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James Leung
@jameshoidating
Outdoor enthusiast based in the UK
Since I was young, my dad and grandad would always take photos on holiday of nearly anything and everything. As we lived only a 15-minute drive from the Peak District national park, my family loved a good walk in the countryside or going on discovery anywhere else. Be it hiking in the nearby Peak District or exploring the boat markets in Thailand. So that sense of adventure combined with photography has always been with me since a young age.
If I were lucky enough, my dad would let me borrow his camera. Back in the days we used to go to Costco and get the photos printed. I loved going through the photos and seeing all the happy memories.
"We still have boxes and boxes full of holiday photos up in the attic at my parent’s place."
Once I was a little bit older, equipped with a smartphone, I began taking photos for myself. During my university days, I started posting on Instagram but mainly random university moments. Without my mum gifting a DSLR to me for my birthday I don’t think I would have started to take photography more seriously – there’s something about holding a DSLR, putting your eye through the viewfinder and capturing the beauty and essence of a location.
It was almost simultaneous with the time I had bought my first car. Therefore, from then on, equipped with my DSLR and car, I started going on more adventures with my friends, exploring places I had never visited before. This was another game changer! I’m located in Manchester so the Peak District, Lake District and Snowdonia area are all relatively close. But on some weeks I would be spontaneous, and drive all the way up to Scotland with a couple of friends or all the way down to Cornwall after work on a Friday. Uploading the landscape shots I had taken on social media, more and more people asked me where I was visiting. I realized I had the opportunity to show people the beautiful places around the world to explore. Slowly, traveling became like a drug to me. Travel provides me with escapism, getting out of the known and seeing a new place for the first time. Before doing so, I always make sure to literally plan everything ahead. From where we are staying, which route we’re taking up the mountain to places to eat.
"I'd say my main purpose of traveling is to spend time with my friends and family whilst creating connections with newly met people in inspiring environments."
That said, the most outstanding travel experience has to be my trip to Borneo back in 2018. I had been pre planning with my friends from Hong Kong and Malaysia for almost a year. My good friend from Brunei from uni was getting married and had asked me to be his best man. Of course, I said yes. Being my first time, I felt very honoured. Doing a speech in front of a guest list of almost 200 people got me kinda nervous so I was also relieved to get it over and done with.
Once the wedding was over, the group and I flew over to Kinabalu to conquer the highest mountain in SouthEast Asia. Mount Kinablu is so diverse in its ecosystem with its craggy tectonic peaks looming over the jungle it feels like something from the Lord of the Rings. We stayed the night at the mountain hut and at 2am woke up to start the ascent to catch the sunrise. It definitely ranks as the hardest climb I’ve ever done.
"When I got to the top, I was absolutely knackered but sitting there with my friends watching the sun rise above the horizon has to be one of the most beautiful moments in my life."
"Travelling, in addition to the entertaining aspect of it, has definitely been a source of development and increased my confidence over the years significantly."
I can be quite shy when it comes to meeting new people, however, during my travels I feel a lot more relaxed and outgoing. I’ve made some wonderful friendships through travelling, whether through staying in hostels, popping down to the bar or just talking to the person next to me taking a photo. So while traveling made me more outgoing, photography enabled me to quietly say a lot.
Currently I am working on getting consistent with my editing and communicating through my photography while having a clear style. With editing photos, I think I have always struggled to get a consistent look in my photos. I tend to use Photoshop, Lightroom, or even Snapseed to edit photos. I have recently found that using an Instagram feed previewer has helped me get a consistent feed.
"I am trying to follow the seasonal colors, such as whites for winter and red/brown colors for autumn. By doing this, I can transition into different colors for the different seasons."
"In my search and learning, I’ve been looking at some of the photographers that I look up to for inspiration."
The photos I find the most appealing and vivid are the images that have a simple focal point be it a sunset, a reflection or a road that leads the viewer’s eyes. I think we can achieve this by using leading lines that can transport the viewer deep into the scene. Previously I would take landscape shots of the whole location, without thinking of a unique perspective. But as a photographer we need to find a unique frame of the location since finding a different angle from everyone else is something that makes you stand out. When I get to a location now, I walk around first and explore, because I never know what perspective I find around the corner.
"Doing research online on the location beforehand has also been a strategy that yields better results!"
My go to place in the UK would be the lake district. As the name suggests, it’s famous for its lakes but the surrounding mountains are as stunning, or even better. Only a two-hour drive away I can get in a good long hike, pop to the pub for food and then be back home all in one day. My favourite ridge walk, Hellvelyn, is in the Lake District and was voted Best Walk in the UK, I think in 2018. Somewhere I also like to go that’s usually quiet and peaceful is the Langdale valley. I love going for a walk with a couple of friends and bringing some sandwiches to have when taking a rest next to a waterfall enjoying the view.
Another good spot is connected to one of my greatest memories; on a hot summer’s day of 2018, having just watched England get into the semi-final of the world cup, me and my friend decided to drive to Wast water to catch the sunset. When we arrived, it was so peaceful, surrounded by Wasdale valley, and we decided to swim in the deepest lake in England. It was quite the experience! I only managed to shoot a couple of aerial shots – however, sometimes you have to step back from the camera and experience the moment.
"There’re quite a few more photos that bring up good memories but the last one to highlight would have to be my trip to Scotland."
One of my fondest memories as a photographer was my last proper holiday before the first Covid lockdown. It was my first time properly in the Scottish Highlands. Being in January, the Monroe was topped with white snow-capped peaks. As we didn’t have much annual leave left, a couple of friends and I decided to join the Macpacker tour. Usually, I’m not so keen on those quick stop coach tours. However, this was quite the experience.
The first stop was Cairngorm national park; we stopped at the highest beach in the UK, Loch Morlich. The place was so tranquil, and we had the whole place to ourselves. We carried the journey to one of my favorite places in the world, the Isle of Skye. When we first arrived at this magical place, the song “Old Pine” by Ben Howard was playing in the background; it’ll be forever in my memory.
"It is a photographer’s dream place, the rolling mountains with the ocean close by. It felt like I was stepping into the world of Lord of the Rings."
These moments stir up the fire and make me want to experience more. Somewhere I’ve planned for is Japan, and this in turn will help improve my portfolio. I think I will continually develop my photography and videography skills from trial and error and learning from the professionals. In the future I hope to create a photography studio where I can share my work and other photographers can come collaborate with each other and learn from one another.
However, I climb the ladder of growth step by step. You might have noticed while reading that I do have a full-time job aside from photography. Civil engineering is another passion of mine – I love being involved with infrastructure projects that shape our environment and can benefit society. As I am focused on this from 9 to 5 Monday to Friday, on weekends I try to get out exploring as much as possible. This can be sometimes close to home and the odd occasion I would make a weekend getaway, for example to Spain. When I log out on that Friday, it’s me signing out from work and signing in for the adventure!
For when I’m older I can look back at these stills. When I first started taking photos with my DSLR, someone I was inspired to become like was Jimmy Chin, a national geographic photographer who’s leading expeditions all around the globe, capturing and recording the amazing feats of all types of explorers. The photos and documentaries he has produced have been amazing. A big goal of mine is to become a national geographic photo contributor and travel to these incredible places experiencing the culture (and the food, haha)
"Indeed, a big goal. But isn’t that what life’s all about? Chasing aspirations and having fun meanwhile?"
One of the most influential films I watched when I was younger was “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.” When I watched it, I had a feeling of warmth and discovery. The film tells a story of a guy doing the same thing day in day out, facing realistic modern-day issues, but he takes a leap of faith one day, making the difference in his life. It taught me it is ok to take that metaphoric leap of faith and take a chance – whatever the result!
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