Hi, nice that you found me! I'm working and living in Hong Kong for some time. In my profession as an EV engineer I'm getting around quite a bit and every now and then I find some time to take out my camera.

Since 50 years now a camera is with me and since we're in the smart phone era, practically always. Photography seems to be one of my lasting passions while there were ups and downs. I would like to display some of my works here, step by step I hope to extend my site also by some older works of good old film days.

Like most photo enthusiasts I’m passionate about my photo gear. Although, if I learned something over the last 50 years, good gear doesn't lead to good photos. But it helps to keep me motivated. A good photo doesn't ask for expensive gear, the simpler the better! In fact some of the images on this site have been taken by using my smart phone camera. The opening image for example.

I'm neither a pro nor I make a living out of photography. In fact, beside my job I have really limited time. My personal "art" is to get most out of a single day of shooting. This is why I'm very specific on some topics, so don't expect any sort of comprehensive "report" on a city or country. I try to capture things that touch my eyes and my senses in those few moments I’m with my camera. A certain emphasis clearly is on Hong Kong and Bangkok at the moment, as in both cities I have a “home base” now. I like both cities very much.

I very much admire the works of Fan Ho, a famous Hong Kong photographer; I'm really touched by the works (and the story) of Vivian Maier, her unbelievable ability to capture the right moment; her sense for all the beauty and the humor of life. I strongly recommend the movie about her life. It's also a story about all the magic of photography!

Enjoy! Volker

NEW September 2020

My temporary home town. For me still the most fascinating city in Asia. Despite the rapid change most cities in Asia saw over the last 30 years Hong Kong still keeps it's very own style. Some areas in Hong Kong haven't changed at all since I have been here first in 1986. Some even seem to be "untouched" for 50 years or more.

Some buildings went through some modernization, while also super modern structures have been added. Evolution is ongoing. But unless Singapore or Bangkok, Hong Kong really kept it's face. Not due to specific protection programs, simply because there is no overriding plan for Hong Kong, things grow and change quite organic. Infrastructures have been added to facilitate the still ongoing growth.

The people of Hong Kong have the amazing ability to live naturally in this diverse and vivid environment. Visit one of the various wet markets and you understand! Visit the latest international supermarket in contrast to the many remaining small local dealers and Chinese delights outlets.

Still there is something left from British times but as Hong Kong always kept it's Chinese roots the pulse of the city has changed little since the hand over 20 years ago. But of course, things are evolving, the old airport area, Kai Tak, will mark a complete new district once finished.

What ever may come, Hong Kong without Star Ferry and Hong Kong Tram (Ding Ding) one could hardly imagine, they are true Hong Kong landmarks!

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Over the last years Tokyo became a kind of second "home" to me. I spent quite some time between Tokyo and Osaka. Whenever possible I tried to use the weekends for short trips in this fascinating country. There will be never enough time to explore Japan and it's surprisingly huge diversity. From the rough north to tropical Okinawa, there is so much to see and to taste.

If there is one connecting element between all Japanese regions it clearly is the peoples love and passion for food. As striving for perfection seems to be the ultimate motivation for everyone in Japan, it's highest fulfillment materializes in its food varieties. Even a simple noodle soup (Ramen, Udon, Soba) can be celebrated to the largest extend, and well, it should be!

Tokyo as a city one can hardly call "beautiful". But there is amazing beauty even in this city.

I like the way the Japanese try to get things into balance, into a certain harmony.

Tokyo’s true beauty lies beneath. It can be the tiny garden between massive buildings, one of the many public parks, the tea houses, the temples or simply an evening in one of the countless small and cozy Izakaya places with a good beer and some Japanese food enthusiasts. Despite their polite shyness Japanese are very social people. You hardly remain alone if you are in a pub or standing bar after days end; you'll have a great time for sure.

Beyond the obvious and fascinating in Japan there’s a layer that intrigued me and that is hard to explain. You have to get into it or you'll never fully attain to this country.

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Certainly Thailand is the country I traveled most in my life, for more than 30 years now. From the very northern mountain regions down to the very south near the Malaysian boarder. Thailand has so many layers which to explore takes lot of time and patience and certain insights are not easily accessible. Of course there are the obvious things which easily intrigue so many of us, it's the layer with all it's temples, street markets, bustling Bangkok areas and tropical beaches down south.

No doubt, Bangkok is a fascinating city, it's friendly people and it's Thai style architecture which saw so many different cultural influences over the decades, from east and west. You will find Chinese, Indian, Islamic and European/ American influences, it’s all there. Even Japan has a solid presence in Bangkok.

Thailand always kept some "Thai ingredients" in everything, from architecture to food. "Thai style" has a deeper meaning, it's almost a philosophy. It's the art of adapting things without loosing identity. Thailand cultivated it to the largest extend. With a good sense of humor, "sanook" in minds and in the friendly smiles.

A layer to be explored is the countries still vast nature which is relatively good protected by countless large national parks. From diverse marine areas to rain forests in south and central Thailand. I think we all hope that the the legacy of King Bumiphol will remain, he advocated very much for protecting the remaining nature sanctuaries of Thailand.

You'll enter a very rewarding Thailand if you start to explore the rural country side, beyond the well beaten tracks. You’ll find them in the very west, along the Myanmar border and in the north east along the Mekong river which is mainly influenced by the Khmer culture. But also "in between" of course, in many of the smaller cities with less obvious sightseeing spots but with a very genuine Thai lifestyle (and food :). Visit Nakhon Ratchasima or Buriram for example or Ubon Ratchathani and you'll see.

Despite the mass tourism which undeniable conquered Thailand and which created a true "tourism industry", there is still a lot to find and to experience. It may take a little more time though!

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There is a certain need to talk about gear. May be not exactly a need but I'd like to share some experiences I gathered over the years, may be it helps here and there to make choices or to find a direction. If one starts watching one of those youtube channels about photo gear, one might come to the conclusion that everything always depends on the latest gear, the latest lens version, the latest sensor technology, the latest camera generation. It's so easy getting intrigued by the obviously never ending avalanche of new gear, complete new camera systems and hundreds of available lens options.

My may be biggest advice: Forget about that! All of today's available gear of any well known brand offers enough quality to get happy with for a long time to come.

Is good gear necessary at all anymore? Yes, it is. For me it's still a great joy to use a good camera and a variety of good lenses. Lenses matter far more than cameras, that can't be stressed enough. A new lens is always a new viewing angle, that is why I prefer primes, they force me to look very carefully into my composition, way more than zooms. But of course I also use zooms here and there, but less often and more on the long end. I even tend to take only one lens with me on a day out, just to keep things simple and to focus.

The basics still matter and they haven't changed in the last 100 years. The laws of physics still apply, enhanced further (or even partly overcome) by some nice AI algorithms you nowadays mainly find in smart phones. I'm still waiting for a "Samsung" mode in my Fuji, because what these phones are capable of is truly amazing. However, composition is still what matters most and what separates snapshots from photos.

Yes, we still see progress in the sensor development and may be a camera isn't "the" life time investment it used to be back in good old film days, but to change the camera every two years - because your model just got updated - doesn't make you a better photographer.

Some of those youtube “gurus” are amazing. They post hundreds of videos a year about all their gear and I haven’t even seen even one good photo. Some even gave up taking photos completely and just vlog about themselves and about what cameras may do or may not do. If they just would use it :) I have to admit, in the world of Leica there is more talk about photos than about gear. I think that got me finally into the system.

To my taste the focus of the whole community changed way too much into the direction of specs and pixels and if you really have the latest autofocus technology and how many shots you get per second. Really? I think only very view of us really need all this.

Finally, what matters to me most is image quality and there I not want any compromise anymore. Although, sometimes I’m surprised how good the images of my old D70/D80 already have been. Yes, my Fuji X-Pro2 is clearly better, and my very new Lumix S5 is even better, but probably most viewers can’t tell the difference at all. So far still 90% of all images on this website have been shot with my Fuji X-mount system. I stayed true to Fuji for quite a while but full frame finally got me. I will slowly start to add some Lumix full frame images taken with Leica glass to the website. It is a major difference and I’m very close now to my very own perception of perfect image quality.

Now it’s on me, I can’t either blame the lens nor the camera anymore. The two SL lenses I now own can’t be topped from my point of view; I added an 28mm 2.8 Elmarit R-Mount manual focus lens to be complete. Amazing what quality and resolution the R system already offered 20 years ago!

I still very much admire creativity and perfection and sometimes I’m deeply impressed by the work of other photographers, it is amazing what amount of really good work is available to us since the internet. Even Instagram became a showroom for really outstanding work and super high quality when looking into the right accounts. Sometimes it makes me rather speechless so unbelievable good quality can be found there!

What do many creative photographers have in common? They work surprisingly simple and often use only a fraction of what the industry offers. One body, two lenses. I really applaud Leica for what they try in their approach: Simplicity and quality. My “Leica” is still a Lumix with L-Mount, but let’s see, for now I got me three Leica lenses and I wonder why I ever used anything else :) Someone said it very rightly: The Leica, is the last lens you ever buy! Unfortunately, there are quite many of them! And may be he was talking about the M system?