The Vantage Point, Hong Kong

During my stay in centralized quarantine here in Beijing (now at day 20 of 21), after spending a wonderful extended Christmas and New Years in Hong Kong, I took the time to organize and clean up all the images I took over the past few months. In that collection of nearly 500gb of images, I came across a set from The Vantage Point located in Hong Kong Park that I thought you may find interesting. The Vantage Point is a 30m tall circular viewing platform that requires 105 steps of climbing to reach the top.

Lippo Centre viewed from Hong Kong Park
Lippo Centre and Hong Kong park in the foreground, Rosewood Hotel in Kowloon in the background; GFX100S 45mm ISO-200 1/75sec f/8
Red Taxi in front of The Murray Hotel Hong Kong
Taxi in front of Murray Hotel; GFX100S 81.2mm ISO-500 1/125sec f/4

Hong Kong Park is located along Cotton Tree Drive, near the beautiful Murray Hotel. You can get there many ways, but the most convenient is by going to the Admiralty MTR Station. There are signs from the station on how to get to Hong Kong Park. Once inside the park, you should look for the Olympic Square signs, or just look up and find The Vantage Point from its easily identified circular tower; you can’t miss it as it’s the landmark in the park.

Wild white birds perched in Hong Kong Park
Wild white birds in Hong Kong Park; GFX100S 200mm ISO-800 1/42sec f/8
St. John's and The Murray Hotel buildings
St. John’s and The Murray Hotel buildings; GFX100S 32.6mm ISO-100 1/2sec f/8

We had previously gone to this location during our staycation, but wanted to come back during the blue hour and sunset. Unfortunately, the pollution the evening we went was quite high, and the winds strong, which made for hazy images and many shots with camera blur. At some point, I’ll write a review about the Peak Design Carbon Tripod (I love it, but also find it has some limitations) that was giving me lots of frustration that evening.

St. John's Building, Hong Kong
St. John’s Building and the Peak Tram hub; GFX100S 32mm ISO-100 1/4sec f/5.6
Lippo Centre during blue hour, Hong Kong
Lippo Centre during blue hour; GFX100S 58.6mm ISO-100 1.9sec f/5.6

I think Hong Kong is best during the blue hour; there’s a magical quality to the cold and intense deep blue skies, reflecting off the concrete, glass and steel from the buildings, offset by the warm glow from the lights in the buildings and apartments. It’s really quite magical, and unfortunately, only lasts for a very short period of time. For example, today March 14, 2022, the blue “hour” is from 6:46PM to 6:54PM. Therefore, you need to be well prepared with composition and camera settings to nail it.

Rosewood Hotel during blue hour, Hong Kong
Rosewood Hotel across Victoria Harbour; GFX100S 150.5mm ISO-100 1.6sec f/8
The Murray Hotel up close, Hong Kong
The Murray Hotel up close; GFX100S 200mm ISO-400 1.3sec f/8

Because of the haze that day, we didn’t get the deep blue skies we wanted, but instead got some purple skies. While not ideal, it was still worthwhile to make our way to The Vantage Point. I’d love to go back again with a clear sky, no clouds, and capture that intense blue that Hong Kong so often rewards us with, at least on clear non-polluted nights.

Lippo Centre close up at blue hour, Hong Kong
Lippo Centre close up at blue hour; GFX100S 123.8mm ISO-400 1/1sec f/5.6
Bank of China and Lippo Centre during blue hour, Hong Kong
Bank of China and Lippo Centre during blue hour; GFX100S 45mm ISO-100 2.1sec f/5.6

Hope you enjoy the images. While the conditions were not ideal with the pollution and wind, sometimes you just have to make do with what’s in front of you; I think the above images will at least provide you with some ideas for compositions and what to expect when you make your way up the mesmerizing and hypnotic 105 circular steps.

2 thoughts on “The Vantage Point, Hong Kong”

    1. Hi there, I think you’ve nailed it! That’s exactly what the birds looked like. It was interesting that they’re not within the caged area of the aviary. Instead, they were free to fly around anywhere.

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