My Top Shot

Each month, Tatler invites a photographer to introduce their favourite image—this month, Terry Cheng

From breadmaking to bicycling: during lockdown, people all around the world discovered new hobbies, skills and pastimes. In Hong Kong, as restrictions ruled out non-essential travel, many turned to sleeping under the stars to escape from their lives in the city for a night or two—some at one of the 41 designated campsites, others a little further off-grid.

Photographer Terry Cheng is known for his arresting aerial cityscapes but, during a camping trip to a remote coastal location at Christmastime last year, he sent his drone into the air to capture an image with an entirely different feel.

Bathed in golden light at sunset, jewel-coloured tents stud a rocky promontory and contrast with the crashing waves, precarious cliff edges and encircling greenery, a metaphor for community and creativity amid the isolation and chaos of the pandemic.

Cheng, who was born in Hong Kong but grew up in Australia before moving back to his birthplace, sees photography as a conduit for storytelling; in this case, an opportunity to celebrate both the breath-taking, untameable beauty of the natural world, as well as Hongkongers’ resilience through challenges and openness to new experiences.

He says, “This photo shows how Hong

Kong people cope in their own way with the unpredictable lockdowns, and it teaches us that even though Hong Kong is such a small place, there are still plenty of things to discover.”