wanderlust magazine

Some Street Photography in Hong Kong

In 2019 I visited Macau and Hong Kong, my prize for winning the Wanderlust Travel Magazine photo of the year competition in 2018. Here is a previous blog I wrote about some of the street photos I took on that trip in both Hong Kong and Macau.

Hong Kong is an excellent photographic destination, full of contrasts. Towering skyscrapers and modern shopping malls, winding alleyways and traditional markets, all coexisting in a vibrant and dynamic atmosphere. It's a city that never sleeps, and there's always something to capture on camera, making it a great place for street photography. Click through the slideshow below to view some more of my street photos and street portraits in Hong Kong:

The streets of Hong Kong are a kaleidoscope of colors, with neon lights, street art, and colorful shop signs, creating a feast for the eyes. It's a city that's constantly on the move, with people rushing to catch buses, trains, and trams, creating endless opportunities for candid street photography. I highly recommend trying the old trams in the city, sit upstairs at the front for some great views and photo opportunities. One of my favourite Hong Kong images was taken upstairs on one of those trams.

The markets are also a great place to capture the essence of Hong Kong street life, with vendors selling everything from fresh produce to electronics, with crowds of people jostling for space. Whether you're a professional photographer or just starting out, Hong Kong's streets are an endless source of inspiration, offering a fascinating glimpse into a city that's always evolving. I had a great time in Hong Kong, and look forward to returning one day!

Many of my Hong Kong images are available for license via Getty here. More of my travel photography can be found on my website, my Instagram, my Facebook Page and my Flickr account.

Street Photography in India

I am a photographer from the United Kingdom who loves to travel.  Last year I spent over six months travelling around India.  I started in Bangalore before making my way down the west coast to the southern tip of India before making my way up the east coast to Calcutta.  After some time in Bangladesh I returned to explore the north of India visiting Varanasi and the state of Rajasthan as well as the Capital of New Delhi.  There weren't many days during the trip that I didn't head out with my camera to document my experiences.  As well as capturing the iconic sights such as the Taj Mahal, and beautiful nature images on the coastline of Kerala and in the immense Thar Desert, some of my favourite photographs from the trip were ones I took on the streets, capturing everyday life in India.  This blog includes some of the many street photographs I took whilst travelling through India.

What is Street Photography?

Street photography is a genre that has become very popular in recent times with the popularity of Instagram, and the ability to take good quality photos on a mobile phone.  There is some debate as to what actually defines street photography and what it should and should not include.  My understanding of street photography is the documentation of people living their everyday lives in a public space.  Street photography nearly always contains people and is taken in a candid, unstaged way, normally without the knowledge or consent of the people captured.  I don't personally believe that street photography has to necessarily be taken in a street or even an urban environment as not everyone in the World lives in a City.  Street photography involves the observation of humanity, and when done well becomes an art form in itself.  A well taken street photo will evoke some kind of emotion in the viewer, over and above that of a standard snapshot.  The resulting image provides a single moment in time that tells a particular story, often in an amusing or ironic way.  Some documentary and street photographers insist on their photos being black & white but I personally feel this to be a shame particularly if the image was taken in a colourful setting as is often the case in India.   Aside from the possible conversion to black and white it is generally agreed that street photographs should not be overly edited and should be presented in a natural and realistic way.  I am a member of a Facebook group called 'Urban Street Photography' which has some fantastic examples of the different styles of street photography taken around the World.  It is a perfect place to look at the work of great street photographers with differing styles for some urban inspiration!  

Examples of my Street Photography taken in India

India is a brilliant place for every type of photography, street photography included.  The Cities and towns are full of colour and are bustling with life throughout the day.  What can seem hectic and overbearing to many people can be a street photographers dream.  As a street photographer you often just have to be patient, and something interesting will eventually happen.  In addition, Indian people are very friendly, who in the majority of cases do not mind having their photo taken.  It is also a safe place to travel around with a camera so long as you take the obvious precautions.  My normal plan when travelling is to meet up with local people, often photographers from Flickr or Instagram to go and take photos with.  This provides me with some valuable local knowledge as well as making the experience more enjoyable resulting in some better travel and street photographs for my portfolio.  Click on the photo below to view a slideshow of ten street photos I captured on my journey around India.

I highly recommend India for a photographic and travel experience, you will not be disappointed, it really is a unique part of the World.  I have written several photographic travel blogs about my time in India including: Travel photography in Varanasi, Sunset silhouette photography in Fort Kochi, and one on the birds at Marina beach at sunrise in Chennai.  I have always enjoyed taking street photographs on my travels, here is a blog I wrote combining two of my interests: street photography and street art.  More of my street photographs from India and around can be found on my website, my Instagram, my Facebook and my Flickr account.  I have a large selection of my travel photographs from India available to licence via Getty Images.  If you are interested in purchasing a print direct, writing a guest blog or collaborating in another way please send an email to: geraintrowlandphotography@gmail.com.

Editing, Stock Photography & Photo Competitions

For the last few months I have been in lockdown in Mexico City due to the Covid-19 pandemic so have tried to be productive with my time! Fortunately I had travelled there with a couple of old hard drives, so I was able to catch up on editing from the last couple of years. Editing photos whilst travelling is always something I have been a bit slack with. The last thing you want to do while discovering a new place is to be sitting behind your computer screen editing photos for hours. During my six month trip around India last year I was constantly on the move and therefore had thousands of photos that still required editing.

In addition, I am now making more of an effort to sell photos via Getty Images. It is therefore even more important that I keep on top of the workflow with regards to editing, uploading and key wording to the Getty site. In the last few months alone I have increased my Getty portfolio by several thousand images, whether or not that will equate to anything substantial income wise is yet to be seen in these crazy times. At the least it allowed me to focus on something during the quiet times, improve my editing skills on Lightroom, manage my travel images in a better way, and enter some more photo competitions. Last year I was lucky enough to go on an all expense paid trip to Hong Kong and Macau after winning a travel photography competition in the Wanderlust Travel Magazine.

Photo Competitions

The majority of photo competitions that I have entered in the past tend to be travel related, although on occasion they have also been of street photography or portraiture. I recently entered another travel related photography competition for the cover of SUITCASE magazine. The theme of the competition was ‘Freedom’ and SUITCASE were allowing a great amount of creative freedom in how the photographer interpreted that notion. There was a nice cash prize to be had along with having your image used on the cover of the next issue as well as a double page feature inside the magazine. I spent several hours going through my old travel images reminiscing, and looking for any which meant ‘freedom’ to me. I then asked the opinion of friends and family to narrow down my shortlist to the following selection of freedom related travel images:

'Freedom' Travel Photo Selection

The photo I decided to enter was the first in the slide show, taken last year at 'Suicide Rock' in Hong Kong.  It was the most recent photo taken on my shortlist and the one that resonated with me the most. Here is the story behind the picture:

Last year whilst visiting Hong Kong I met up with Anthony, an outdoor enthusiast, born in Hong Kong and brought up in the United Kingdom.  Anthony managed to persuade me and a friend to hike the notorious 'Suicide Cliff'.  

 Located at 600 meters the viewpoint offers spectacular views over Hong Kong.  While keeping a safe distance from the edge and experiencing some vertigo I took this photo of Anthony strolling around the large rock without a care in the World. 

 I wanted to capture the essence of travel and freedom found in the great outdoors.  I also wanted to portray the contrast between nature and development evident in Hong Kong: Peace & solitude in a concrete jungle.   Hopefully people can look at the image and escape the mundane realities of life even if only for a few fleeting moments.  With hope, imagination, and a little effort we can all experience true freedom.  

For the competition the photo entries had to be in vertical/portrait orientation.  Currently I tend to take the majority of my photos in landscape format especially ones in which I want to show the sheer scale of the surroundings such as in the 'Suicide Cliff' image.  I will bear this in mind in the future when I am out taking photos to cater for different end uses for my photography.  The photo also had to be in colour, understandable for a magazine cover, especially for travel.  I have since edited the original image into black and white which I think adds to the overall scale of the place and precariousness of the hike.

‘Suicide Cliff’, one of the many hiking trails in Hong Kong.

‘Suicide Cliff’, one of the many hiking trails in Hong Kong.

More of my travel photography can be found on my website, Instagram, Facebook Page and my Flickr account. If you are interested in writing a guest travel or photography blog for my website please send me an email to discuss. Likewise if you are interested in purchasing any of my travel or abstract images, please send me an email: geraintrowlandphotography@gmail.com.