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People of Malaysia

Stephen Ip — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:53:25 +0000

Whenever I visit a new place, I try to get a sense of what life is like there by observing the people and the activities of their daily lives. Life in Malaysia seemed much slower and more relaxed than it is in Hong Kong or the United States. People went about their days similarly to others places I have lived or visited, but they didn't appear to be as rushed or stressed as people I encounter here in Hong Kong or back home in California. It's difficult to put into words the way the people of Malaysia approach life, so here are a few images I captured that can hopefully depict the sense of calm I observed in the people I came across during my visit.

Skyline of Malaysia

Stephen Ip — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 03:08:58 +0000

One of my favorite things about traveling to major cities is the unique skyline of each individual place. While in Malaysia last week, I was struck by the combination of new and old structures seen in the skylines of Kuala Lumpur and Malacca. A place with so much culture and history offset by modern skyscrapers gave the cities a very different look.

Life in Hong Kong - Cloudy Skies

Stephen Ip — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 15:08:39 +0000

Overcast skies are the norm this time of year in Hong Kong. From time to time, the cloud cover breaks allowing for some nice scenic images of the city. Here are few photographs from my time here thus far. I'm off to Malaysia and Singapore for a few days so will be offline for awhile. I hope to have some shots of my trip to share when I return later this week, talk to you all then.

Life in Hong Kong - Markets

Stephen Ip — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 00:53:19 +0000

With space a premium in Hong Kong, most homes are small with kitchens to match. This means the refrigerators and pantries here have less space than most kitchens in the States. As a result, families here shop almost daily at one of the street markets for fresh meats, fruits, and vegetables. The markets can get loud and crowded like much of Hong Kong, but they are a lot of fun to walk through if you don't mind fighting the crowds.

Life in Hong Kong - Escalators

Stephen Ip — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 23:56:12 +0000

Escalators are quite common in Hong Kong, but the Central - Mid-Levels Escalators were a sight even for me. The system is the longest covered elevator system in the world, spans over 800 meters and covers an elevation gain of approximately 135 meters. Construction of the escalators was completed in 1993 and now transports up to 50,000 people each day between the Mid-Levels and Central areas of Hong Kong. Another interesting fact about the escalator system is that it runs downhill between 6am and 10am and runs uphill between 10:30am and midnight. Here are a few pictures I took while making my way up and down the 800 meters of covered escalators.

Life in Hong Kong - On the Move

Stephen Ip — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:41:12 +0000

Hong Kong is a fast moving place. Stand still for too long and you're likely to get left behind. I'm not quite sure what it is about the people here, but everyone always seems to be in a hurry. I love being here but the pace of the city truly does take some getting use to. The nice thing about Hong Kong is that the movement of the people and their surroundings does make for some interesting street photography.

Life in Hong Kong - Stairwells

Stephen Ip — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 00:42:01 +0000

With all the high rises in Hong Kong, elevators are definitely your friend. The problem is the lines for elevators are quite long during rush hour. At times like this, stairwells for getting up and down a few floors are your best alternative.

LIfe in Hong Kong - High rises

Stephen Ip — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 00:44:14 +0000

One of my favorite things about Hong Kong is the buildings that surround me when I'm here. Hong Kong is known for the high rise buildings that house many of its residents. Having spent much of my life in areas of Southern California without buildings taller than 10 stories, coming back to Hong Kong is always a treat. In fact, I'm writing this post from the 30th floor of a high rise building. Here are a few images I shot yesterday to give you all an idea of what you'll be surrounded by should you come to Hong Kong.

Life in Hong Kong - Welcome

Stephen Ip — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 02:06:22 +0000

I'm lucky enough to be spending the next month or so in Hong Kong with my family. Since I've not had much time for photography nor done much posting to the blog lately, I'm taking this opportunity to start a small photo project. With the help of a Vodafone 3G USB adapter and my Canon S90, I plan to post images from my experiences as often as possible. I know I'll probably be traveling outside of Hong Kong at some point and will be without an Internet connection. However, I'll post pictures from my travels once I'm connected again.

The main purpose of the project, Life in Hong Kong, is to give my friends a glimpse into being in Hong Kong. Realizing I know very few people that've been here, I hope to show you all what one of my favorite cities in the world is like. I hope you all enjoy my images and feel free to drop my comments about what you might like to see or leave a question about the pictures I share.

With that said, here we go. My first set of pictures are some taken during my first full day here, things I captured include the streets of Hong Kong, my first meal here, and a Chinese New Year display in a local shopping center.

Katherine Howe

Stephen Ip — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 03:49:10 +0000

My friend, songwriter and singer Katherine Howe, asked me to make some photographs for her to use on her website. We decided to head down to the Newport Back Bay and Balboa Peninsula last weekend for the shoot. Here are a few of my favorite shots from the session. Check out Katherine's MySpace page to find out more about her music.