Human society is changing every day. Through the lens of the camera, it can represent the objective but subjective world and observe the interesting events that are happening.
This documentary photography project focuses on life in Hong Kong during the 2010s, using negative film to preserve the authentic details of daily existence in this dynamic metropolis. Hong Kong, with its rich colonial history spanning over 150 years under British rule before its return to China in 1997, represents a unique intersection of Eastern and Western cultures within the modern world.
Home to approximately 7.5 million people within 1,104 square kilometres, Hong Kong stands as one of the world's most densely populated urban areas. The city's dramatic topography—towering mountains, bustling harbours, and vertical skylines—creates a distinctive urban landscape where every corner tells a story of ambition, survival, and adaptation.
The project seeks to document the multifaceted reality of Hong Kong life during a pivotal decade, capturing moments where traditional ways of living persist alongside rapid urban development. From the intimate spaces of public housing estates to the gleaming towers of Central, from street-side dai pai dong to luxury shopping districts, the photographs explore the tensions and harmonies that define contemporary Hong Kong society.
The 2010s represented a particularly significant period in Hong Kong's ongoing evolution—a decade marked by growing political consciousness, economic transformation, and social change. Through the deliberate choice of film photography, these images aim to capture not merely the visual spectacle of the city, but the human experiences that unfold within its dense urban fabric.
Each photograph serves as both historical document and personal testimony, preserving fleeting moments that collectively constitute the rhythm of daily life in one of Asia's most complex cities. The documentary approach acknowledges the inherent subjectivity within any attempt to capture reality, presenting these images of 2010s Hong Kong as both factual record and interpretive vision of a city in constant motion.
