Hong Kong - recommendations for photo sites/locations?


ataraxia

New Member
Aug 9, 2005
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Hi,

I'm planning a trip to HK this Feb/Mar and thought it'd be good to diversify away from the usual eating, shopping, clubbing to indulge in some photography!

Sadly, have not done any tourist-y things in HK since I was a child... :embrass:

Was wondering if you would have any recommendations for great places to go to take photos?

Some preliminary ideas I found:
  • Street photography! (Mong Kok, Ladies' Market, Flower Market, Yuen Po Street Bird Garden, Goldfish Market...?)
  • Colonial HK (St John's Cathedral, Governor's House, Court of Final Appeal, Flagstaff Houses, Old Central Police Station and Legislative Council building)
  • The Peak (for the view!)
  • Victoria Harbour (for the classic star ferry against the nightline)
  • Lantau Island (Great Buddha, Po Lin Monastery, fishing villages and stilt houses in Tai O)
  • Hong Kong Wetland Park in New Territories
  • Yan Chau Tong Marine Park is in the North East New Territories

Anything else?

Thought this might be a useful list since HK is such a popular destination! :)
 

ataraxia said:
Hi,

I'm planning a trip to HK this Feb/Mar and thought it'd be good to diversify away from the usual eating, shopping, clubbing to indulge in some photography!

Sadly, have not done any tourist-y things in HK since I was a child... :embrass:

Was wondering if you would have any recommendations for great places to go to take photos?

Some preliminary ideas I found:

[*]Street photography! (Mong Kok, Ladies' Market, Flower Market, Yuen Po Street Bird Garden, Goldfish Market...?)
[*]Colonial HK (St John's Cathedral, Governor's House, Court of Final Appeal, Flagstaff Houses, Old Central Police Station and Legislative Council building)
[*]The Peak (for the view!)
[*]Victoria Harbour (for the classic star ferry against the nightline)
[*]Lantau Island (Great Buddha, Po Lin Monastery, fishing villages and stilt houses in Tai O)
[*]Hong Kong Wetland Park in New Territories
[*]Yan Chau Tong Marine Park is in the North East New Territories


Anything else?

Thought this might be a useful list since HK is such a popular destination! :)

Went there last Dec... Lantau island Big Buddha is breathtaking.. not to mention the cable car ride..

Went Victoria Harbour but the smell of the sea is a big turnoff.. damn freaking smelly...

Ladies Market is a terribly packed place especially at night.. had to juggle quite a bit to avoid knocking into ppl..

If you can spare the time I would recommend you to go over to Macau.. some of the places there reminds me of old time Singapore... Hk is a bit too modernised imo..
Just sharing my little bit of experience...
 

Hi,

I'm planning a trip to HK this Feb/Mar and thought it'd be good to diversify away from the usual eating, shopping, clubbing to indulge in some photography!

Sadly, have not done any tourist-y things in HK since I was a child... :embrass:

Was wondering if you would have any recommendations for great places to go to take photos?

Some preliminary ideas I found:
  • Street photography! (Mong Kok, Ladies' Market, Flower Market, Yuen Po Street Bird Garden, Goldfish Market...?)
  • Colonial HK (St John's Cathedral, Governor's House, Court of Final Appeal, Flagstaff Houses, Old Central Police Station and Legislative Council building)
  • The Peak (for the view!)
  • Victoria Harbour (for the classic star ferry against the nightline)
  • Lantau Island (Great Buddha, Po Lin Monastery, fishing villages and stilt houses in Tai O)
  • Hong Kong Wetland Park in New Territories
  • Yan Chau Tong Marine Park is in the North East New Territories

Anything else?

Thought this might be a useful list since HK is such a popular destination! :)

for street photography, you intend to do day or night? any crowded places such as mongkok, causeway bay, central etc etc would be a good place for street photography!

as for colonial style, i suggest you take the central tour, walk up hollywood st to mid levels then pass old central police stn, there after visit man mo temple if you wish to take cultural as well... you are able to take the joss coils inside the temple itself, quite a trademark shot for photographers... remember to drop by tai chung bakery for their famous egg tarts along lynhurst terrace...

well, the peak and the victoria habour is definitely for the scenic... i would also recommend tsing ma bridge if you are interested... another thing is, victoria harbour you take from the TST side, still can visit other monuments there...

for lantau island, you might want to go there early... start by taking ngong ping 360 cable car to the big buddha there, tour the village and climb the stairs to the big buddha, thereafter you can take a bus from the village to tai-o fishing village... a very nice and kampong place to visit, rather nice... but please note that 4pm is the last bus that leaves the fishing village for the cable car village. if you miss that, LIKE I DID, then you are in for a 1hr plus bus ride back to tung chung mtr...

you might want to check out lamma island if you are rather adventurous... there are 2 ports for lamma, both connected by a 4km trek... along the way you will pass by some beaches, have very nice views along the way... please google for more details!

hope my 2c helps!
 

Hi there

A few suggestions, having visited HK twice in the last 6 months:
1. The Peak (OK, a bit too touristy, but hey, everyone comes to HK to see this). Best to shoot at dusk with tripod
2. Victoria Harbour Sunset (from Kowloon end with Ferries going back and forth)
3. The Ferry ride itself (cheap and good; comes with free smell of diesel and the harbour) - it's not as bad.
4. Ding-Ding (i.e. trams) on HK Island
5. Wet and other various markets (forget Temple Street; look for wet markets - they're almost everywhere; just need to look for it)
5. Neon signages (Jordan to Mongkok area)
6. Packed apartment housing at Yaumatei (...and we complain about smallish apartments here)
7. ICC Tower's observation deck (only if you want to capture the skyline from up above)
8. Big Buddha, etc on Lantau (and throw in Disneyland too...haha)
9. Food, food, food.

Take note that the time you're visiting is the tail end of Winter. May be chilly and frequent weather changes.

Have fun!
 

u can try go Yuen Long, not much ppl went there for photography though but i did during my last HK trip. the sunset is marvellous. looks suitable for street photography too.

u can also check out Sham Shui Po... to have a look at the older Hong Kong look.
 

Just to add on, I think there is no real need to pay to go to the viewing roof for The Peak. But if you have traveled all the way there, it might be hard to convince yourself not to see what its about.

There are also open spaces along the walking paths where you could set up your equipment for free and shoot to your hearts content.

I didn't use a tripod, just few rocks, but thats just me. :embrass:
 

Just to add on, I think there is no real need to pay to go to the viewing roof for The Peak. But if you have traveled all the way there, it might be hard to convince yourself not to see what its about.

There are also open spaces along the walking paths where you could set up your equipment for free and shoot to your hearts content.

I didn't use a tripod, just few rocks, but thats just me. :embrass:

You're right...can try shooting from one of the open-to-public old Chinese pavillions which is slighty further down along a footpath. If the scene/view doesn't quite fit your liking, then pay to go up the peak observation deck.
 

Well if you are interested in the Nature photography (like Tai-O or the Global Geopark if you have the time), you can consider to visit this website for suggested hikes to these places under this link:
Hong Kong Tourism Board - The Inside Guide to Hikes and Walks in Hong Kong eBook

:)

:thumbsup: out of these would probably recommend sai kung (the global geopark). scenery is quite spectacular and it feels as if you're not in Hong Kong anymore (at least not the HK most of us are familiar with).

got this from there:
6559708489_ab7151cd06_z.jpg
[/IMG]
on a clear day (although rare, given the haze) the sunset is beautiful and the quality of the light is great. many landscape photographers frequent this place too (with hasselblads and all), more for the rock formations.

the area is quite difficult to access (only by taxi) and some of the paths are unmarked and the vegetation can be dense. otherwise, you can just follow the bigger paths and there should be a good number of photos to take too. if not, this tour company could probably help, although they are quite pricey: Walk Hong Kong guided hiking and walking tours Hong Kong the lady used to be a photographer so she does photography tours too but was generous with tips even though I was on the normal tour

don't forget to grab a seafood dinner by the pier if you go! the better restaurants are further inland, and generally about the same price as the more touristy (and less good) ones that look onto the sea (i.e. facing the sea you have to walk right)
 

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izzit essential to bring tripod over to hong kong ?
 

voice123 said:
izzit essential to bring tripod over to hong kong ?

Yup, especially u want to take night shots of the harbour, and some ppl use it on the Peak.
 

going to hongkong for photoshoot for a friend's prewedding shoot. although familiar in the city, i'm not too sure about these off shore islands. next thing is, how to expect the bride to wear gown and go these places for shoot? any advise?
 

going to hongkong for photoshoot for a friend's prewedding shoot. although familiar in the city, i'm not too sure about these off shore islands. next thing is, how to expect the bride to wear gown and go these places for shoot? any advise?

IMO, its not advisable to go to the offshore islands, difficult (& dirty) & tiring for the bride with her gowns & all. Unless you have a private yatch :)

I would suggest Lantau Island as the bridal party can remain in the aircon comfort of a car & cross over there quickly & easily. On Lantau, I've been to Mui Wo, a peaceful village where many foreign expatriates reside. It has a nice bay & even a nice countryside with streams & mountains behind. Also can go to Pui O, another nearby nice quiet laid back place with lush fields & ponds & a nice beach. For less rustic & more "up market" scene, can go to Discovery bay, residence & playground of the rich with their condos, beaches, yatches, eateries etc. In Hong Kong island itself, can go to Repulse Bay (beach) or to Stanley. All these places are scenic & would be great for wedding photography. If you have the time suggests you do a recce first. Have fun!
 

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going to hongkong for photoshoot for a friend's prewedding shoot. although familiar in the city, i'm not too sure about these off shore islands. next thing is, how to expect the bride to wear gown and go these places for shoot? any advise?

Transport wise, Public Toilet for changing dress and even accomodation (ferry from Central) the answer for your problem is Lamma Island .. Lamma Island Lamma_Island .. just click those links for Lamma Island... :)
 

Transport wise, Public Toilet for changing dress and even accomodation (ferry from Central) the answer for your problem is Lamma Island .. Lamma Island Lamma_Island .. just click those links for Lamma Island... :)

very nice pictures in the first link but like post #17 says, its almost impossible to get to those areas for a bride trotting in her gown and train.
 

IMO, its not advisable to go to the offshore islands, difficult (& dirty) & tiring for the bride with her gowns & all. Unless you have a private yatch :)

I would suggest Lantau Island as the bridal party can remain in the aircon comfort of a car & cross over there quickly & easily. On Lantau, I've been to Mui Wo, a peaceful village where many foreign expatriates reside. It has a nice bay & even a nice countryside with streams & mountains behind. Also can go to Pui O, another nearby nice quiet laid back place with lush fields & ponds & a nice beach. For less rustic & more "up market" scene, can go to Discovery bay, residence & playground of the rich with their condos, beaches, yatches, eateries etc. In Hong Kong island itself, can go to Repulse Bay (beach) or to Stanley. All these places are scenic & would be great for wedding photography. If you have the time suggests you do a recce first. Have fun!

the only recce i can do now is google street view. thanks for the recommendation.
 

very nice pictures in the first link but like post #17 says, its almost impossible to get to those areas for a bride trotting in her gown and train.


For Lamma Island, Nope, that is not that difficult and remote from Central (I've lived in HKG for 9,5 yrs and Lamma Island is fave place to just get away from crowd in HK island with friends)...

just bring everything to Yung Shue Wan.. change dress and make up there..or you can stay in the hostel in Yung Shue Wan for a day, for the photoshoot...

this is the daily view in Yung Shue Wan
4463_86333143211_706258211_1880598_2212791_n.jpg


nearby, there is beach, quite nice.. but I don't have the photo of the beach..

Ok here I borrow my friend's photo .. the beach near Yung Shue Wan.. forget the girl in the pic :)

and if you willing to hike further up.. you can get to the place where I took the photo with title Lamma Sunset on the first link above..

And if don't want to visit remote island.. just go to Stanley area.. many couple took their pre wedding/wedding photo there.. the place quite nice especially with the Murray house there.
 

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