The sun was setting over the Gulf of Thailand as we arrived on the other side of Koh Samui. The fishing boats were already coming in, their colorful sails waving in the breeze. But I was drawn to the oyster farmers who were working in the shallow water. I waded out to join them, curious to see how they worked. They were using a simple technique: they would make a small clicking sound with their fingers, and the oysters would react in the sand below. I didn’t know why this worked, but it did!
On a previous trip to Hong Kong one of my goals was to explore as much of the government housing as possible, getting away from my usual haunts in the main city. My new friend Simon, a local Chinese guy, was the perfect person to show me around.
We started our day in the Tsing Yi district, which is home to some of the most iconic government housing estates in Hong Kong. The estates are massive, towering blocks of concrete that are home to thousands of people. They may look a bit intimidating at first, but Simon assured me that they were full of life and character. We wandered around the estates for a while, taking in the sights and sounds. We saw people of all ages, from young children to elderly grandparents, going about their daily lives. We saw people playing games, chatting with friends, and just hanging out. It was clear that these estates were more than just places to live; they were also individual communities.
After exploring the estates, we headed to the nearby Sham Shui Po district, which is known for its vibrant night market. We wandered through the market, snacking on street food and browsing the stalls. We found everything from fresh produce to electronics to souvenirs. It was a great way to experience the local culture. Here is one of the final shots of the night, as we continued to explore, just before I headed off back to the hotel with sore feet but a mind racing with memories of the day.
Here’s Baba Yaga’s Book Club by Jessi Sprocket Janusee. I’ve always said you can’t have a book club in the desert without some robotic chicken legs holding it up and it seems I was right…
The Monaco is one of the best art cars to follow around the playa in the middle of a dust storm. They actually use the wind to move it around the place. All these cats on board the frigate are super hardcore and they are yelling out commands right and left to the crew to make sure they get to the place they want to get to. They do everything pirate-ish except for the raping and pillaging.
This place in Singapore is awesome and really easy to photograph. There’s sort of a path everyone walks along. Right in the beginning, you come to this very still little pond. The reflection was so perfect that I set up for a nice vertical shot here before moving on to find so many more images.
I rode on one of these ships back and forth across the harbor about four times one night. On the final journey, about 1 AM, I decided to get a photo of the boat itself. Like a bunch of Chinese things, this is also kind of fake because the boat actually used a motor instead of the sails. They were just for show. I should not have told you that because it kind of ruins the photo, but, well, there ya go.
Here’s a photo from my road trip around the North Island of New Zealand. This is one of the coolest golf courses in the world called Tara Iti. It runs right along the beach and when the sun gets low, you get some pretty incredible shadows along the fairways. I like shooting on golf courses, but I don’t always like making it obvious it’s a golf course. I like the idea that it’s a beautiful place that’s just convenient for playing golf if you want to.
This is one of the many cool sculptures at The Hills country club in Arrowtown. The guy that owns it is Michael Hill, who also owns one of my prints and hangs it in his home here which is located on the golf course.
This was taken on our first night in Hong Kong when they threw a big party for my team at the Ritz-Carlton there. It was the beginning of our Asia-Pacific leg of the photo walk world tour and all the wonderful ladies from that location put together a really nice soiree there in the bar on top of the hotel. The funny thing was, they did it right at sunset, so I kept leaving the party for 5-10 minute stints to go take photos!
The Pudong area of Shanghai is pretty much completely empty at night. No one lives here, so it’s a great time to go out and take photos. I was staying in the Ritz-Carlton there at the top of the hotel on the right. It was a great place to base myself because I could easily pop down to go walk around and see all the incredible Blade-Runner buildings.
I’d often have the BEST time walking around by myself, listening to music, and usually have a Gin & Tonic cocktail in my water bottle. This is back when I used to drink (I don’t any more after an Ibogaine ceremony) – but, I must admit, I certainly had a great time on these solo nights.
