Hong Kong Smog

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This photo was taken shortly after dawn from the international terminal at Kai Tak Airport, Hong Kong, at the end of October, 2007. I didn't even try to beat the reflections in the plate glass, but just recorded exactly what met the eye: the reflections of the terminal lighting overlie a scene of industry, the fascinating array of cargo-handling systems serving the 747, against the backdrop of dense smog through which the hills are ghostly suggestions of themselves. Sharpened, and colour- and contrast-balanced. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Islands in the Haze

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You never truly appreciate what air pollution means until you see some place that has it bad. London may be one of the biggest cities in the world but the air quality is not so different, at least visibly, to cities in Australia. Don't be fooled by the Qantas logo on the aircraft, this picture was taken in China, through the window of a Boeing 747 taxying for takeoff after a refurbishment stopover at Kai Tak Airport, Hong Kong. The pollution was like a false dusk the aircraft dived into on approach, just before dawn, and when the sun came up it lit a haze so dense the other side of the bay was barely visible, and high-rise apartment blocks are half-seen strips of light and dark through a grey nothingness. The struggle here was to not only keep the camera straight and level, or to keep dirt on the window out of the shot, but to find enough light for photos to have acceptable contrast. The 'thick' air hazes everything, buildings and aircraft less than half a mile away already show the visual effects of the pollution. This one, with the properly-lit and contrasty foreground, with the island and buildings almost lost in the haze though they're only a couple of miles away, makes a dramatic statement of this issue. October, 2007; Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.