Street Photography in Hong Kong: Analogue Edition

Minolta 9xi with 35mm f/1.4. Film Ferrania Alpha P30

On my latest trip to Hong Kong I decided to shoot film... lots of it. The motivation? Because of my Analogue Photography Series documentary for StoryHive. Since my project was all about film photography, I knew I had to live and breath the film culture, and it's not hard to do so in a city like Hong Kong. Although film prices are similar here as it is in the rest of the world (although there's no sales tax), the availability of used film cameras rivals Tokyo, and accessibility/pricing of photo labs seems more like 1998 and not 2018. $6 USD to develop and scan a roll of 135-36 film is not difficult to find here. Same day black and white develop and scan? No problem. Moreover, if you love to shoot film, Hong Kong should be your next analogue photography destination, hands down.

Why I Shoot Film: Hong Kong Edition

As someone who gets to review cameras for a living, as well as being a self-professed gear nerd for many years, I've had the opportunity to test drive a plethora of cameras. I started at the height of the film era (1990s), where amazing cameras were being built and innovative technological advancements were being made (OIS was invented during the film era). At the time everyone had access to a dozen film manufacturers and hundreds of film types. Used camera stores were stocked to the ceiling with old classics like the Nikon F3, Canon AE1, Minolta X700, etc. This was the final golden age of film photography.