Hong Kong: night skyline from Kowloon
The scene might compel the viewer to don a pair of ice-skates, except for the fact the nighttime outdoor temperature in June is +27C/81F.
At the Kowloon Public Pier in Tsim Sha Tsui, the Hong Kong city skyline is front and centre. Among the many illuminated buildings, you’ll pick out the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai, and the Bank of China building and 2 IFC tower in the Central district.
I made the photos above on the evening of 30 June 2012 with the Canon EOS450D camera, 18-55mm kit-lens, and a tripod. The range of shooting parameters were f/14 to f/22, one to four minutes of exposure, ISO100, and 18- to 34-mm focal length. The small apertures (“large” f-ratios) prevent harsh glare or saturation by strong lights, and the long exposure times smooth out the “random” nature of the wave action in the water.
It’s easy to agree and difficult to ignore how photogenic the city skyline is, by day or at night.
For a slower yet inexpensive ride with a great view of Hong Kong, take the Star ferry from Hong Kong’s Central or Wan Chai, across Victoria Harbour, to Kowloon’s Tsim Sha Tsui.
Central and Sheung Wan, across Victoria Harbour from Kowloon
Wan Chai and HKCEC, across Victoria Harbour from Kowloon
North Point and Causeway Bay, across Victoria Harbour from Kowloon
North Point and Causeway Bay, across Victoria Harbour from Kowloon
This post appears originally on Fotoeins Fotopress at fotoeins.com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-256.
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18 Responses to “Hong Kong: night skyline from Kowloon”
oh, henry, you’ve done it again! hello kowloon!!!
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Thanks, Stephen! But now that I’ve departed Hong Kong, one of many tiny regrets is not having spent more time photographing around Kowloon.
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That’s really too bad, Henry. Kowloon is a photographic gold mine. Oh well … guess you better go back!
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Those are some beautiful shots Henry, especially the first one. I assume that’s a ghost of a boat going along the water? It’s such a cool effect, especially since the lights on it aren’t too bright. It’s great that there were some clouds there to add some mood to the photos too!
I love the Hong Kong skyline and was so happy that my friend drove me over to Kowloon while I was there just so I could see it at night. Sadly, I brought my tripod and camera but not the tripod head so I had to find random places on the pier to balance my camera!
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Hi, Kristin.
Yes, in the first photo, there’s the “ghost” presence of a ship. It was interesting to see how a number of ships and lights of varying brightness would “imprint” themselves onto long photographic exposures. The third/middle shot in the gallery is the one of Wan Chai – the buildings there are known for their corporate logo displays. I agree with you that the clouds drifting in and out, and over Hong Kong Island added to the atmosphere for these shots!
When I said goodbye to Hong Kong, I knew I’d miss that skyline (day or night) on both sides of Victoria Harbour. I was just getting used to seeing and knowing the various landmarks on the Kowloon side, from the ICC building all the way east to the new construction of the cruise-ship facility at the old Kai Tak airport grounds.
Thanks again for reading and for your comment!
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No worries at all — I’m a sucker for night lights photos 🙂 And that’s great that you actually got to start learning the skyline — I could recognise the ICC building and that’s about all, haha!
“Ghost” ships can be really interesting. I really like when there are moving flashing lights (like in this photo of the Story Bridge –> http://www.flickr.com/photos/eideticmemory/5880401589/in/set-72157622416050748) but I think the ship you had was perfect because the lights were pretty dim. It’s really annoying when you think you’ve gotten a good shot only to realise that the brilliant lights of a boat passing by have ruined it!
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Argh — sorry about not replying to the right comment there. I seem to be having difficulty with WordPress comments this morning (either that, or my brain still hasn’t properly woken up).
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No problem, Kristin!
After I took the 2nd shot above, I looked at the photo on my camera display, and the thought came immediately to mind: it looks like people wearing shiny lights and skating on a winter’s pond!
Because I stayed at the Kowloon Public Pier for a couple of hours, I could afford to take a bunch of long exposures, and see what would become of them. In some shots, there’d be no ships passing through, and in others, it’d be like a switch turned on, with ships, big and small, passing through. In some views, there’s be very bright building lights, and in other views, there’d be very few building lights.
OK, I totally admit that that was a lot of fun, and I owe it to all to having borrowed my sister’s tripod!
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Hehe — you’re right, it could be a person ice skating…although I think the world might be in serious trouble if the harbour in Hong Kong froze!
It’s great when you’ve got plenty of time to spare and a scene you want to shoot. It’s crazy how quickly time passes when you’re standing there watching the world continue about their business as you capture it all on camera! I’ve spent hours sitting on clifftops just listening to the waves, occasionally clicking the cable release to stop one long exposure and start another.
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I don’t think the people in Hong Kong would be happy at all if the weather conditions allowed the harbour to freeze!
While I took the long exposures, it is easy for time to go quickly, despite the equivalent wait (or read-out) times for the camera to process the long exposures. I had two time-constraints. One, the upper mezzanine portion of the Kowloon Public Pier closes at 11pm, but fortunately, the lower ground-level portion of the pier stays open to pedestrians at all times. Two, I needed to catch the one of the final MTR trains back to where I was staying. A taxi would’ve been fine, but there’s just something about taking the MTR!
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Stunning scapes Henry!!! 🙂 **
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Thanks, Xandré! 🙂
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Lovely photos, Henry. I like a city skyline photo but, unfortunately, my poor photography skills usually result in a blurred, wonky travesty. I hope your journey is going well?
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Hi, Shane. It surely helped I was able to borrow a tripod! To minimize my “carry” for the year, I’m traveling without a tripod, although there have been occasions I wished I had my trusty tripod. Also, I’ve made many blurred, wonky travesties of my own, but through practice and understanding what my camera can (and won’t) do have helped shape what I know about night photography. There’s still lots to learn and photograph …
Thanks, my journey is going well – I can’t believe six months have passed. I hope you’re both doing well, and thanks again for reading and for writing your comment!
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Fabulous panoramas! I was lucky enough to be there around Christmas, when they have a great light and music show involving dozens of buildings. I called the “dancing buildings” show. It was amazing.
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Thanks, Eva! Christmas would’ve been fun! I wonder if the nightly light displays at 8pm changes at Christmas; I imagine they would. I don’t think I’d ever get tired of seeing the light show every night.
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Lovely photos… the panorama is fabulous! thanks!
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Hi, Rob. Thanks for stopping by my blog, and for your kind comment!
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