Blog #103 Go Take a Hike

April 12, 2018 • Leave a Comment

There is a practice in Japan known as forest bathing. Essentially, the Japanese have discovered the therapeutic affects of walking in the forest on their bodies and overall health. Being in nature reduces blood pressure, heart rate, improves mood, provides you with fresh air, and any number of additional benefits that we have yet to measure. Given that around 80% of the worlds population live in urban environments where overcrowding, noise, pollution, and stress are rampant, many of us should be taking one from the Japanese playbook of life. They also live longer than most and have the most number of centenarians than any other country.

Nikon D610 Nikon D610

In Hong Kong, it’s an extremely dense urban environment will small living quarters and all the stresses of modern life. However, Hongkongers also enjoy about 15 public beaches, and dozens of world class hiking trails.

Photographers, even the uber professionals who strictly make their living behind a camera, thoroughly enjoy the activity of making pictures even when off duty. Many of us consider our time looking through the viewfinder (or at the 3”x3” LCD screen if you prefer) as a type of visual meditation. Meditation of any type can be therapeutic. For those who are not making pictures, commercially, making pictures is a refreshing escape from the normal routine and stresses of their primary occupation.

Why not combine the therapeutic aspects of hiking in the great outdoors and making pictures at the same time? It’s sort of like listening to music and riding a bicycle. Both are fun in their own right, but by combining them we enhance the benefits of each. In the spring or fall time, when the weather is agreeable, grab your default camera perhaps a roll or two of your favourite film and head outside. If family or friends join, the more the merrier.

Back in March, this was exactly what I did and had a blast doing it. The images here were shot on Po Toi Island, my favourite hiking spot in Hong Kong. Accessible only by ferry, the rocks, sky, and ocean views are absolutely stunning. The time to get outside is here with spring and the milder weather. So, as the old saying goes,

Go Take a Hike! [and don’t forget your camera or three].

The light is always right.

jhg

*Images: © Jeremy H. Greenberg March 2018

Where: Po Toi Island, Hong Kong

Subject: Landscapes, random family members and friends

Gear:

Nikon FE2 + 24mm f/2.8 lens + Red #25 filter with Rollei Infrared 35mm black and white film
Fujifilm GA645 + Rollei CR 200 120 roll Medium format film

Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610