2020 Pictures – Album of Favourites

2020 Pictures – Album of Favourites

December 30, 2020
Hey Everyone, Some months ago, I was reading a photography blog that suggested choosing your favorite pictures each month and then at the end of the year putting together an album of favourites. I liked the idea. Admittedly, I don’t take the time every month to stop and reflect on my pictures. There probably were some good shots that I missed. None the less, here are 19 favourites that I would like to share with you. Hope you enjoy. Chinese New Year with masks was different, but it set the tone for the rest of the year. As usual all…
Come Prepared Not Over-prepared

Come Prepared Not Over-prepared

November 9, 2020
I went to the Wetland Park this weekend. I wore a sun hat and a long sleeve shirt, as the sun was bright. I’m pretty sure it saved me from getting sun burned. So I made the right decision there, but I was a little bit too ambitious, when it came to camera gear. I over-prepared. I brought equipment for shooting video and photos. I should have just brought the photography stuff and felt the video stuff - gimbal, handles, and microphone at home. Some people might say better to bring too much than too little and to an extent,…
Which Camera Gear to Take to Lamma Island

Which Camera Gear to Take to Lamma Island

October 28, 2020
Tracy and I went to Lamma Island for the Chung Yeung festival. The night before I thought to myself, what camera gear should I bring with me. When I first came to Hong Kong, this wasn’t an issue. I only had one camera (the Panasonic FZ30) and the lens could not be removed. However, it did have an impressive 35 – 420mm equivalent zoom range. I took a lot pictures with that camera before I gave it away and upgrading to the Panasonic G1, but back to the question of which camera gear to take. I thought about bring a…
A Video Tour Around ShaTin and Back Home Again

A Video Tour Around ShaTin and Back Home Again

September 18, 2020
Location In the back of my mind, I sometimes find myself thinking that friends and family back home would never believe stuff about life over here in Hong Kong. I could use hundreds or even thousands of words, but that would not do it justice, so instead I have decided to give you a video tour of my commute into town. Location is very important for people here in Hong Kong. The price you pay for an apartment takes into account its location and how far it is from public transportation like the MTR (HK subway). My apartment is about…
White Stone is Beautiful but Not Perfect

White Stone is Beautiful but Not Perfect

August 11, 2020
There’s water, hills, lots of sunshine, blue sky with white puffy clouds, and wild life. I won’t try to tell you that it’s picture perfect. It’s not, but at least it is natural. They didn’t bring in fake grass to try to fix the brown grass. Sometimes in life we forget that many things are beautiful but not perfect. Nature has a way of reminding us of this. I think it took me about an hour to get to White Stone from my home in ShaTin. I left about 10 minutes to 7am, as I knew it was going to…
Are You Going it Alone?

Are You Going it Alone?

August 11, 2020
The other day I was out for a walk and I was struck by the different personalities of pigeons by the beach. There were pigeons huddled in groups seeking attention. There were ones that just seemed to blend in and there were more aggressive types. One bird really stood out to me. He wasn't in a group. He was on his own. The others seemed to have their backs towards him, and he seemed to be purposefully lifting his leg to walk further away from them. He was going it alone. An Outcast? The scene made me wonder about whether…
Stay Young Make Time to Play

Stay Young Make Time to Play

July 30, 2020
There is so much that could be said about the importance of play. Adults miss something when they haven't had enough play in their childhood. They can become too regimented almost like machines. No one wants to become this way, but life, relationships, and work can have a way of hardening us. We have to be tough to make it in the real world. Right? I think like Christopher Robin (from the movie Christopher Robin) sometimes we need to defeat our own heffalumps. Stay young make time to play Heffalump Christopher Defeats the Heffalump I love the section of Christopher…
My MacLehose 4 Video and the Back Story

My MacLehose 4 Video and the Back Story

July 29, 2020
Yeah, I showed a video of this trail once before. I think it is my favorite trail. This one is a bit different because I got a gimbal and decided to try running on the trail. It’s only a small section of the trail so don’t worry. I think it is the prettiest section. Students at my school were taking their end of the year exams. So we had half days. Just before I left the school to go to the trail one of my colleagues cautioned me that it might rain. I decided to bring protective water proof bags…
Automatic Settings Can Ruin Your Footage

Automatic Settings Can Ruin Your Footage

July 29, 2020
I shot this Around the School video using 24 frames per second because I wanted it to be more cinematic. It was a sunny day, but I didn’t want to shoot in complete manual mode because I knew that I would be going in and out of the school. I figured let the camera adjust for the changes in light and shutter speed on its own. Well that was a mistake that can ruin your footage. I’m leaving it up here for 2 reasons. One the lesson it teaches and two the content is still good. Shoot Manual It’s worth…
Maclehose 7 Rain or Shine

Maclehose 7 Rain or Shine

June 3, 2020
Not long after I first heard of the MacLehose hiking trails, Tracy told me that they stretched across Hong Kong from Sai Kung all the way to Tsuen Wan. That sounded really cool to me, but it seemed like a distant piece of information to me. Well, in an effort to explore and get to know the trails that are right around me in ShaTin, I decided to hike to the MacLehose trail from the Lutheran Seminary in ShaTin last Sunday. Rain or shine was going to do it. I went online to find out that it would take me…