Welcome To Hong Kong Island

Taken at 09:39pm from The Avenue Of Stars, Kowloon. Saturday 29th November 2008.
On Sunday 23rd November I departed on one of my most eagerly awaited trips in years, South East China & Hong Kong. I’d never visited this side of world before but I had seen countless photographs from the likes of Edward Burtynsky and other global topographers/photographers that made me dream of seeing it with my own eyes.
Well...I got the chance to go and had a great time!
I arrived in Guangzhou on Monday 24th November and spent the following two days exploring the city and seeing the sites. As I only had a few days there, I thought I would approach documenting the city in a similar way to my Blackpool project, responding to the journey as I went along. I decided quite early on that the tour guide route wasn’t really for me and that I would navigate the city for myself. I wanted to experience the real China and I think the best way of doing that is by not following a path already set out. I also spent a day in Macau (which is one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China) where I had a somewhat eventful day with immigration on the border (I will explain in the next blog post!).
The most rememberable experience has to be Hong Kong Island, it was simply stunning. Everything from the landscape to the buildings, the people and parks were a pleasure to be surrounded by. The noises, smells and colours are so distinctive and really do add to how you experience the place. I only had two full days in Hong Kong but I managed to pack in as much as possible. I spent the last night photographing the city from The Avenue Of Stars in Kowloon, which is where this photograph was taken.
I have to say a huge thank you to my father who allowed me to tag along with him during one of his business trips (without him I could’ve have gone). I must also thank my director Lawrence at Chards (1964) Ltd for being so gracious with me borrowing equipment from him, such as his fantastic Canon EF 70mm - 200mm IS USM lens
(I would’ve missed some great opportunities without it, so thank you LC!).
Technical Information
Camera: Canon EOS 40D Digital SLR
Lens: Canon EF-S 17mm - 85mm IS USM
ISO: 100
Focal Length: 38mm
Shutter Speed: 30.0 sec
F-Stop: f/16