Why I Cover Macao

---

This is part of my job work closely with Macao tourism board and I have a special designation, I am called a Social Media Influencer. We are supposed to share our experience in Macao and spread the word in our respective countries to spur the tourism industry in Macao.

Here are some brief facts about Macao. This place is part of Hong Kong. To those who are used to watching Hong Kong movies would know that Macao is a gambling paradise. But there is more than what meets the eyes. There is the unexplored part of Macao which is undeniably Hong Kong.

The people in Macau are friend and accommodative. No picture sums up Macao better than this one below.

---

My Equipment

---

If you have been following my posts, you will realise that I always advocate using things which are cheap and readily availabe. To maintain a hobby particularly photography does not have to be expensive. The idea of using the best lenses and best camera is part of marketing ploy to increase sales but not necessarily to increase the quality of the photos. To prove my point I am going to rely on the lenses of my Asus Zenphone 3 and my trusty Canon EOS 70D.

---

Introducing Macao

---

The buildings in Hong Kong are quite close and apartments are small compared to other countries. Hong Kong has one of the highest costs of living in the world. Macao is well known for its Portuguese egg tarts which is influenced by the fact that it was colonised by the Portuguese as early as in the 1500.

Here, the buildings are tall. This is so that it can accommodate more units and also more residents. The average temperature in Macao is approximately in the range of 21 degrees Celcius to 25 celcius. A very nice weather to be walking about and shooting photos.

Although China has earned a reputation as a dog eating community, but this is only a small fraction of the community. Here, there are many local residents that love their dogs more than anything else. This man is Lee, he is a professional dog-walker. He takes wages for walking dogs for busy pet owners. This is common especially when dogs are kept in apartment and has not much space to roam around. It is difficult to find any pet shop that sells cats as pets. This is a dog loving community.

In my street photography you will see one of my favourite place to visit would be the local market because that is where you get good variety of colours and assorted subjects. There are many fruits which is locally produced such as lychee, oranges, pomegranate, mandarin oranges and apples. The price is relatively cheap even by Malaysian standard.

Cleanliness is one of the more important aspect of the chinese community. It represents good proper upbringing and discipline. Here, the public space is usually kept clean and you can see many cleaners in flourescent yellow attire doing their daily duty. They must be one of the best paid workers in the world because there is hardly any litter bugs in Macao. The people here are quite decent and cultured.

In a society that is predominantly Taoist practitioners, it is common to see temples and places of worship that has Taoist influence. This is a spiral joss stick that is lighted when the devotees pray to the God or Goddess.

Taking pictures of people going thru their daily routine is one of my favourite street photography subject. This old lady is collecting cardboards to be recycled. There are many individuals doing that and you can usually see them either very early in the morning or very late at night. They usually have a pushcart to carry the carton boxes that they have collected.

Another lady in the picture below is a seamstress. She is the third generation that is doing this trade. You can see the concentration she has.

This is a common setup for an eatery in Macao. The Chinese tend to adopt an open kitchen concept whereby the food is prepared and served in an open kitchen whereby the guests and patrons can see how their food is prepared. This is to eliminate the concern on cleanliness and unethical preparation of food and beverages. Remember how we are always told never to scold the waiter or waitresses or they will spit into your food. It is not possible in this type of setup.

Macao has one of the higher life expectancy in the world. Here the aging community is increasing. Families in Macao generally adopts the teaching of Confucionism. The basic notion is respect to the elders especially your parents. So, the elderly community is well taken care off and respected. Couples on the other hand, in order to cope with the high costs of living resort to having only a few children.

Macao is no less impressive than Las Vegas. It has its own mini Eiffel Tower that is brighly lighted at night. The buildings surrounding it is reminiscence of the buildings in Vegas. I took this picture after Macao was hit by Typhoon Hato. This was the worst to hit Macao in 53 years. But the entire city still looks dazzling.

Because Macao is a place that is rich in history, it attracts many foreign visitors and you can see eateries catering to Italian cuisine readily available here. Even the sign has another language apart from the Mandarin language.

It has been my pleasure introducing Macao to you. It has also been a great pleasure given to me by the China government to explore the rich history and culture of this place. None of the picture presented here is a result of photo manipulation. It is all an adjustment of lighting and aperture and a little patience.

---

I am your friendly street photographer @stevengoh. You can follow me if you like my work and I really hope you like my work. I like to sit down on the street for a photo taking session.