Photographer Stefan Irvine spent four years exploring the New Territories and outlying islands around Hong Kong visiting villages that are being reclaimed by nature.
Irvine’s photos have now been collated into a new book called Abandoned Villages of Hong Kong and he tells PetaPixel that he visited more than 30 villages.
“Most of the shooting was carried out in the milder winter months, as it’s just too hot and humid during the summers for me to even consider trekking into the woods,” says Irvine.
The British-born photographer who has been based in Hong Kong since 2002 says that he worried about venomous snakes while hiking through the undergrowth but it was man’s best friend that was the biggest threat.
“There are some particularly nasty vipers in parts of Hong Kong. However, I never encountered any snakes, luckily,” he explains.
“Mosquitos were a regular menace, but guard dogs were the biggest danger. Some semi-abandoned villages still have a few occupants, with fierce dogs providing security. That’s why I started carrying dog biscuits in my camera bag!”
While on his adventures, Irvine tried to travel light only bringing with him a full-frame Nikon D750 and one lens.
“I also sometimes used a Fujifilm X100F, and occasionally a small DJI drone,” he adds.
Some of the locations that he visited — such as the remote 400-year-old Hakka village — were only accessible by boat or a long hike.
“The longest hike took about 6 hours round trip, so not too extreme. For some of the larger sites, I would occasionally have to sneak under a fence, or find an unguarded entrance to get access,” he says.
“Inside, it can be slightly hazardous, especially with rotting floors and crumbling ceilings. But as I was mostly attracted by the facades and exteriors, I could get a lot of the shots I need without going inside.”
He tells CNN that while most of the locations he photographed were abandoned not all were.
“I would hike for about an hour into the wilderness to find a beautiful old village and I assumed there would be nobody there — and then around the corner would be someone with a wheelbarrow on their way to plant vegetables or something. So that was a bit of a shock,” he says.
Abandoned Villages of Hong Kong published by Blue Lotus Editions is available now. More of Irvine’s work can be found on his website, Instagram, and Facebook.
Image credits: Photographs by Stefan Irvince