Lamma Island

We decided to head over to Lamma Island for a day to escape the busy city. Lamma Island is located about 20 minutes away from Hong Kong Island by ferry. Once we reached the island, the different pace of lifestyle was immediately apparent. The ferry brought us to the northern end of the island, Yung Shue Yan. The village mostly comprised of of various shops, seafood restaurants, and tenement homes. The island was relaxing and quaint, with a Mediterranean feel to it. However, a large electrical plant loomed in the horizon and was a huge eyesore to the natural scenery of the island. We walked along the trail that connected the Yung Shue Yan to Sok Kwu Wan, located on the eastern end of the island.

Overlooking the tenement homes on the island.

Views along the trail.

Crushed cans littered in a pile near a home.

Yung Shue Yan village.

Once we arrived at a beach, I had a chance to use my B+W adjustable neutral density filter that I purchased in Hong Kong. It’s a cheap knockoff brand, which probably explained the issues I had with banding, flares, and sharpness, but I managed to get a few good shots.

Sunset at a beach, the electrical power plant can be seen in the horizon.

I clambered along the shore, jumping from rock to rock until I reached this rock that I thought was interesting.

The sunset was gorgeous that evening.

A day in Macau

I thought Macau was just going to be like a clone of Las Vegas, but I discovered so much more there. Macau was a unique port where the Portuguese culture and Chinese culture came together. Walking through the winding cobblestone alleyways and discovering colourful pastel Portuguese architecture next to Chinese shops and ancient temples was an experience to remember. Every corner I turned, there was something to see. The food there was something to remember as well! I sampled Macau’s famous pork buns and egg tarts, which were the best I’ve ever had! Oh, and the casinos were amazing too.

A man lighting incense in A-ma temple, the oldest temple in Macau built in 1488.

The absolutely mouth-watering Portuguese egg tarts from Margaret’s Cafe e Nata. It is very popular so prepare to wait in line for a long time. There were women who cried because they weren’t able to get some egg tarts!

The cobblestone roads.

Remnants of Macau’s old architecture, the ruins of St. Paul. The cathedral burned down in a fire in 1835.

Scooters are a common sight in Macau

A trip to Hong Kong

I’ve never been to Asia before in my life and going to see Hong Kong has been a rewarding and eye-opening experience. I left Canada with just my girlfriend on Dec. 17, 2012 for Hong Kong. It was a grueling 26 hour trip including flight time and layovers, but it was all worth it. The culture shock experienced while I was in Hong Kong was quite disorienting and overwhelming!

The Symphony of Lights, Hong Kong’s spectacular light show. It is a permanent show that plays everyday at 8pm, and best of all, its free!

Mong Kok, the world’s most densely populated area.

Hong Kong’s iconic red cabs.

The view form the Peak. I took a regular bus up to the Peak instead of the famous Peak Tram because the line-ups were too crazy!

Star Trails

My first ever star trails photo taken while I was out camping in the Rocky Mountains near Big Horn Dam, Alberta. The first night out was gloomy and cloudy, but then it cleared all of a sudden. So I got excited and quickly set up my tripod and camera, set my shutter to “bulb”, and left my camera exposing for about 30 minutes. I took a total of two 30 minute exposures until it started to rain again.

Much to my disappointment when editing the photos back at home on my computer, the two photos were covered in hot pixels because of the sensor heating up during long exposures! At first, I didn’t even know why my photos looked so bad until I did some reading about super long exposure times. I combined my two exposures to lengthen the star trails in this image.

Overall, I’m pretty satisfied with my first attempt at a star trail photo. The experience while taking the photo was the most rewarding, however. There’s hardly anything more tranquil than sitting and watching the stars in silence alone while I waited for my camera to expose.

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