Exploring Macau in 24 hours

Photography & story by Thomas Milton

Preface

What to do in Macau in less than 24hrs? That was a question I was asking myself while on a boat towards Macau coming from Shenzhen, China. Macau, the former Portuguese colony is world-famous for casinos, gambling, and party vibe, and an excellent spot for photography.

Gambling wasn’t for me so I had to look for other distractions in the autonomous region, so I end up having 24 hours to explore Macau, walking all around the old centre with it’s hidden alleys, Portuguese architecture, with plenty of out of the beaten path, old temples, local street food stalls, and always having the view of the gigantic Cassino Lisboa, this gigantic structure is unmissable, due to its size, style and beauty or ugliness (depending on the point of view), either either way, the Casino is impressive and deserves some photography attention, especially for night photography.

Macau

Due to the aesthetics of Macau, mixing old, new, rundown corners, religious sites, gambling, and Portuguese heritage, the city is the perfect spot for Street Photography if you arrive by boat from China, are you in the middle of everything, from the formula One street race, towards the ruin of St. Pauls, around this path the curious photographers can deviate from the tourist crowds and explore the back-alleys, and side streets, these alleys provide great photography shades, shadows in a day with harsh sunlight.

Some photographers say that it’s a waste of time to try to photograph during the day but not all of us have the luxury of being able to chase sunsets and sunrises on every single photography trip., but in Macau, using creativity applied around the small back alleys, you can create some dramatic street photography, always using the shades provided by the density, architecture and buildings, in this photo series I used black white aesthetics to capture a sense of old vintage era in a city that is colourful and vibrant.

And don’t forget to bring a CPL filter, and cash to explore the exquisite Casinos in Macau, even if you are not a gambler like me.