Natural abundance

Yuen’s treks have taken him through Patagonia, Everest Base Camp, the Tibetan Plateau and the wilderness of the American West. Each trip requires meticulous preparation, which includes gathering information, planning shooting opportunities and arranging often complicated logistics. However, landscape photography is not staged, the weather may not always be as expected and Yuen has learnt to face disappointments with equanimity. “Getting little in return for a lot of effort is normal, so I’ve honed my mindset to accept failure,” he says.

That said, sometimes there are pleasant surprises. His award-winning Guilin lightning shot, Power of Nature, presented among his Wilderness series released last year, came from a scouting trip during which he originally intended to find a sunrise location but changed plans at the last minute due to thunderstorms, yielding a serendipitous result.

During a 2022 expedition to Canada’s Northwest Territories and a vast uninhabited region of jagged mountains known as the “Unclimbables”, Yuen’s helicopter charter was delayed, so he arrived after nightfall. “I had to walk alone for 12 hours in complete darkness without any paths or directions,” he says. He spent a week camping in the area in overcast conditions, only to be rewarded on the last night with clear skies and a dramatic aurora borealis show.

Yuen’s not one to be easily defeated. Each time he sets out, he considers different backup plans. “Before the pandemic, I was on a two-month photography assignment in Europe. My flight from Norway to the Faroe Islands was cancelled, and I had to stay in the UK for a week. Fortunately, I’d prepared beforehand and immediately changed course northward to Scotland. The resulting photos even won awards.”

Ten years into his career, Yuen has held exhibitions in Hong Kong and abroad, and his works have even been selected to appear on Hong Kong postage stamps. This year, he released his second personal photography collection, Wilderness. But he doesn’t yet see himself as a master: “I’ve only a small foundation in landscape photography, and I now have a clearer understanding of what breakthroughs can be made and which areas await exploration.”

As we walk and talk, we find ourselves at the “head” of Lion Rock. Standing at the mountain’s peak, we gaze into the distance, appreciating the vast beauty of the Kowloon Peninsula beneath our feet and Hong Kong’s vibrant cityscape beyond. Throughout the decade he’s spent honing his craft, Yuen’s journey has been filled with challenges, but he’s never been a stranger to traversing mountains and valleys to get to where he needs to go.

Wilderness is out now and available for purchase from EastPro Gallery.