Tours Abroad

National Geographic photographer Michael Yamashita leads the Hong Kong Outlying Islands photo workshop. An interview with Mike can be seen here.

We leave the typical tourist haunts of Kowloon and Hong Kong Island and explore an array of smaller islands, each with its own character, in order to capture less familiar shots. These include a range of subject matter, from the old and traditional to the contemporary. This mirrors the nature of the city of Hong Kong itself which, with its unusual history, is so very cosmopolitan in the widest sense of the word.

We will be based conveniently in Kowloon in one of the quieter areas. This allows us to reach each of our destinations in good time and also enjoy something of the after-hours entertainment available. In most cases we use a public ferry to reach our Outlying Island as these are part and parcel of the scenes we are here to record. We have also chartered a private boat for two of the days so as to be able to explore sections of the fabulous, but little-known, Geopark off the east coast of the New Territories. The islands over here are the remants of an impressive volcano that once dominated the area and which collapsed spectacularly some 140 million years ago.

During the workshop we will have opportunities to shoot incredible contrasts. We will visit traditional Tanka and Hakka villages that have changed little in hunderds of years, some within sight of the city’s skyscrapers. The densely packed streets of downtown soon give way to barren crags on rocky islets. For some locals the sea is still their main sorce of income; for others it is their place of recreation – their time away from work. Whichever Hong Kong you come to see you can be sure to see much more.