Last month, I took a trip to Hong Kong. It’s a city full of contrasts: small vendor booths nestled between soaring skyscrapers, idyllic villages and fast-paced city life just a ferry ride apart, and—​perhaps my favorite of them all—​cyberpunk neon lights setting the dark night sky ablaze.

Photographically, Hong Kong is well out of my comfort zone. I’m used to being able to take my time composing static landscapes, so the spontaneity and speed needed to keep up in a city like Hong Kong posed quite the challenge.

And so many people! Landscape photographers like me tend to engage in a bit of deception: we present a world of natural beauty untouched by crowds or footsteps. But our usual techniques—​strategic cropping, creative uses of exposure, or more heavy-handed methods—​tend to fall short when photographing one of the most highly-populated cities in the world. I definitely had to set my obsessive compulsions aside and yes, show pictures that actually have people in them.

Or dogs.

But Hong Kong is a city of contrasts. So amongst the hustle and bustle and busy street intersections, if you keep looking, you’re sure to find a scene of perfect serenity.

Check out the full gallery!