Neon dreams

An evening wander

Hello - I hope that you are having a good week, and if you celebrate Easter, then a Happy (belated) Easter!

Late last year, I was fortunate to attend an exhibition that explored the art of neon through stories about its history, the craftsmanship, and how neon signs became synonymous with Hong Kong’s visual culture.

Then in January,

Patrik L

held a photo challenge where the theme was ‘Vibrant’. It felt like the two events were somehow cosmically aligned, and so I entered an image that I took at the exhibition (you can find this image at the end of this post). However, ever since this challenge, I have not been able to stop thinking about neon, or more specifically about going out and taking some photos of neon signs.

Therefore, last weekend I took an early evening trip to explore some of the neon signs in the bustling neighbourhood of Mong Kok in Kowloon. I hope that you like them.

I am still finding my feet when it comes to taking photos of neon, or just with any photography in low light, so a few of the shots have not come out as crisp as I would have liked (like the one above), but like with most creative endeavours, I am enjoying the process and getting back into photography.

🤳 I am Instagram ready - I have rejoined IG after a two year or so hiatus! The page is purely for photography, and it is very much a work in progress (I feel like I should add an under construction image to it). But if you would like to see some more images from this neon series and follow future work, you can find me here: @photosbybesty.

Note - I do minimal post-production on my photography as I feel like I want my work to reflect what I experienced at the time. Plus, I would have no idea where to start with software such as Photoshop!

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this post and about the photography. I am a huge fan of neon, if you hadn’t this guessed already, and hope to photograph some more soon.

Finally, fancy taking a look at some of my other photography here on Substack? I shared this post last month:

A love letter to Vietnam

Best,

Sarah