The photographers' as well as filmmakers' delight that is Nam Sang Wai

It was a very hot but also very beautiful

out in Nam Sang Wai this afternoon :) 

 The shade that these photogenic rows of 

eucalyptus trees provided was pretty welcome

Also welcome was this green dragonfly's willingness 

to pose for me after I managed to spot it amidst the grass!

This other dragonfly with strikingly colored and patterned 

wings was more camera shy than the green one, 

so I'm super pleased that I managed to get a shot of it :)

Slowly but surely, I'm continuing my exploration of Hong Kong's wetlands.  First, I visited the Hong Kong Wetland Park that some people find on the sterile side but think can make for a pleasant day's outing and place to take visitors to Hong Kong to introduce them to a greener (though still not too wild for their liking) side to the Big Lychee.  Then earlier this year, I finally made it out to the Mai Po Nature Reserve for a fun afternoon of birdwatching.

Now earlier today, I went to Nam Sang Wai -- a picturesque rectangular area bordered by the Shan Pui and Kam Tin Rivers that lies south of Mai Po, east of the Hong Kong Wetland Park and just a few minutes' walk and a short boat ride north of Yuen Long's main MTR station.  A spot beloved of bicyclists, model plane enthusiasts and wedding photographers, it's also featured in a number of Hong Kong movies including Johnnie To's Election, Wilson Yip's Flashpoint and Juliet In Love, and 1973 Shaw Brothers movie River of Fury.

No lie -- when I saw the first row of eucalyptus trees at Nam Sang Wai, my mind immediately flashed to scenes of Lam Suet in Election but also Monet's paintings of poplar trees and of the stretch of tree-lined road leading to the historic Catholic Mission at Bagamoyo, which I visited a couple of times back when I lived in Tanzania!  What can I say other than all these associations truly reflect my interests and experiences -- that is, Hong Kong films, Western art history and my life in East Africa respectively!!

Speaking of interests and experiences: I found it rather amusing that whereas most other people were admiring the views and taking photos of the landscapes or the people they were with at Nam Sang Wai, I also automatically found myself looking about to see whether there'd be any interesting non-human critters about!  

Although Nam Sang Wai is home to a number of birds between late autumn and early spring, few of those feathered creatures were visible on this very hot summer's day -- and those that were preferred to rest on the wires strung in between utility poles and the higher branches of the trees.  In contrast, some of the butterflies and dragonflies were content to fly and rest lower to the ground -- and I managed to get a couple of satisfyingly clear close-up shots of a couple of beauties as a result. :b