Dear Vicky I

My love letter to Hong Kong

I consider Hong Kong to be my home, or something closest to home, certainly closer than the place where I was born and raised. But since I no longer live in Hong Kong, and I don’t own an apartment there or may never be able to afford one, this home is really more spiritual than a physical roof and walls. I will admit I had done more than my share of badmouthing Hong Kong when I lived there. I’m sure I’d annoyed many of my Hong Kong friends back then. But, hey! Which family doesn’t have a shit-talking wiseass hanging around? Now I am away from my home, and I miss it, all of it, the good, the bad and the ugly. I will regularly post photos from my Hong Kong days here. They will not win any prizes, but they are my love letter to a home I’ve never belonged.

Dear Vicky started as some sort of a joke, when I used to post on social media pictures of the Victoria Harbour, often taken from the Peak, aka, the Victoria Peak. Kudos to the British colonialists. They named places like they cooked, with few ingredients and ZERO imagination. Here’s one of those photos:

A print of this photo is now hanging on my living room wall. It was shot with a 10-stop ND filter on a Leica 35mm Summicron lens adapted onto my GFX 50R. Oh, the pandemic days!

Here’s another photo of Hong Kong:

This was taken on Graham Street, Sheung Wan. It’s just everyone minding their own business, tourists, salarymen, and labourers. A delightfully busy moment.

Thank you! Till next time!