Hong Kong street photography is probably one of the more popular genre’s for photographers in Hong Kong. There’s so many little streets and diverse areas that make it interesting for even someone like me who’s not really a big fan of it. From a photography stand point, Central is pretty boring. It’s filled with suits and bankers walking around in their Gucci sunglasses thinking they’re absolutely shit hot. Soho is better, but for the best Hong Kong street photography, head straight to Sham Shui Po and Mongkok.
I’m not terribly into Hong Kong street photography let alone street photography in general, the whole genre seems to be “get close” and who has the so called balls to go up to someone and ask them to take their photo, and/or, not ask and just take photos a feet away. I’ve said this before but I’ll say it again, those close shots don’t appeal to me, they’re just down right scary and seeing a photo of someone surprised or angry from a feet or couple of feet doesn’t make a great photo in my opinion. Anybody can do it, it doesn’t take balls, it takes an egomaniac with no artistic ability other than to not give a shit what other people think and common decency.
Anyway, in general, while Hong Kong could be considered one of the best cities in the world for Hong Kong street photography, it could also be considered the worst, because the city is full of angry Chinese not wanting to get their photo taken. That’s why Sham Shui Po is so good for Hong Kong street photography. The average age here must be around 80, most of the people, well perhaps not most, but a lot of the interesting people and faces move so slowly, and have no idea what you’re doing, you can happily snap away. It’s a given that you are going to get yelled at or waved away by someone for taking their photograph, but in Sham Shui Po, it’s like photographing turtles.
If you’re not into Hong Kong street photography, for landscapes, the best view of the harbour is still by the clock tower, but if you go at night, it’s usually lined with tourists. For a different view, head to North Point and get both sides of the harbour. The view from up the Peak is fantastic but about 50 million photos of the same view have been taken. Walk around Hatton Road for about 1km and you’ll get a much better view with way less people. Hike up to Lion Rock for some nice views, but it’s only worth doing on a clearish day (there’s no such thing as a clear day in Hong Kong). Not matter how much you slide the dehaze slider to the right, you’re probably going to get a hazy photo. If you like hiking, the views from Sharp Peak are awesome and well worth the hike, but you need to be reasonably fit to attempt that in summer. More on that in our hiking in Hong Kong section.
What makes Hong Kong difficult to photograph is the fact it’s covered in smog, pollution or haze for about 11.9 months of the year. Some days are alright, but in the 7 years I’ve been in Hong Kong, I’ve seen one clear day. And by clear day, I mean proper blue skies, the type you see in New Zealand or Australia. That day it was 2 degrees. If you come here in summer and head to Mongkok or Sham Shui Po, the heat can be horrific. I’ve lived in Bangkok for 10 years, been to New Delhi, Jakarta and Manilla, and Hong Kong can be just as bad, if not worse.
If you’re going to shoot for your Hong Kong street photography, check out this post here for where to buy film camera’s in Hong Kong. For where to develop film in Hong Kong, check out this post here. If you’ve got any questions about Hong Kong street photography in general, ask us on Twitter, I’ve only covered a fraction of what’s good in this post.