Here’s what remains

Traveling is always a way of testing your expectations against reality

For this trip to Hong Kong, I wanted to see what my eye had learned over time. I hoped to be surprised, and also to confront my own limits.
Between exhaustion, unpredictable weather, and the overwhelming discovery of a brand new city, nothing went quite as I had imagined.
And yet, something slowly took shape, through images.

In the beginning there was…

I wrote the first two blog posts on the way to the airport, just before our trip to Hong Kong. I must say I had high expectations for this journey: I saw it as an opportunity to test myself and see whether I had truly improved as a photographer. I was probably hoping for some kind of self-consecration.

Needless to say, reality caught up with me pretty quickly — and so did impostor syndrome. Things don’t always go as planned, and to make matters worse, the weather wasn’t always on our side during those few days.

I had probably also idealized the past: I pictured myself wandering through the streets of Hong Kong, taking the time to think through each photo, patiently waiting for the perfect moment, like I did in Tokyo two years ago. But in fifteen days, you simply can't achieve what you could over the course of three months. Naturally, I ended up disappointed in myself, frustrated and maybe being a little too critical.

So I decided to let the photos sit for a few weeks after coming home before looking at them again. With a bit of distance, I have to admit my feelings have changed. Comparing the photos I took two years ago in Tokyo with this new series from Hong Kong, I can definitely see some evolution. My interests have shifted a little, and so has my eye. The photos are a bit rawer, less polished, the colors are different.
Are they better than the previous ones? Not necessarily. But I’m happy to see that there has been progress — and not just in terms of equipment.

Hong Kong | Pt.1
The first photos I took during the trip, after almost 24 hours without sleep. There's not much coherence between them, but I feel like they really capture my first impressions.

Hong Kong | Pt.2
Since this was an entirely new city for me, I decided to work by neighborhoods. This series focuses on Central, along the Central–Mid-Levels Escalator, where we stayed at first. A very unusual kind of urbanism, full of hidden corners and fascinating little scenes.

Hong Kong | Pt.3
The escalators offer incredible views of the city if you take the time to stop and observe — like a series of small paintings, snapshots of daily life.

Hong Kong | Pt.4
Dedicated to Tai Hang, a former car repair district now slowly gentrifying. You still come across mechanics, tuned-up cars... and cafés for poodles. I found the atmosphere truly unique.

Hong Kong | Pt.5
Focused on Mong Kok, a district of Kowloon that hosts the famous Temple Street. The atmosphere there is very different from Central: despite the density of the buildings, there’s almost a village-like feel to it.

Looking back, these series aren’t perfect, neither were the one from Tokyo.
But they tell something essential for me: a gaze in motion, raw emotions, the discovery of a fascinating city through its details, its contrasts, its fleeting scenes.

That’s what I want to remember — more than any idea of photographic "success."