Introduction

As I’m currently on the plane from Hong Kong to the next stop, I thought this would be the perfect time to write about my experience in Hong Kong last week. I’ve stayed for roughly 7 days and I’ll write only about my own experiences. The top part will be focused just on photography and on the bottom part is more of a honest take of Hong Kong with some personal thoughts. I think it’s good to read both as this could really help you a lot if you find yourself visiting Hong Kong in the future,

Why Hong kong?

Hong Kong is one of the biggest and most relevant travel hubs in the world. With that, it’s insanely diverse and if you want, hectic. With the intensely polarised landscapes filled with concrete buildings higher than you could imagine, you are basically surrounded by extremes, like all the time.

This in and of itself in my opinion is enough of a reason to visit hong kong. There is so much to explore and you could spend months or years and not have seen it all. I’m confident some of the most interesting scenes you will find are in Hong Kong.

And to top it off, though for Asian standards it’s not cheap, it can be pretty affordable when done right. But more about that down below.

Why not Hong Kong?

If you like a peaceful and quiet getaway to take your camera to, you prefer nature, just don’t like chaos or get easily overstimulated. Do not come to Hong Kong. It’s incredibly crowded, even in the off season. With that, I found that people have a serious lack of spatial awareness, to the point where you sometimes have to walk subway surf style to get from A to B. I’m not sure why but people will spontaneously stop in the middle of a busy street to check their phone without any regard to their surroundings. Don’t get me wrong, this is not me complaining. It’s so you understand that turning off your head in this city isn’t really an option, as the ultra fast pacing of this city is felt in every way.

I’m saying this because depending on your personality and likings, this could be an issue. It wasn’t as bad of an issue for me personally, but if you want to go have a relaxed trip/getaway and perhaps get some rest, Hong Kong may not be ideal for you.

Is photography accepted?

The short answer: yes. The long answer: (street) photography is very accepted in Hong Kong. Content creators are everywhere (Popular spots like Victoria harbour are pretty much tripod hell) and the positive of this is that people are generally not going to care about your camera. However, privacy is highly valued in Hong Kong, so if you want to do street portraiture you should ask the person for permission first. Apart from this, some places do not allow you to photograph (like the insides of some temples) but there will be signs of that on those spaces.

To sum this up, just be respectful and mindful of others, use common sense and you’ll be fine.

How long should you stay?

This totally depends on what you want to see, how fast of a traveler you are and on your budget. Generally I think a week is the sweet spot if you include a day trip to Macau. But if not, 5-6 days should be okay. However I have to say you can spend as long as you want in this city without getting bored, so it’s really up to preference.

What gear to bring

For this trip I brought my Fujifilm XT5 coupled with the 18-55 f2.8-4, 35 f1.4 and 50 f2 with an XT20 as backup for if something happens to the XT5. This comes down in full-frame terms to roughly a 28-85, 50mm and 75mm.

I think 50mm (full frame) is the real sweat-spot for Hong Kong, as the places are huge and small at the same time. 50mm will give you both the reach and enough width to capture most things, and will most likely have you getting the most shots. If you don’t have a 50mm, I’d say a 35 should work as well even though it might be a bit harder simplifying compositions if you like more minimal/clean shots. There is a LOT of clutter to keep in mind.

If you don’t want to travel with a lot of different lenses, I’d recommend a 24-70 zoom as well as one telephoto lens. This way you are prepared for the ultra fast pacing of the city with the zoom and enables the telephoto lens you to get the extra details and compression shots. But if you can, I seriously recommend one fast prime like a f1.4. if you are into nighttime photography. A fast lens like his will also help creating more separation, making simplifying compositions easier as well.

Next to this, prioritise weather resistant gear if you have it. Rain in this place can be quite brutal (even though I didn’t really experience it myself).

Normally I wouldn’t include this, but it feels like I have to because I feel like it made my trip so much better because I had this. Make sure to pack good shoes that will get you to put in a lot of steps without any issues. You will find yourself walking a lot, so don’t skip out on it. I got 20-30k steps per day for reference. Also pack some lightweight and fast drying clothes. Hong Kong can get incredibly warm and humid so sweat is guaranteed. Also bring anti bug spray since Hong Kong has plenty that would love to keep you company.

Where to photograph.

The city is spit between Kowloon (north) and Kong kong Island (south). Kowloon is known for being really authentic with all of its Bladerunner type architecture you know from the movies. It’s also the part where Kowloon walled city used to be.

Hong Kong Island is diverse and divided into different districts. Central Hong Kong is the place where the big companies house their headquarters. It’s packed with tall modern skyscrapers, Famous stores and I would consider it the financial heart of the city. Other districts worth mentioning are Wan Chai and Tai Koo. Wan Chai is pretty touristy with a lot of restaurants and shops. Tai Koo is quite residential and it’s where the monster building is located. Throughout Hong Kong Island you will find the famous double decker trams if you want to capture those.

Now you know the basic layout of the city, think of Kowloon as authentic and older/more rundown but authentic Hong Kong. Hong Kong Island is like Kowloon and London had a kid with both extremes within 20 mins reach of each other.

Okay, where to actually shoot.

Kowloon is pretty much a safe bet to shoot anywhere. Especially Mong Kok and Jordan really stood out to me for its characterful atmosphere. That’s where I spent most of my time as well. In Mong Kok you’ll find some of the neon that’s left in the city (most of it they got rid of because of energy sufficiency and fire hazards).

For Hong Kong Island , I could really recommend shooting in Central and Wan Chai. There is some neon left there too but more importantly the streets are lively with plenty opportunities of interesting juxtapositions, given the previously mentioned extremes. If you are interested in capturing the monster building, Kai Too is the place to be.

Food

The food overall was good and consistent within the whole of the city. My rule of thumb is just sit down where it’s filled with locals and you’ll be fine. Make sure to try the beef noodles, dumplings and don’t skip out on local bakeries.

How much does it cost to visit?

Hong Kong is known for being expensive, especially for asian standards. I could see how some people would say this but if I’m really honest, it wasn’t my experience. I stayed in cheap hotel in Jordan (Kowloon) for 30-40 ish euros a night and more often than not had dinner for 7 euros in a restaurant. A coffee from 7-eleven was like 1,5 euros and was decent enough, breakfast at a bakery is 3 euros or so. If you want a more authentic experience and stick to street foods, it will most likely be even cheaper.

Mainly I didn’t find Hong Kong as expensive because I cut corners on things I didn’t deem necessary since I visited solo anyways. For example, when travelling coffee shops are always a pitstop moment for me. I love trying local coffees and would never decline an espresso. However because coffees from good shops were 3-4 euros I skipped them for the ones from convenience stores. This way I made my stay in Hong Kong really affordable. However, note that this was an option because I went solo. If you travel with others, prices could go up a bit.

Another thing that’s cheap is the public transport system. You could use the metro for roughly 1,5 euros for a single trip.

How to get around

Hong Kong has really good public transport system which is seriously easy to use for anyone. When you arrive at the airport I’d recommend using the airport express train to get you to Hong Kong station at Hong Kong Central. . From there, you can get anywhere by using the metro for cheap. For the airport train I bought a separate ticket and for the metros use a tap up card called the octopus card.

The octopus card is essentially the same as the Japanese Suica card, it being an IC card you load up and can use at a lot of places. See it as a third payment option next to cash and card. These cards can be bought at the airport and I’ve also seen some machines selling them at bigger stations. You could also use your credit card to get into the metro/trains. I did this as well and it worked just fine.

Short days

It gets dark pretty early but keep in mind, I’m European where we have really long days in the summer so that’s my take on most places in Asia.

Make sure to enjoy the incredible light Hong Kong offers. I found harsh light to especially work miracles here, but Hong Kong is one of those places where any weather conditions will work.

Now a bit on the day to day and overall experience I had here.

A few things to look out for.

Hong Kong I found to be a safe place. However I mean that with focus on social safety, as some things are a bit….dodgy. You could sometimes spot exposed electrical wires hanging not extremely far from reach (which isn’t uncommon for Asia) and I normally wouldn’t really care as it’s so common. But Hong Kong has one characteristic, which is especially present in Kowloon. The insane warm and humid weather makes it so that almost everyone has an AC unit box hanging on the window on the outside. The issue is, the condensations drips down on the street forming little rain-like spots on the sidewalk (if you see a a wet spot on the street, walk around it). The water passes the exposed wires. You could see where I’m going with this. It’s probably fine and I haven’t seen anyone get anything from it, but I just don’t trust it at all and I would advice you to avoid those little spots.

Locals & conditions

The locals can come off as very direct and unwelcoming at times. Do not, and I say it again do not take it personally. The city is a key example of polarisation and abrupt change, which in this case causes a cocktail of both a giant rush and stress. The people you will interact with (restaurant workers, shop owners, etc) will most likely be the working class. They are trying to get by and often are under a giant stress to do so. Their living conditions are often subpar and they are just trying to survive. If you think I’m exaggerating, just look up coffin and cage homes. These are types of housing that unfortunately are not that uncommon. Note it’s also the elderly living and working within these conditions.

I’m asking you to please be respectful of them, not out of pity but because they are some of the most sincere people I’ve come across. They help you when you need it, even when they barely have to the time to do so. They don’t scam and (from my experiences) are pure of heart. Please be sympathetic and kind.

A bit more personal

Even though this isn’t necessarily something I have to include in a photography guide, I feel like I would be wrong for not doing so

Following up on the text above, be prepared to get shocked by this complicated place. The ultra wealthy are walking next to the elderly that sometimes can’t walk properly anymore because of potential health issues and lack of financial resources to take care of them. Combine this with the previously mentioned living conditions and you end up with possible health and sickness hazards, but also a vicious cycle lots of people are trapped in. Some people living in coffin homes can’t even get a mattress in it because it will get flooded with bugs, so some sleep on the hard wood planks. (Even when they are retiring age)

Combine this already heavy piece of context with the other side of Hong Kong: expensive cars, billion dollar companies housed in 30 story skyscrapers and hipster coffee spots. You might see where I’m going with this - Hong Kong is heavy for anyone that is even the slightest bit curious of the place they are visiting. I recommend you take some time to let this sink in slowly on your visit, it’s normal to get overwhelmed and emotionally confused.

And I mean lets be honest, if you think it’s normal when a visibly struggling elder walks past a coffee shop filled with people carrying luxurious brands and expensive phones, complaining about the heat on their vacation while sipping their overpriced iced latte - completely disregarding the struggling local walking past who couldn’t even afford their basic groceries - is normal, I want to ask you to reflect on your own surroundings/morals and how that compares to the example I just gave you.

Before I get too confrontational, I want to say something else about the locals. Even though the story I just told is a real life example I saw happening with my own eyes, the locals are strong in a way thats hard to understand. Their stubbornness to surviving in conditions where almost all cards are stacked up against them, they still make it work. And all of that, while maintaining their sense of self, sincerity and kindness. Ofcourse you could expect a hard shell when you talk to them as a tourist, but that’s not on them. That very shell is what keeps them around and pure. And let’s not blame them if they are rude at first, just think of the coffee shop example I just gave you, and fill in the blanks.

Hong Kong Street Photography Guide

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