| My TrailWalker 99 Photo Story
Because I am lazy. I started my first TrailWalker hike in 1991. Since then, this has become an annual event for me for the past eight years. When it came to TrailWalker 99, experience told me that I should arrive early for registration. I though arriving at 6:00 am should be early enough, but only to find out that it was in fact very late. I didn't even get a place on the waiting list.
Since TrailWalker has become my annual exercise event, I have decided to participate it in another way: take photos. My experience of the MacLehose Trial, my understanding of the event, my ability to hike, and interest in taking photos make me a good fit for this job. I know when and where to take good photos, how to get there, and am capable of getting there.
Since I will be hiking quite a bit, I have to carefully plan what I want to bring along. There are several considerations to come up with the right equipment.
I had a business meeting on Friday morning that cannot be rescheduled. I didn't know whether I am lucky or not, because I heard that it rains heavily in the morning. I arrived Pat Tam Chung at 2:30 pm, just in time for the 3:00 pm start. My initial plan was to take a ride to the dam before hiking up Sia Wan San for some good photo locations. Later I cancelled this plan because of the rain as my camera cannot expose to rain for prolonged period. Instead, I headed to CP3.
I took some photos at CP3, and then hiked up the paved trail that led to Ma On Shan. The rain stopped, but was still very cloudy. I took no more than two rolls before it became too dark for taking pictures. When I got back to CP3, I was glad that I had brough my digital camera: it has a FLASH. CP3 was well lit. It was also the first day and people were not too tired yet, so using a flash was still not a nunisance. My only shots at night were taken there.
Saturday was a long day. I arrived Shing Mun Reservior at 6:30 am for Needle Hill photo shooting. I picked this section because the way up is steep, and there are not that many trees along the path that could block the view. These give a lot of excellent photo spots along the trail.
The hike was much easier than I had expected. For about every 5 minutes of hiking, I spend about 15 minutes taking pictures. I spend 4 hours to reach the peak, which normally took no more than one. However, many hikers still find it amazing to have a photographer with a long lense and a tripod waiting at the top of this steep trail.
Noodle treat at Lead Mine Pass (Top)
On my way to Glass Hill, I was lucky to met a A&F Dept's truck which gave me a ride to Lead Mine Pass. There was not much to miss at Glass Hill. When I arrived Lead Mine Pass at around noon the most impressive thing I found was the Japanese Noodles there. What a treat!
After two bowls of noodles, I had to made the decision between Tai Mo Shan and Perowne Barracks. I picked Tai Mo Shan because I was still in good shape, and there are lots of good photo spots there. After all, I could still go to Perowne Barricks on Sunday morning.
The way up Tai Mo Shan started well. There are lots of good sports, and the weather was improving. With many long photo stops, the hike also turned out to be an easy one, until......
It never took me so long for section 7 & 8, and I never though of the need to bring food. While walking along the Tai Mo Shan ridge, I started to wonder where did those two bowls of noodles were hiding in my stomach. Upon arriving the final paved section, I decided to move non-stop to the kiosk at the end of the section. Well, I still made a short stop at the peak to capture the moment when people conquered the last peak. At 6:00 pm, I arrived at the kiosk.
Sunday is for Perowne Barracks, and I arrived there at about noon. I spend about two hours along the catch water way. That is not a good place for photos, it is just convenient. The important part is the finish line. That is where you can see people's joy exceeded the pain on their legs, and the wild moment of celebrating their success.
This is the 18th TrailWalker. I participated in half of those, 8 times as walker and this year as photographer. I don't know whether I will be a hiker or photographer next year, but I am sure I will still be part of it. My wish is that TrailWalker will eventually be held around the world, being an international event, with its origin from Hong Kong.
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I thus come up with the following list: Nikon F90X body, 80-200mm F2.8 AF lens, 28-70mm F3.5-4.5 AF lens, Kenko 2X teleconverter, Gitzo 1228 tripod, lots of films, and no flash. Most of my pictures were taken with the 80-200mm lens (see picture) as it helps keeping a good distance from the hikers. I also found out that the F90X with the 80-200mm lens connected balanced very well with the Gitzo tripod. It is very comfotable to carry that while hiking.
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