Pan Am Hong Kong Victoria Harbour Photo — 1986 Night Skyline
- Bill Travis
- Aug 7
- 2 min read
PAN AM Series — Hong Kong 3 & Victoria Harbour photo, 1986
This Pan Am Hong Kong Victoria Harbour photo was taken in 1986 during one of my layovers in the city. At the time, both my wife and I were taking college photography classes and doing some semi-professional work. On this trip, I set out to capture the Hong Kong skyline from Kowloon at night — and the resulting image ended up being featured in a commercial calendar.
The Shot
I photographed the skyline from the top floor of a hotel parking lot on Kowloon, looking across the harbor toward Hong Kong Island’s downtown area. My goal was to capture the skyline with light trails from passing boats to give the scene more life.
It was a timed exposure of about 5 minutes — long enough for the boats to leave glowing trails but not appear in the image.
Left side: A stationary people ferry between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island.
Right side: A freight barge at a long dock, adding balance and extra color to the frame.
Light trails: A tour boat scheduled to arrive about half an hour after I set up. When it came in, I opened the shutter, catching its navigation lights and the reflection of its interior lights shimmering on the water.
The Result
Out of several shots, this one was the best. When I brought the negative to Image West for developing, they liked it enough to ask for permission to use it in their calendar.
The Camera
I shot this with a Pentax 6x7, a medium-format camera producing large negatives perfect for big prints. We have a 24x32-inch copy framed at home. I still have the negative and plan to have it scanned for a digital copy. I’d love to return to Hong Kong to capture the modern skyline and see the changes after more than two decades.
Life Around the Flights
At the time, I was commuting to New York from San Francisco, sharing a commuter apartment in Queens with other Pan Am pilots. My wife often traveled with me after our children were grown. We’d go a day or two early to enjoy New York — taking in shows, jazz clubs, and catching up with my musician friends. I studied drums at Drummers Collective during my off days.
Those trips gave her a firsthand understanding of the international flying lifestyle — and the fatigue from constant time zone changes.
Coming Soon
In a future post, I hope to share “Pan Am’s Last Flight Out of Kenya” — a trip my wife was on with me, complete with the original menu and writings from crew and passengers that she saved.
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