I mentioned I was going shoot some pretty Asian models with the flickr Hong Kong Strobist group … and I did just that. The group of us, loaded down with light stands, flashes, various umbrellas, triggers and equipment met at the public dock in Kennedy Town, Hong Kong Island. The intention was to shoot on the docks, among dilapidated shelters, machinery, barrels and crates. Cool, no?

After starting to set-up – the security guards waded in. In mainland China security guards are everywhere, like a benign plague of locust, and they are generally ignored. In my city of Shenzhen I think there is one security guard for every 25 square-meters of real estate. Had we been shooting in Shenzhen, slipping a folded fifty would have dealt with the situation. Alas, Hong Kong security guards are a little more on the ball than their mainland brothers.

After a quick hike, totting equipment, props, models and make up artists, we arrived at a vacant lot / hillside drainage area. We set-up (again) and went to work in the fading light. The models were great. I learned some new techniques from some kick-ass shooters. Pretty Asian Model, Heidi (above) was a joy to work with. (If the photo would have had a backlight if would be killer) For more images – see my flickr stream.

To any photographers: Do you warm up before you shoot. Zack Arias talks about warming up in his One Light DVD series – getting in the groove before starting a session. I need to do something in this regard – my series with the first model truly sucks. Tips, anyone?

If you’re exploring the Strobist world I suggest meeting up with your local group. Good times.

To both meet some other shooters and network I attended an outing held by the Hong Kong Photography club a few weeks back. I’m not really a social person. The idea of hanging out all afternoon with expats I didn’t know wasn’t particularly enticing. They all had cameras, so we had something in common – which in more than I can say for many Shenzhen, China expats – who sit on bar stools and wax poetic about their past lives or lecture on what is wrong with China and how they would change it.  Sorry, I digress…

A gang of 32+ togs, loaded for bear, met at the Diamond Hill MTR station in Kowloon, Hong Kong. We then moved en masse to Nan Lian Garden, a park-like public garden across the street. I wonder what ran through the minds of the those that witnessed this Canon, Nikon and Leica migration? In a rare double appearance, both the blue sky and sun could be seen intermittently that afternoon, we must have been blessed. I think both have been on an extended holiday. We walked, the group slowly breaking up as people stopped to shoot different things. Everyone was in his or her own little world where the viewfnder is  crucible.

Flowers in the traditional Chinese garden outside the nunnery

Adjacent to Nan Lian Garden is the Chi Lin Nunnery. The temple complex is a massive, 33,000 square meters of buildings, gardens and shrines. The original Buddhist temple dates to the 1930, but the complex was rebuilt in the 1980 in the style of the Tang Dynasty. All the buildings are self supporting – no nails were used in construction. ‘

It didn’t have the same temple “vibe” I enjoy, but it was an enjoyable afternoon. Maybe my justified fear of expats is receding?

This Saturday I am off to meet with some peeps from the Hong Kong Strobist group. Nine photographers, three models, and a make-up artist, with the Hong Kong docks as a back drop. Wish me luck.

I didn’t really get into any trouble spending the Lantern Festival in Hong Kong earlier this week. My schedule was pretty busy. The former Police Married Quarters on Aberdeen Street have been opened to the public by the HULU Culture group and are being used for art and multimedia displays.

The two 7-story apartment blocks were opened in 1951 and housed thousands of police families until they were closed in 2005. The Hong Kong government wanted to sell the buildings, prime real estate on Hong Kong island, but community groups objected and efforts are being made to revitalize the aging buildings.

The public corridors on each floor separated the living quarters from the kitchens. This successful design was used later when Hong Kong expanded it’s public housing program.

I love old buildings. The former Police Married Quarters on Hollywood Road are old, but not super old. Still, it was a fun couple of hours. For once, I used the tripod I lug around everywhere. More photos to follow as I get my computer back up to snuff after my hard drive crash of last week.

Offerings at Po Fook Memorial Hall ©Asian Ramblings

I wanted to see the 10,000 Buddhas Monastery. Inadequate signage left me exploring the Po Fook Memorial Hall thinking it was the 10,000 Buddhas Monastery. Cool place, I’m certain this happens all the time.

This terraced cemetery is actually a number of memorial halls. It’s quiet in Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong. The New Territories are a whole different world from Nathan Road or LKF. With a pagoda, incense, and much Buddhist iconography I think I wouldn’t mind having my ashes rest here: It’s serene.

I did eventually find the 10,000 Buddhas Monastery. Photos to follow.

Po Fook Memorial Hall and 10000 Buddhas Monastery on Google Earth

On the many corridors under the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defense, formerly the Lei Yue Fort. The British built the fort in the late 19th century to protect the eastern approach, the Lei Yue Mun Pass to Victoria Harbour, from the French and Russian navies. (Ironically, the fortification look incredibly similar the Chinese Shajiao Fort in Humen China – that the British stormed during the first Opium War.)

The centerpiece of the fort is the redoubt that was dug deep into a hillside. The corridors and storerooms, containing ammunition and gunpowder, were covered with earth, making the fort hard to spot. A trench around the area, with stone caponiers, protected the fort if invaders found their way to land.

The fort was never used in the way it was intended. A shot was never fired at Russian or French ships. During the Battle of Hong Kong, Lei Yue Fort was used by British forces in an attempt to unsuccessfully repel the Japanese assault of Hong Kong Island. Evidence of the fighting is still visible.

After the Battle of Hong Kong and the Second World War the British used the fort as a training ground until it was vacated in 1987. Hong Kong government agencies decided to give Lei Yue Fort a second lease on life and created the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence in 1993.

A permanent exhibit covering 600 years of military defence in the Pearl River Delta is on display in the underground rooms that once held thousand of artillery shells and tonnes of gunpowder. A historic trail leads visitors through the batteries, a ruined settlement (destroyed during the Battle of Hong Kong), and the Brennan Torpedo station carved into the rock at the base of the fort.

The Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defense is a short walk from the Island Line’s Shau Kei Wan MTR station.

Sai Wan War Cemetery, Chai Wan, Hong Kong. The cemetery holds the British and Canadian dead from the Battle of Hong Kong.

July 11, 2008.