Shooting Hong Kong in 3.5 days

Images taken:  472
Images flagged:  157
Images developed:  95
Images selected for album:  50

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I had no plan and did no research on shooting Hong Kong.  The trip was occasioned by an invitation for a job interview and I expected to simply wander the streets for a couple of days apart from attending the interview itself.  The only bit of planning was to look for a photography museum (an account of my visit to which is reported here) and a suitable hotel.

On two previous visits to the city I stayed in Kowloon and so wanted this time to stay somewhere different.  I didn’t really want to stay on the island, as my impression from previous visits is that it is highly developed and in many regards similar to other large, over-developed cities.  I was looking for something more Chinese, something a little grungier and middle to working class.  I found it in the area around Ya Ma Tei.

100 for Almaty (+12)

I had no photographic plan for Almaty.   As this wasn’t a trip organized months in advance, I did minimal research.  My objective, as it were, was to remain attentive and open to whatever might present itself.

I had an entire week for Eid, nine days including weekends at both ends, and so Mutsumi and I hopped a plane to Almaty, the former capital and still largest city of Kazakhstan.  Apart from never having been there and an interest in Central Asia, Kazakhstan was a convenient choice as visas are not required for US or Japanese citizens and as there are direct, 4-hour flights from Dubai.

Yakyu: Japanese Baseball Stadium Culture

On Shooting
My photographic goals for six weeks in Japan were hardly ambitious.  I had no intention of capturing the spirit of Japan.  I’ve practiced long enough to know that any representation is partial.  For most of the trip I had no photographic plan at all.  The only part for which I had were the visits to five baseball stadiums.

As with many projects, the conception was grander than the final product.  Perhaps what sets the good photographer apart from the average is taking the time to reflect in order to try understand why the output didn’t line up with expectations.