UK photographer Peter Stewart's collection Stacked is a series of photos of Hong Kong's fabulous high-rises, shot from ground level, looking straight up into the sky.
Stewart's secret is to aim his camera straight up at the precise halfway point between multiple towers. He blends multiple exposures taken at different shutter speeds to get the detail, scale and mood of his subjects.
He notes that while the photos can seem sterile and uninhabited, Hong Kong's ground levels are thriving, human places where people do Tai Chi, play cards and socialize.
The British photographer started the project while visiting Hong Kong in 2013. Wandering the city he now calls home, he happened upon the Yick Cheong Building in Quarry Bay. The high-rise looks like thousands of cubes piled one atop the other like colorful wood blocks. Stewart couldn’t help but snap a pic. “In the last few years, this has become one of the top photo spots for local Instagrammers to frequent,” he says. “Almost every time I’m passing by, I’ll find a group of likeminded people taking photos here, equally wowed by this structure.”
The apartment tower reminded him of the legendary Kowloon Walled City. The squatter’s settlement contained 33,000 people within a sliver of land covering just 6.4 acres before it was demolished in 1992. Stewart decided to photograph equally awe-inspiring high-rises.
Stacked – Urban Architecture of Hong Kong [Peter Stewart]
Hong Kong’s High Rises Are Best Seen From the Ground [Laura Mallonee/Wired]
