People

Hong Kong stopover

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If you’re faced with a long journey from New Zealand back to the UK, Hong Kong is a great place to stop for a few days, as I did earlier this year.

It’s an incredibly concentrated city, packed with eye-watering high rise blocks and people streaming everywhere. But it also has the odd pocket of calm, including Stanley Bay and Kowloon’s Walled City Park.

Views are everything in Hong Kong, and you can see them by taking The Peak tram. My hotel – the Harbour Grand – had a great rooftop platform to take photographs from and drink in the sights. The city is also the ideal place to visit former Portuguese colony Macau across the water.

I stayed in Hong Kong when the weather was grey and wet. The territory is now facing stormy times, but I hope its special sheen as the Pearl of the Orient remains for many decades to come.

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Albania: Land of eagles

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British holidaymakers flock in their thousands to nearby Spain, Italy and Greece. This is a country which is equally close but remains practically undiscovered.

Albania has it all. A coastline bathed in sunshine, epic mountains, castles and mosques, not to mention a fascinating capital city, Tirana.

The country’s unique selling point is the decades it spent in isolation ruled by socialist dictator Enver Hoxha. Thousands of bunkers from that era pepper the countryside while grandiose statues and murals aren’t hard to stumble across.

There was a diversity of photographs to capture in Albania, while it felt energetic and surprisingly modern. We know the Mediterranean far too well, but this is a twist on the familiar that’s well worth checking out.

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Another Place

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This stretch of coast is within easy striking distance of Manchester, here in the north-west of England.

Crosby beach is already a lovely stretch of sand sweeping north of Liverpool, but has had an added attraction since 2005.

Renowned British sculptor Antony Gormley created 100 bronze male figures (cast in the image of his own body) which are dotted along the shoreline and without doubt totally compelling.

I finally went to Crosby in late May, and was thoroughly drawn to the statues and their places on the shore. I nearly lost a pair of shoes to the silt and was surprised by the speed of the incoming tide – so be careful when your desire to photograph takes over!

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Porto: Portuguese gem

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Portugal’s capital Lisbon is a hugely popular destination for tourists. But not content with this, the Portuguese also have a second city to discover and enjoy.

Porto sits on the Douro estuary in the north of the country. It’s packed with charming old tiled houses, grand buildings which indicate its rich history, not to mention delicious food and drink.

For the photographer, there’s something on every corner and vantage points galore. And if you take a bus ride to Foz do Douro, there’s also an Atlantic beach experience close by.

This was a typical city break experience for my friend and I, with budget flights from the UK, a very pleasant apartment hotel, and walking galore. If you have a spare long weekend, get yourself to Porto.

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New Zealand: North Island

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This is a country that may be geographically distant from Britain, but feels a lot like going home.

I made that long journey from Manchester to New Zealand and toured the Pacific island nation from south to north.

The upper half of this land is its population and urban powerhouse, home to largest city Auckland and administrative capital Wellington.

But it’s still an island of wilderness, boasting volcano peaks, geothermal wonders cared for by the Maori people, and vast beaches.

It’s also a rich place for photography with vast, electric blue skies, varied landscapes and intriguing detail. New Zealand is definitely worth the hike.

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