ination guides, and the latest travel industry updates.">
Wednesday, March 19, 2025
HomeSafarisLawrence Hylton photographs Hong Kong’s creatures of the night

Lawrence Hylton photographs Hong Kong’s creatures of the night

Editor’s Note: Call to Earth is a CNN editorial series committed to reporting on the environmental challenges facing our planet, together with the solutions. Rolex’s Perpetual Planet initiative has partnered with CNN to drive awareness and education around key sustainability issues and to inspire positive action.
CNN —
A green pit viper coiled around a drainpipe, three blue-banded bees sleeping on a grass blade, and a gecko climbing a tree against the backdrop of a bustling city. They’re all part of Hong Kong-British wildlife photographer Lawrence Hylton’s extensive portfolio.
Despite being one of the most densely populated places in the world, Hong Kong is a diverse home to over 1,000 animal species, and boasts one third of all bird species in China. Many of these creatures only emerge at night, but that doesn’t stop 30-year-old Hylton from seeking them out.
Embarking on nocturnal safaris multiple times a week, Hylton says his mission is to promote conservation through his artistic approach to nature photography.
“I’m hoping people view [my photographs] as an opportunity to understand that nature isn’t as scary as we might deem them to be,” he said. “The key is to show that animals have a right to live here. Just because we fear them doesn’t mean that they don’t deserve to live.”
Hong-Kong based wildlife photographer Lawrence Hylton captures images of the city’s animal life, often at night. He hopes that photographing snakes, like this Chinese cobra, will change their reputation as being dangerous. “Fear makes people do silly things,” he says. Lawrence Hylton Hong Kong is home to more than 1,000 animal species, including this giant shield mantis. Lawrence Hylton Despite having diverse wildlife, including nocturnal animals like this Reeves’s Tokay gecko, biodiversity loss is still an issue for Hong Kong. Lawrence Hylton Snakes are Hylton’s favorite animal to photograph, but getting close enough can be a challenge. Lawrence Hylton Pit vipers naturally coil when hunting, which makes photographing them easier, says Hylton. Lawrence Hylton Hylton started photographing wildlife at the age of 17. Now aged 30, he goes on night excursions to capture images like these bees on a grass blade. Lawrence Hylton Hylton says it’s important to respect wildlife when photographing. “Capture what we need to capture and leave it be,” he says. Lawrence Hylton Hong Kong has over 245 species of butterflies including the fish-line silkworm, pictured here. Lawrence Hylton Ophiocordyceps australis is a fungus that can infect insects. Lawrence Hylton Here, Hylton gets a close-up view of a local stag beetle. Lawrence Hylton The photographer uncovering Hong Kong’s nocturnal wildlife Prev Next
Reptiles and amphibians are among Hylton’s favorite animals to look for – particularly snakes, because of how misunderstood they are. Despite being important predators and ecological indicators, he says many snakes face persecution.
For Hylton, finding wildlife is the easiest part, but photographing them takes a lot of patience. “You’re working with a subject that doesn’t want to be disturbed, so it’s important to try and respect wildlife where we can,” he says. “The best thing we can do if we’re documenting is to capture what we need to capture and leave it be.”
Hylton started wildlife photography when he got his first camera at the age of 17, capturing “the odd bird dancing on the branch here and the cute ladybird trampling around on a leaf there,” but it wasn’t until he moved from the UK to Hong Kong and photographed a peregrine falcon swooping past that it became a passion.
In terms of nocturnal wildlife, apart from “blood-thirsty insects” and some feral dogs, Hong Kong is relatively safe to explore in the dark. With no large predators willing to harm humans, Hylton says all someone needs to get started as a night-time wildlife spotter is a torch, some common sense and to be mindful of the subjects they encounter.
Bosco Chan, director of conservation at WWF Hong Kong, says one reason why wildlife can survive and thrive in Hong Kong is that around 40% of its land is designated as “country parks,” one of the highest ratios of protected area in the world. Coupled with the city’s hilly terrain, animals can avoid human disturbances and hunting pressure.
Pit vipers naturally coil when hunting, which makes photographing them easier, says Hylton. Lawrence Hylton
But despite being home to hundreds of species, biodiversity loss is also a problem in Hong Kong. “A century or two ago, we had tigers, a leopard, and a civet called the large Indian civet, which was last found in the 1940s,” says Chan. “In recent years, we have lost a lowland frog species called the floating frog. It thrives in paddy fields but as we abandon rice farming, the frog is gone in Hong Kong.”
While organizations like the WWF are helping to conserve endangered populations such as the Eurasian otter, which according to Chan is “one of the last remaining kinds of urban otters in China,” Hylton thinks more can be done for Hong Kong’s natural habitats through education.
“We have lots of [hikers] who visit this area and fear snakes and fear the unknown. [It] makes people do silly things,” Hylton says. “Hopefully someday in the future, everyone can just enjoy nature as they came out to do.”

RELATED ARTICLES

1 COMMENT

  1. equilibrado dinámico
    Equipos de equilibrado: importante para el operación fluido y óptimo de las dispositivos.

    En el campo de la tecnología actual, donde la eficiencia y la estabilidad del aparato son de gran relevancia, los equipos de equilibrado desempeñan un función esencial. Estos aparatos adaptados están diseñados para equilibrar y estabilizar partes móviles, ya sea en equipamiento de fábrica, transportes de desplazamiento o incluso en electrodomésticos hogareños.

    Para los expertos en soporte de equipos y los especialistas, utilizar con aparatos de balanceo es crucial para asegurar el operación uniforme y seguro de cualquier aparato rotativo. Gracias a estas alternativas innovadoras avanzadas, es posible limitar considerablemente las sacudidas, el sonido y la presión sobre los sujeciones, aumentando la vida útil de partes costosos.

    Igualmente trascendental es el papel que cumplen los equipos de calibración en la soporte al cliente. El asistencia técnico y el conservación permanente utilizando estos aparatos permiten dar asistencias de alta estándar, aumentando la agrado de los clientes.

    Para los responsables de emprendimientos, la contribución en estaciones de calibración y dispositivos puede ser clave para incrementar la efectividad y desempeño de sus aparatos. Esto es particularmente importante para los empresarios que administran pequeñas y pequeñas negocios, donde cada elemento importa.

    También, los equipos de ajuste tienen una gran implementación en el sector de la fiabilidad y el gestión de nivel. Habilitan localizar probables fallos, previniendo arreglos costosas y perjuicios a los dispositivos. Más aún, los información generados de estos sistemas pueden aplicarse para optimizar procesos y mejorar la exposición en buscadores de búsqueda.

    Las zonas de aplicación de los equipos de ajuste comprenden variadas industrias, desde la manufactura de transporte personal hasta el control ecológico. No interesa si se habla de enormes fabricaciones manufactureras o limitados establecimientos hogareños, los dispositivos de calibración son indispensables para proteger un rendimiento eficiente y sin presencia de fallos.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

- Advertisment -

Most Popular

Recent Comments

ŞENAY on In
ERDAL on
Start earning money, learn useful skills: http://google.com NNNkjyfvbLLL 6882531 on FanDuel Ohio Promo Code: Sign up now to be set for launch
Translate »
×