Picture of the Week: Lantau, Hong Kong

Mamiya 6, 75mm lens, Kodak Portra 400

Reading about the terrible events in Hong Kong today made me think back to the trip I made there in a more peaceful time, which was only last year.

I was there for a few days with my wife, we tacked on a short holiday after a commercial shoot I’d had in China. One day, to escape the city heat, we visited the island of Lantau. Although it’s only a few kilometres from Hong Kong island it feels like it’s a world away, with wooded mountains and quiet villages.

After riding the subway from Hong Kong we got off at the final stop and took the cable car up to the famous Tian Tan Buddha. Then we took a taxi down to the old fishing village of Tai O where we explored the narrow streets and ate some lunch.

A few hours later when we got back up to the top, it was shrouded in an ethereal mist. While we were walking back through the car park to the cable car station we stumbled across this slightly surreal scene. Some cows has wandered up from the fields below and stood in the car park as a father indulged his curious son.

I dialed in my exposure, focused and waited for the father to point. One click and it was done. We walked on, took the cable car back down to the subway and rode the train back to normal life.