REBEL T2i Canon 24mm f/2.8 prime lens Shutter Varied (3 exposures) Aperture f/11.0 ISO Speed 100


Hong Kong #37 -drumscan
Made by Thomas Birke
View from my room 3803 at l'Hotel Nina - good value for the money! I only paid 40€ a night! This is an early morning shot, close to the sunrise, which I actually never saw in Hong Kong since it is always cloudy as hell. Anyway, it was a relatively clear day - I could always check that looking at the Tsing Yi Mountain, If I could see it in Detail, everything was fine. This has been my second week in Hong Kong, continuing the series I started in March 2009, which ended at #34. I managed to shoot 74 images, despite some very bad weather - footbridges that cover the camera from rain helped a great deal. The whole second week I shot the new 8x10 Ektar - and so far I am very pleased with the exposure latitude, the fine grain and the scanning capabilities. My Epson V700 broke down, so I can't do prescans. All the images are thus already drumscanned on the Primescan D 8200. --- become a fan


Golden Concrete Sunset | Hong Kong
Made by I Prahin | www.southeastasia-images.com
According to Emporis, there are 7,650 skyscrapers in Hong Kong, putting the city at the top of world rankings. The high density and tall skyline of Hong Kong's urban area is due to a lack of available sprawl space, with the average distance from the harbour front to the steep hills of Hong Kong Island at 1.3 km (0.8 mi), much of it reclaimed land. This lack of space causing demand for dense, high-rise offices and housing, has resulted in 36 of the world's 100 tallest residential buildings being in Hong Kong, and more people living or working above the 14th floor than anywhere else on Earth, making it the world's most vertical city. Three exposures tonemapped in Photomatix Pro. Taken from Mid-Levels through apartment window. A rare clear day and warm, golden, late-afternoon light. Total reworking of an earlier posting of this image. Visit my website: Southeast Asia Images


HONG KONG'S YAO MING
Made by xavibarca
The new tallest in town ICC (483m) with its new lights on. ICC is the 4th tallest building in the world. N.B. Hong Kong as a city has the largest number of high-rises (>12 floor) in the world at around 8,000. 2 image stitch with my 24 TS-E II. One neutral and one downward shift. f/10 for neutral, f/14 for the downward shift with f/4 at ISO 5000 for the basketball players and the skater. In parts a 3 image HDR. I tried to get the sky look as grey as it really was in a typical semi-polluted winter sunset. High res: On a side note if you are flying with Hong Kong airlines or Hong Kong express one of these days you can see one of my images on the front page of the Aspire inflight magazine. I got a small photo as well inside with some words. In which I mentioned our (my brother and me) love for architecture coming from our mother who is trained as an architect and through her our admiration for the works of the genius of our compatriot Antoni Gaudi.


Hong Kong #33 prescan
Made by Thomas Birke
I found this one in an old film holder, and just recently developed it. I shot it in Hong Kong during March 2009. It is the view of my room in a Chungking Mansion Hostel in the last building on the left on the 16th floor. It was a single room for 20€ a night - very good value for Hong Kong. The composition has not been chosen with intent, but was dictated by the small window which I had to unscrew to open it fully. Not having a tripod head didn't help either. But I totally love the chaos and the organic feel. I would be happy if I could make these kind of images for the rest of my life. Just don't know if anybody would ever buy this, except from myself. I uploaded this one a little bigger, at 25MPix - take your time and explore it a bit. Just check out the lovely rooftop garden - like a paradise island amidst the eternal chaos. --- become a fan


Hong Kong Island Skyline in Bokeh
Made by Jim Boud
For limited edition fine-art prints please email me at prints@jimboud.com Your comments and feedback are greatly appreciated! Please do not post large images/banners or invitations to award groups. ****************************************************************** As I was shooting the Hong Kong skyline the other night I wondered what it would look like if I threw it completely out of focus and went for the Bokeh look. I had to use a fast shutter speed, so fortunately I was using my Canon EF F:2.8 lens which allowed me to stop down and get a fast enough shutter speed to capture the bokeh. You can still make out the general shape of the skyline, and you can still see clouds and the reflection on the water....something different from my normal posts. Canon EOS 550D (T2i) Canon EF 24mm F:2.8 Prime ISO 100 F2.8 .8 sec shutter --flickr Explore #94--


A Symphony of Lights - Hong Kong
Made by Jim Boud
For limited edition fine-art prints please email me at prints@jimboud.com Your comments and feedback are greatly appreciated! Please do not post large images/banners or invitations to award groups. ****************************************************************** A shot of the Hong Kong Skyline during the Symphony of Lights. I stopped in Hong Kong for a few days last year on my way home from a business trip to Malaysia. This is one of my favorite shots from the trip.....I really like the fact that so many colorful boats caused streaks of lights across the water for this 30 second exposure. Canon EOS 550D (T2i) Canon EF 24mm F:2.8 Lens 30 second exposure at f/13 and ISO 100 Non-HDR RAW editing and post processing/noise reduction done in Photoshop Elements 7 --flickr Explore #25--


Glowing Harbor
Made by Jim Boud
For limited edition fine-art prints please email me at prints@jimboud.com Your comments and feedback are greatly appreciated! Please do not post large images/banners or invitations to award groups. ****************************************************************** If you follow my photostream, you probably know that most of the stuff I post is either Exposure Fusion or HDR. Sometimes I have to prove to myself that I can still take a good shot without using a bunch of post processing techniques. With this one I just tweaked the levels and curves, and then reduced the noise in the sky and added a bit of sharpness to the buildings. Canon EOS 550D REBEL T2i Canon 24mm F/2.8 prime lens Exposure 20s Aperture f/13.0 ISO Speed 100 Exposure Bias -1/3 EV --flickr Explore #26 + FP--


FOG OVER KOWLOON
Made by xavibarca
A bit of an experiment. 12 image 5 sec exposure pano plus highlights from 1 sec exposure. Check out the large resolution! I will touch it up here and there the coming days. I wanted to practice making a high resolution image of Hong Kong for a long while. Finally we had a day with relatively clean skies to try it. We have a blue minute. More often a grey one actually. It was quite a challenge to get the images with the light changing so fast. It should be easier I hope in the summer! The benefit is that I know now which settings work. If you don't live in Hong Kong you probably can't imagine this was actually the best sky we have seen in weeks! I haven't been online a lot lately. I'm studying for part II of my financial risk manager's exam. It's good to leave my computer for what it is now and then;).


Hong Kong Sevens - Cop
Made by James Yeung
Behave! This is my first Hong Kong Rugby Sevens experience, and what an experience it is! Although I didn't attend the final day, the first two days of fun and action will be staying with me for a long time. It's a carnival for the Rugby fans (and some non-Rugby fans like me) worldwide. The Hong Kong Stadium was packed with 40,000 people from all over the world. They mixed together and had fun (and of course plenty of beers!) for the 3 days over the Rugby Sevens and every one of them wears a wide grin throughout with no signs of disharmony. I have taken many many MANY pictures and will bore you for a while with this series. I will try to pick the best ones and share them here! Lastly, thanks to the people who encouraged me to go and who got me the tickets (you know who you are)!


My Number 1 Kai Tak shot.
Made by Daryl Chapman - Bauhinia photography
By far the most famous shot I've ever taken, it can be found in numerous books and on the covers of a few. Also found on posters and DVD covers. Even Rolls Royce used it for a company book. Kai Tak airport closed in July 1998 and is sadly missed by aviation nuts worldwide. Sadly like many things that do well poor black & White copies of this photo are now on sale in various tourist locations in Hong Kong... and that makes me very mad!!! ************************************************* W A N T T O B U Y T H I S P H O T O? ************************************************* ** If you want to buy this photo I can arrange it via a local trading company here in Hong Kong that sell my photos, give me the approx size you need, and I can quote you the price for sending it in a tube to you**


Become One
Made by xavibarca
Several images stitched together of the Stonecutters bridge. In the background the container harbor, then the Kowloon skyline with ICC (International Commerce Center) and behind that Hong Kong island. Check out the super high res: Made more panorama shots some including more of Hong Kong. Will post this soon. Might reprocess this one as well fixing the blown out highlights etc. Thanks a lot to my brother for hiking here last summer in the summer heat!!!! Even though the sunset was ruined by the city smog after that the skies cleared up substantially to do some night pano's. Thanks a lot to www.flickr.com/photos/coolbiere for giving me the directions to get here! Check out his great shots of HK and places like Mongolia or New Zealand.


ICC, THE PULL OF GRAVITY
Made by xavibarca
6 image Panorama of Hong Kong Victoria harbor taken with my Zeiss distagon 35 2. Taken last summer. Probably the clearest night I have ever seen in Hong Kong. Check out the high resolution (about 5000*2500). ICC on Kowloon is the new tallest building in Hong Kong and the area around is becoming an important center with the high speed rail link to China to the megacities of Shenzen and Guangzhou. With the new high speed link and many other infrastuctural projects the idea is to create a megalopolis of around 50 million people. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_area Guangdong Province's Pearl River Delta is a megalopolis with a population of 48 million that extends from Hong Kong and Shenzhen to Guangzhou.


LYM Perina nuda (Banyan Tussock Moth)
Made by hkmoths
a female Banyan Tussock Moth Dragon Garden, Sham Tseng, Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong Insecta: Lepidoptera Noctuidae, Lymantriinae Perina nuda a feature of the lymantriinae is that they can't feed as adults due to the poorly developed haustellum (= proboscis / tongue). In this photo (see note) the haustellum can clearly be seen in its two sections, not zipped together, which renders it impossible for it to be used like a straw and thus prevents the adult moth from feeding. Consequently all the energy this moth uses has to be stored from its days as a caterpillar. __________________________________________________________ Thx to everyone for your comments and invites. Explore #245 for 18 October 2008 (as of 2008-10-20; 09:30 HKT) [...#415 as of 2008-10-20; 14:50]