A bird's eye view of Hong Kong

July 21, 2021

Aerial photography is a captivating and efficient way to showcase a client's project, landscapes, or large-scale developments. In a recent shoot, I was commissioned to photograph 15-20 locations around Hong Kong. These varied from major highways, Happy Valley racecourse, residential properties in Kennedy Town, container ports, Tsing Ma Bridge, and then over to Sheko Beach with a final hovering around Shatin.

Working from a helicopter is both exhilarating and challenging, it requires great communication and teamwork, with many variables being taken into consideration. The team at Hong Kong Heli services were outstanding. With an experienced pilot, we managed to rise high in the air to photograph just in time, given the weather condition that day.

I hope you enjoy the images and the tips below!

Happy Valley Racecourse nestled between Hong Kong’s famous sky-scrapers.

A sea of concrete, Hong Kong’s Central district

Admirality, a well known business district in the heart of Hong Kong

Victoria Peak, the highest mountain on Hong Kong Island

Sheung Wan, a neighbourhood not far from Central.

International Finance Centre (IFC) towers over Central Hong Kong

Stonecutters bridge towers over the Hong Kong Container terminal

Hong Kong Container terminal aerial view

Full load, containers waiting to be loaded and shipped

Stonecutters Bridge, entry to the Hong Kong Container port

Bridges connecting highways to the Airport

Sheko Golf Club, surrounded by Hong Kong’s nature

Shatin, home to the Shatin racecourse and HK Sports Institute situated in the New Territories

Hong Kong Stadium is the main sports venue of Hong Kong

A few tips for anyone who is looking to photograph from a helicopter.

Doors off is a must to get the angles you need and to shoot with an unrestricted view. Harnessed in you can slide around in your seat, lean out and feel the wind rush beneath you.
Take two cameras, a zoom lens and a wide. My gear, 2 x Sony a7r4 bodies, Sony 70-200mm f/2.8, Sony 16-35mm f/4, spare Sony a9 body, and a 24-70 f/2.8. Some flights will allow you to change lenses once the door is closed, others won’t. Make sure your camera is anchored to you with camera straps.
Shutter speeds, keep them high, a minimum 1/1000 of a second, this will ensure everything stays sharp, Aperture I ranged between 2.8 - 5.6, will depend on the weather and available light. ISO keep on auto, if the weather is changing a lot, then you may need to keep adjusting it accordingly.
Shoot in RAW, this gives you more flexibility to edit your images. White balance on Auto.
Remove all lens hoods and anything else that may come off, safety is the most important thing!
Clothing, dress to the weather conditions, only take what you need. It’s a cramped environment you don’t want to be getting tangled up in the headset, camera straps, inflatable life vest etc. Before take-off ensure your gear is sorted and easily accessible. In colder climates, a beanie and gloves are a must, the wind is a killer!
Time of flight, if you can choose. Early morning or late afternoon, this is generally the best light, you will have nice contrast and shadows from buildings. Shooting an hour before Sunset would be my go to time, we can’t always have the perfect weather though!
Plan your route, we spent 1 hour before the flight with the pilot to ensure we were all on the same page. The actual planning for this job took several weeks. Allow a little extra time for the shoot (if you can) things happen and sometimes you will need more time to get the shot!
Photograph inside the helicopter and whoever you are up in the air with, these are great memories to have and give a great perspective.
Memory cards, have at least a 32GB or 64GB, the last thing you want to be doing is fussing around changing cards and missing shots! I always record to two cards to ensure the footage is saved twice.

There are obviously a lot more tips and tricks but I hope this gives you a good look into what I did and experienced during one of my shoots. If you get the chance in Hong Kong to take a flight, do it! That bird’s eye view is something very special and gives you such a different perspective of the city we live in.

Behind the scenes, Alex filming video Christiaan on photography over the Happy Valley Racecourse

Flight plan and gear ready, 2 x Sony a7r4, two go pros for filming behind the scenes in cabin footage.

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UPDATES!

April 27, 2021

Although I haven’t been able to travel over the past 12-18 months for work, I have been fortunate to work on projects in Hong Kong. In these constantly changing times, one doesn’t know when the next job comes. Social distancing rules, lock-downs and complete shut-downs of several industries, have made it extremely difficult for small businesses to survive and thrive. Nearly 15 months since the outbreak in February 2020, who would have thought that we would still be coping with similar challenges in 2021. However, I do believe, there is light at the end of the tunnel for all of us.

Enough of my rambling, I thought this would be a good time to update you with some of my recent work and a gentle reminder of the services I offer. Looking forward to reconnecting with you all over the next months.

Stay healthy and strong!

Yacht Photography and Video

Prestige Yacht Fleet shoot, Asia Yachting

Prestige Yachts in formation, Hong Kong.

Automotive photography, editorial shoots with Prestige Magazine and Porsche Hong Kong

Portraits | Branding | Lifestyle photography.

Campaign shoot with Pressio, sports compression clothing

Artwork, Acrylic Face Mount Prints for sale, click here for options

Neon Vibes, custom made prints available

Large prints for your office or home. Shop

Event Photography services

Aerial Photography and Video

Aerial photography provides unique views adding commercial value.

Happy Valley Racecourse, Hong Kong. Helicopter shoots add value and save time on commercial projects.

Videography Services

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March 19, 2019

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BIRDS EYE VIEW - CORON PHILIPPINES

May 04, 2018 in Hong Kong Photography, Travel Asia, Drone Photography

Coron, a hidden gem! I must admit, I had to look up where this place was exactly in the Philippines. According to Wikipedia, there are over 7,000 Islands scattered around the region, roughly 2000 are inhabited. Situated roughly 130km from Manila lies this tropical oasis.

Crystal clear waters, beautiful sunsets, and some of the whitest sand you will ever see. My goal for this project was to literally create a "bird's eye view" at a location that is still raw and pure.

Whether it's for travel or commercial purposes throughout Asia, flying the DJI Phantom 4 Pro has enabled access to sites inaccessible on foot. And at the same time allowing photographers to capture unique and extreme views.

The sense of scale and the freedom you get from viewing subjects top down is an incredible feeling, one can only imagine how a bird feels in flight.

With that, I hope you enjoy the following images, stay tuned for our video feature, coming soon...

Entrance to Twin Lagoon, boats are restricted from entry.

Swimming through the lagoon you experience cold water mixing with warm, quiet surreal.

Mode of transport and landing pad for the drone.

Awesome way to get around, each boat is equipped with a BBQ, fresh seafood for lunch!

Pass Island is part of Coron, probably less known than other islands, a must visit!

Pitch a tent, camp under the palm trees surrounded by crystal clear water.

Pass Island it doesn't get much better than this!

By 3pm all boats have left, be sure to stay on into the late afternoon.

Blue Lagoon, no guessing why they named it this.

I'TS HOT! BLANCPAIN GT SERIES ASIA

April 18, 2018 in Motorsport, Blancpain GT Asia series

35 degrees, 85% humidity and clear blue skies, it’s damn hot! I wouldn’t rather be anywhere else.

Race circuits have always been interesting places, the atmosphere, the smell of burning rubber and petrol in the air, comradery of drivers and teams. Seeing familiar faces and catching up with clients which are now friends, it's a real buzz and a dream come true, to be working in this environment.

My colleague has arrived, accreditations in hand, scooters ready and off we set for a weekend covering the Blancpain GT Asia series at Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia.

Sepang International Circuit is, HUGE! Two massive straights, tight turns, and long sweeping bends. Covering a race here is exciting, and at times very challenging, it pushes you to think outside of the box. Some days are better than others, getting the creative ideas to flow is hard at times, other days, it just happens.

For photographers to be able to work in this exciting and at times a dangerous environment comes only with the assistance of dedicated team of people who make it all happen.

Thanks to the crew at Blancpain GT series Asia and SRO Motorsport Group for their support and hospitality over the weekend.

Recently I made the change from Canon to Sony and I must say I don't regret it one bit. Throughout the weekend the Sony a9 performed amazingly, super fast autofocus, lightweight and with 20 frames a second you are almost guaranteed not to miss! 20 frames a second may be an overkill but it's good to know you have that extra frame rate if you need it. The tilt screen came in handy, shooting in some positions when very low enables you to view the screen a lot easier and shoot more efficiently. Battery life was a non-issue, shooting for over 6 hours a day and still had plenty of juice left.

Overall I am very satisfied with the Sony system, durability may be an issue long term but let's see. Being able to carry two full camera systems all day and not feel it on the shoulders, to me, is a bonus. Looking forward to trying out the Sony 400mm 2.8 once it's launched.

Gear used: Sonya9 Sony a7R3, Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS, Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 GM OSS, Sony FE 2x Teleconverter, Sony Vertical battery grip.