The tour begins with photographs from Hong Kong’s Wild Places, Edward’s highly regarded and best-selling book on the local landscape and ecology.  The acclaim for Wild Places led to Edward exploring, recording and photographing much more of Hong Kong.  Many of these nature conservation photos and books are shown and discussed in the tour.
 
Edward’s Hong Kong photos are exhibited in the context of his previous work in Australia, showing how his photo books there became the springboard for his later work in Hong Kong.  Photo storytelling, initially envisaged through maps, is a theme of the tour.  He also discusses the challenges and equipment of landscape photography, and highlights the need for a “seeing eye”, especially today with “easy” digital shooting.

Edward Stokes is a well-known Hong Kong photographer, writer, publisher and curator.  Originally from Australia, he spent his childhood in Hong Kong, and is a graduate of the Royal Australian Naval College and of Magdalen College, University of Oxford.  He was a photographer in Australia and moved to Hong Kong again to work on projects on the natural landscape. 
 
Edward established the Hong Kong Conservation Photography Foundation to raise environmental and conservation awareness in Hong Kong.  He was subsequently the Founder Director of The Photographic Heritage Foundation, a not-for-profit publisher that focuses on heritage and nature publications. 
 
As well as Hong Kong's Wild Places, Edward’s other books each explore a different part of the territory, including Hong Kong As It Was.  He has also several books of historic photographs, and also the photographer/author of books on the natural landscape and the history of Australia.  He has lectured worldwide, including to the RGS in London and Hong Kong, and has also appeared regularly in many other media.
 
Edward Stokes’s photographs form part of a three-photographer exhibition at The University of Hong Kong Libraries, which displays memorable photos of Hong Kong’s natural landscapes, Cantonese opera and local street scenes.  The exhibition’s main section, with nature photos by Edward Stokes, is the focus of this tour.

The opinions expressed in this talk are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect those of the Royal Geographical Society - Hong Kong.