Kam Tin Jiao Festival : Once in a Decade Tradition in Hong Kong

Diary

Once in a decade things hit a bit differently.

I went out to Kam Tin Jiao Festival with my Leica MP, a 28mm Summilux, a Sonnar 35mm f/2.8 and a Sonnar 50mm f/1.5, but it was the 28mm that really made sense here. This is a tradition that has been kept for around 340 years. There is too much happening in every corner to isolate just one thing: textures, colours, scaffolding, smoke, rain, people drifting in and out of frame.

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When I first heard about it, I was amazed. Over 25,000 bamboo poles were turned, in just a bit more than two months, into a five storey temporary structure of more than 42,000 square feet. Built by a small team of craftsmen, the bamboo theatre can hold around 6,000 people.

Instead of focusing on the main shows, I tried to stay on the edges. Quiet moments behind the scenes, small details of the bamboo structure, the preparation, the spaces where people wander and wait. The drizzle that evening softened the light, and the lit up bamboo scaffolding almost glowed against the dim sky. It felt cinematic in a very local, grounded way.

I started with a few remaining frames of Ilford Pan 100 in the Leica MP, using the Zeiss Sonnar 35mm f/2.8 ZM. It is compact and sharp, and with the square hood on, it somehow makes me want to use it more often. As the sun slipped away and the light dropped, I switched to the Leica Summilux 28mm f/1.4 ASPH for a better shutter speed. In the end, I think the black and white shots are my favourites from that day. Stripping away the colour lets me focus on expression and context. It is harder to visualise them when shooting, which makes the results more surprising in a good way.

The interior of the structure was not easy to photograph in a clean way. There were crowds, stalls, and a lot of practical lighting for people moving around. I wanted simplicity but could not always find it. Instead, we walked slowly, looking up at the craftsmanship in the scaffolding and the paper work they created. I also brought the Widelux F8 for some panoramic shots. They are not my best, but they serve as a record of the space. I loaded Reflx Lab 800T to keep a balanced shutter speed around f/5.6 and 1/125.

The 28mm played a key role in documenting this. Once you are inside, you realise how spread out everything is. The structure stretches across your field of view, and unless you are standing somewhere high or using a drone, it is impossible to capture it neatly without losing the context of the scene. I also wanted to show the other side of the festival. How people interact, how small details are made and assembled to support this giant event. Lanterns, moving miniatures, and even the choice of materials all reveal something about the thinking behind it.

For colour, I used Reflx Lab 400D and 320D AHU to see which I preferred. The daylight balance adds a bit more warmth and gives the reds a subtle push, which felt right for this event. The 320D AHU handled highlights well, without any halation that suited the atmosphere.

I used the 50mm Sonnar occasionally for closer shots, to pick out people and details from a bit of distance. I like how it isolates the lion dance group waiting for their turn, and the reflection in the water from the bridge overlooking the side of the event is one of my favourite frames.

In the days after the festival ends, all the paper statues, figures and structures are burned as part of the tradition. It is hard to believe something on this scale only exists for such a short time, then disappears, leaving behind memories, photos, and a few stories to tell.