IGEC : Hong Kong

Hong Kong is a ridiculously photogenic city. Yes, there's the neon and that iconic skyline and those incredible views. But there's also the clash of old and new, and the rush of such a densely populated place - it's a street photographers dream, really. And then there's the surprisingly beautiful spots far from the skyscrapers; lakes and waterfalls and mountains, and such lush green. 

There seems to be a thriving Instagram community in Hong Kong (and yes, I live vicariously through them all). Here's three of my favourites. 

First up - @jesso, a Londoner living in Hong Kong who has a real eye for colour and composition.

Next - @lielaine, who knows how to work a square. Elaine also seems to enjoy celebrating Hong Kong's skyline by scouting out rather high and rather frightening locations. If you suffer from vertigo you may not enjoy this feed quite so much (and you should definitely stay well away from the #chasing_rooftops tag...).

And last but most definitely not least - @swyh_44 (aka Charlie Chan). My favourite thing about Charlie's IG feed? Everything is shot on film. No filters needed here.

I'd also like to thank the HK IGers for leading me to one of my favourite tags - #residensity! 

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Instagram is chockfull of the some of the most inspiring, creative, hilarious, clever people I've ever had the pleasure of encountering on the internets. IGEC is my chance to share some of those inspiring, creative, hilarious, clever people with you! Oh and you can find me on Instagram here.

Duck!

Right now I'm in Melbourne, soaking up the Autumn sunshine and enjoying the food/friend/family merry-go-round that is a visit home. On my way here last Friday I had short transit in hot and humid Hong Kong. Hong Kong is such a great city to transit in - baggage handling, immigration and transport is all so efficient that even with only a few hours you can squeeze in some fun stuff. 

I had seven hours between flights, so I trekked into Central and had a pedicure (as you do). And then set about hunting down the giant rubber duck. Most of you will have seen this big yellow guy about the internets, he's by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman and he's travelled about the world a bit.* 

I am a little obsessed with over-sized things, so I was pretty determined to see Mr Duck. And apparently I wasn't alone - if you're lucky enough to see the duck for yourself be prepared for a chaotic mess of people trying to have their photos taken with him. It was so busy and crowded. And hot. And sweaty. But, worth it. He's the happiest piece of art I've ever seen floating on a harbour!

If you're willing to brave the crowds the duck is just outside Harbour City in Kowloon. I think he's there for another week or so.

*Apparently the duck was in Sydney Harbour at one point and I knew nothing about it. Which made me think someone should event an app where you input your interests (say 'big things' or 'outdoor sculpture shows' or 'Japanese bluegrass music'), and the cities you frequent (Melbourne, Sydney, Hong Kong would be mine right now), and then you get sent alerts for events that might interest you. That would be ace, yes? 

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ps. Thank you for all the really lovely responses to my last post! It's always reassuring to hear I'm not alone in feeling such a mix of emotions... The good news is this visit home has got me super excited about the move again - hurrah! 

Oh and also - HAPPY BIRTHDAY TYKE! xox

Hong Kong : Nan Lian Gardens

I've been wanting to go to Nan Lian Gardens for about five years now. I'd read such lovely things about these gardens, and I'd recommended them to others (who all reported back such lovely things too). But in all my trips to Hong Kong I'd somehow managed not to get there. Perhaps because I'm such a Hong Kong Island girl, I kind of get (happily) trapped there and forget there's so much more to explore. But last trip, just before I headed to the airport, I finally caught the MTR out to Diamond Hill and got to see the gardens for myself. It was a warm, sunny weekday and the gardens were peaceful and quiet and beautiful. The golden pavilion, the bridges and waterfalls, the bonsai - wonderful! Along with CitySuper, my waxer*, the Star Ferry and Life Cafe I think Nan Lian Gardens might get added to the list of regular stops for Hong Kong visits.

*Her name is Joey and she is without doubt the best waxer in Hong Kong, possibly the world. She's been looking after my depilatory needs for five years now, and I've seen her go from working for someone else to breaking out and starting her own business. If we ever leave Asia she might be the thing I miss the most. Seriously.

Hong Kong : Through My (fancy new) Lens

Some shots from my recent Hong Kong trip, taken with my fancy new 35mm wide angle lens. I kind of bought this lens on whim - I just had an idea that I wanted a 35mm lens, but hadn't done much more research than that. I went for the new Canon f/2 lens with image stabilisation. 

After reading some online reviews it seems I probably paid too much for this when I should have just gone for Canon's basic 35mm lens...but! I haven't taken this lens off my camera since buying it so no regrets. 

I love the depth of field you can get with it - similar to the 50mm lens but without having to stand a long way away from your subject. There's little bit of 'light fall off' (basically, vignetting) at very low apertures too, which I actually really love. It's solid but light, quick to focus and is one of those lenses that's meant to closely reflect what the eye sees. A new favourite for me!

All of these images where taken just above Central on Hong Kong Island. I normally stay in the area when I visit, it's so full of life. The little streets are crammed with shops selling herbal tea, chinese medicine and all kinds of festive goods; there are wet markets full of fruit, flowers and tofu; and busy dai pai dongs (open-air food stalls). Plus you're only a step away from bars, cafes (including the delicious Mana!), and seriously good coffee (as good as you'll find in Melbourne, and that's a big call!). It's a perfect mix of old and new, slap-dash and mannered.

Hong Kong : Through My (dodgy old) iPhone

Last Sunday night the husband and I were talking about his crazy busy week of work ahead, and I made some flippant half-jokey comment about needing to go to Hong Kong to get waxed and buy tuna...and he said 'Do it! Go check out flights now!'. And I did. (Have I mentioned I'm married to the bestest man in the whole universe?)

The first full day there I deliberately left the camera behind at the hotel, so I took some shots with my iPhone instead. Here are my favourites - the fairly typical haze of Hong Kong above (can you spot the setting sun?), and some fun silhouette shots below (captured out the front of Ocean Terminal, the Lunar New Year decorations there are wonderful!). 

In other news, I bought myself a kind of fancy 35mm lens as an early birthday present, and I did give that a good work out on this trip...a post will be coming soon (once I download and edit a bazillion photos...Hong Kong is such a visually inspiring city, there's something you want to capture around every corner).

Hong Kong in black and white

I'm currently sitting in HK Airport waiting for my flight to Melbourne.  Although I'm excited to be flying home, you all know how much I adore Hong Kong and it really does break my heart a little every time I have to say goodbye to this wonderful city/country/place.

Anyway, I thought it might be nice to share some of my favourite photographs from my last visit here.  I love shooting HK in black and white because it really brings out all the wonderful lines and grids and patterns that are everywhere.  (I'd say check out my Flickr for more, but I am a few months behind on updating my Flickr stream.  It's on the list!)

From the top: Star Ferry; Smoko time on the Avenue of Stars, TST; Covered walkways in Central, HK Island; 'Secondhand Goods and Curios' near Graham Street, Central.

Hong Kong: Inspiration Overload

Being in Hong Kong recently with my sister (which was so much fun, by the way) made me think a bit more about why I love the place so much.  Every time I land there I get that excited feeling - you know the one that us travelers are always trying to chase, the one that wakes you up even if you've just got off a 16 hour flight and it's 4am back home, the one you felt the first time you went to New York or Paris or Tokyo.  

And I'm sure part of that excited feeling is because I'm already planning out what delicious things I'm going to have for breakfast, lunch and dinner over the next few days.  But it's also because Hong Kong gives you that feeling that you're in a place where things are happening!  Exciting, vibrant, new things.  And all these things are just a short ferry or train or walk away.  

But mainly, Hong Kong is a total feast for my senses - everywhere you look there is inspiration, whether it's the jumble of stuff piled high in the stores around Cat Street; the neon orange and blue colours of the street stall signage; the crumbly, washed out pinks and greens of the old apartment buildings; or that amazing sign out the front of a bird shop which makes you think about how good it would look as an embroidery design (don't you think?).  The noise, the smell, the shops, the bustle, the everything everywhere, the little glimpses of green...it's inspiration overload every time I visit!

Update: if you want to hear more about our Hong Kong adventures Beci has just put up a Hong Kong post too!  The family that blogs together, etc etc etc.  You can have a look here.

Hong Kong: The Sevens

Oh the Sevens!  The crowds, the beer, the Pimms!  The roar, the dancing, the loosing-ones-voice-ing!  The costumes, the wigs, the sad sick moo cows on the train home.  The men in drag (oh, so many men in drag).  The quick quick games between Zimbabwe and New Zealand and Korea and Mexico and France and Tonga.  And Japan, the valiant, heartfelt, on-your-feet-cheering, Japan.  The hope and joy and disappointment; and when Hong Kong plays, every single person in the stadium wishing them well.  The excited happy people, the young-uns running amok, the ugly messy don't-know-your limits people (steer well clear of those).  

See you all again next year, I hope.

Hello!

Hi! Hello! Hola!  Well...after a few weeks of almost posting every single day it's all come to a grinding halt, hasn't it?

I wish I had something noble and solid and worthy to blame it on, but really I've just been having far too much fun.  I'm in Hong Kong (hip hip hurrah!) and over the weekend we went to the world's craziest sports event, the Rugby Sevens.  I am by no means a rugby fan, but this event isn't necessarily about the rugby - it's kind of like a Melbourne Cup x Big Day Out x cricket in the good 'ol days (ie. when there was streakers and full strength beer) x Mardi Gras!  Plus, each match is only 14 minutes long, so if you're bored by what's on the ground you only have to wait a few beats and it'll be different.

My sister arrives at crack-of-dawn o'clock tomorrow and we have a full agenda of not doing much planned.  But!  When life returns to normal (*cough*... if you know what 'normal' looks like, please email me) there will be many posts!  About good things!  Full of photos and adventures!  Yay!  So stay tuned!

Going bonkers in Honkers...

Last Sunday it was my birthday and it was a kind of non-event.  The husband was neck deep in work and due to the lunar new year the post was delayed so no packages to open... But I did get a ton of birthday emails and messages, and my lovely family Skyped me and they all sang Happy Birthday, and I made myself a delicious birthday dinner and got to do some crafting (and watched Catfish - oh my!) so it was a pretty good day all in all.

Then, as a birthday treat to myself I escaped to Hong Kong for two nights!  I may have mentioned this before but I seriously adore Hong Kong.  It was sunny and warm and the sky was blue and the air almost clear (a rare occurrence).  I got my hair cut for the first time in months and months (what a difference!) and had my nails painted a very bright hue and I looked at lots of pretty things.  It was a lovely indulgence, I am a very lucky lady.

Here are some of my favourite shots from the trip (you'll find more on my Flickr, soon) - I especially love the one below of a gorgeous kid walking by some transparent lunar new year decorations.  Kind of looks like she has a shiny pink aura bursting from her, don't you think?

Good Things...

First up - my mum is coming to town (that's her in the photo up there)!  I am so very excited, I can't possibly express how much!  Not only do I get to spend some quality time with my Mum, who is pretty damn cool, but I also get to show her around my new 'hood - take her to our favourite pretty spots and my favourite shops and our regular restaurants!  Oh my gosh it's going to be SO MUCH FUN!  She arrives Thursday: HOORAY!  (I may burst with excitement before then though.)

The photo of my Mum was taken in a seriously crazy flea shop just off Cat Street (aka Lascar Row), on Hong Kong Island.  And speaking of Hong Kong...

...the husband and I just spent a weekend there, the first time we've visited since we moved.  It was great fun to be traveling in a city we knew so well.  We got to see some old friends and go to some of our most favourite restaurants in the world (and perhaps I may have done a teeny tiny bit of shopping).  We stayed in a pretty cool hotel called East.  It's new and sleek with great service and great value - it's a little way away from the normal tourists haunts but it was really rather lovely.  I took a heap of photos so I might do a blog post on it one day.  

The weekend reminded me that Hong Kong is seriously one of my absolute favourite cities in all the world. Aside from the harbour, which is quite spectacular, there is the wonderful mix of old and new and that Blade Runner feel it gets on a misty evening and the constant unexpected finds (like the natural beauty of the South side of the island; or the crafty shops in the 'burbs).  All the cliches are true - it's bustling, vibrant, constantly 'on'.  And it's so very (and proudly) Cantonese, and yet still a true world city (in fact, after 6 months in Korea, Hong Kong feels like a veritable cultural melting pot!).

This is a very small selection of Uniqlo's Heattech range which I am currently obsessed with.  I've been gearing up for winter and it's been the perfect solution.  I can't seem to go within 10 meters of a Uniqlo store without buying something from the Heatech collection.  So far I've got full sets of thermals for the whole family, leggings, neck warmers, gloves and (yes!) leg warmers.  I am actually really looking forward to the super cold weather now.  Seriously.

We did a quick trip to Seoraksan National Park with the boys when they were here and oh my gosh is it beautiful (even in the rain)!  I'm going to take my Mum there for a night too, so more photos and information to come.  In the meantime, have a look at some of these images of Seoraksan on Flickr - so gorgeous, right?

And last, but definitely not least, I've fallen in love with the gorgeously soft and sweet photos over at life through the lens.  Beautiful, yes?