• MSN
  • Hotmail
  • More
    • Autos
    • My MSN
    • Video
    • Careers & Jobs
    • Personals
    • Weather
    • Delish
    • Quotes
    • White Pages
    • Games
    • Real Estate
    • Wonderwall
    • Horoscopes
    • Shopping
    • Yellow Pages
    • Local Edition
    • Traffic
    • Feedback
    • Maps & Directions
    • Travel
    • Full MSN Index
  • Bing
  • NBCNews.com
  • TODAY
  • Nightly News
  • Rock Center
  • Meet the Press
  • Dateline
  • msnbc
  • Breaking News
  • Newsvine
  • Home
  • US
  • World
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Health
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Travel
  • Local
  • Weather
Advertise | AdChoices
  • Recommended: 25,000 guests show up for lavish Jewish wedding
  • Recommended: Peek inside Jodi Arias' jail cell
  • Recommended: Little girl clutches flag during her father's funeral at Arlington
  • Recommended: The Week in Pictures: May 9 - 16

Conversations sparked by photojournalism. Follow us on Twitter to keep up-to-date.

  • ↓ About this blog
  • ↓ Archives
    • Icons Email E-mail updates
    • Icons Twitter Follow on Twitter
    • Icons Feed Subscribe to RSS
  • 15
    May
    2013
    11:02am, EDT

    Giant rubber ducky's not-so-lucky ending

    Vincent Yu / AP

    A worker stands on a deflated rubber duck created by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor Wednesday, May 15. The 16.5-meter (54-foot)-tall inflatable rubber duck which attracted visitors to the harbor, has been deflated since Tuesday evening.

    Tyrone Siu / Reuters

    A deflated Rubber Duck by Dutch conceptual artist Florentijn Hofman floats on Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour, with the island skyline looming at the background, May 14. The 16.5-meter-high inflatable sculpture, which made its first public appearance in the territory on May 2, will be shown at the Ocean Terminal for a month. The Rubber Duck was deflated after some of its parts broke.

    Bobby Yip / Reuters

    Students watch as Rubber Duck by Dutch conceptual artist Florentijn Hofman floats near Ocean Terminal at Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour on May 2. The 16.5-meter-high inflatable sculpture, which made its first public appearance in the territory on Thursday, will be shown at the Ocean Terminal for a month.

    A six-story-tall duck is floating in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor to "bring a message of peace and harmony." NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.

     From AP:  Hong Kong- A worker stands on a deflated rubber duck created by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor Wednesday, May 15. The 16.5-meter (54-foot)-tall inflatable rubber duck which attracted visitors to the harbor, has been deflated since Tuesday evening.

    See more pictures of the giant, rubber duck on PhotoBlog

    Comment

    Show more
    Explore related topics: travel, art, hong-kong, duck, rubber-duck
  • 2
    May
    2013
    10:01am, EDT

    The world is its bathtub: Giant rubber duckie continues international tour

    Vincent Yu / AP

    A giant rubber duck created by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman is towed along Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor on May 2, 2013. "Rubber Duck," which is 54 feet high, will be in Hong Kong until June 9. Since 2007, the duck has traveled to 10 countries and 12 cities.

    Jessica Hromas / Getty Images

    The Hong Kong Police band welcomes a floating duck sculpture in Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong on May 2.

    A six-story-tall duck is floating in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor to "bring a message of peace and harmony." NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.

    Previously on PhotoBlog: 

     Giant rubber duck thrills Sydney Harbor

     

    Follow @NBCNewsPictures

    1 comment

    Trojan duck?? newest CIA spy toy?? cute though

    Show more
    Explore related topics: art, hong-kong, asia, world-news, rubber-duck
  • 24
    Apr
    2013
    12:58pm, EDT

    Inflatable poo? Don't step in it, bounce on it!

    Jessica Hromas / Getty Images

    An inflatable sculpture called 'Complex Pile' by American contemporary artist Paul Mccarthy on display as part of the 'Inflation!' exhibition curated by Mobile M on April 24, 2013 in Hong Kong. The inflatable artwork is one of six on display as part of the exhibition which is open from April 25 until June 9.

    Jessica Hromas / Getty Images

    An inflatable sculpture called 'Falling into the Mundane World' by Tam Wai Pingon on display as part of the 'Inflation!' exhibition curated by Mobile M on April 24, in Hong Kong.

    Jessica Hromas / Getty Images

    An inflatable sculpture of a pig called 'House of Treasures' by Chinese contemporary artist Cao Fei on display as part of the 'Inflation!' exhibition curated by Mobile M on April 24, in Hong Kong.

    Jessica Hromas / Getty Images

    A member of the public bounces on a life-size interactive inflatable sculpture of Stonehenge called 'Sacrilege 2012' by English contemporary artist Jeremy Deller on display as part of the 'Inflation!' exhibition curated by Mobile M on April 24 in Hong Kong.

    Inflatable installations, one of which you can bounce on, are on display in Hong Kong at the site of the future museum of visual arts, known as M+. The exhibit is the largest contemporary art exhibition ever to be mounted in Hong Kong. More about the exhibit. 

    The future site of Hong Kong's Museum of Visual Arts is hosting inflatable works that include a bouncy Stonehenge, a larger than life cockroach and a giant "Complex Pile." TODAY.com's Dara Brown reports.

    5 comments

    Long ago the art world began sanctioning anything as art when they found they could get away with it and also make a bunch of money. I've been waiting for the day when an artist just defecates in a pile and announces it is art. The art world of course, will sanction it. What a bunch of phonies.

    Show more
    Explore related topics: art, hong-kong, exhibit, world-news, installation, inflatable, art-park
  • 12
    Feb
    2013
    11:00pm, EST

    Opera performance lights up bamboo theater

    Philippe Lopez / AFP - Getty Images

    A man walks by the Bamboo Theater, a 800-seat temporary theater made of bamboo to house a special series of Cantonese opera shows, in Hong Kong on Feb. 12, 2013.  Cantonese opera -- where actors wear elaborate costumes and make-up, and must be adept at elaborately choreographed martial arts as well as singing -- was recognized as "intangible cultural heritage" by UN cultural agency UNESCO in 2009.

    Philippe Lopez / AFP - Getty Images

    An actress looks on in the backstage of the Bamboo Theater.

    Philippe Lopez / AFP - Getty Images

    An actor performs at the Bamboo Theater.

    Philippe Lopez / AFP - Getty Images

    Actors perform at the Bamboo Theater.

    Comment

    Show more
    Explore related topics: theater, hong-kong, asia, opera, world-news, arts, bamboo-theater
  • 7
    Feb
    2013
    10:27am, EST

    Living in a cage — and paying rent too? The dark side of Hong Kong's property boom

    Vincent Yu / AP

    62-year-old Cheng Man Wai lies in the 16 square foot cage that he calls home, in Hong Kong on Jan. 25, 2013.

    By Kelvin Chan, The Associated Press

    Vincent Yu / AP

    A car passes luxury houses on Victoria Peak, Hong Kong's most exclusive neighborhood, on Feb. 7, 2013.

    Published at 10:27 a.m. ET: For many of the richest people in Hong Kong, one of Asia's wealthiest cities, home is a mansion with an expansive view from the heights of Victoria Peak. For some of the poorest, like Leung Cho-yin, home is a metal cage.

    The 67-year-old former butcher pays 1,300 Hong Kong dollars ($167) a month for one of about a dozen wire mesh cages resembling rabbit hutches crammed into a dilapidated apartment in a gritty, working-class West Kowloon neighborhood.

    Vincent Yu / AP

    77-year-old Yeung Ying Biu sits inside his cage home on Jan. 25, 2013.

    Some 100,000 people in the former British colony live in what's known as inadequate housing, according to the Society for Community Organization, a social welfare group. The category also includes apartments subdivided into tiny cubicles or filled with coffin-sized wood and metal sleeping compartments as well as rooftop shacks. 

    Forced by skyrocketing housing prices to live in cramped, dirty and unsafe conditions, their plight also highlights one of the biggest headaches facing Hong Kong's unpopular Beijing-backed leader: growing public rage over the city's housing crisis. Read the full story.

     

    Vincent Yu / AP

    63-year-old Lee Tat-fong walks in a corridor while her two grandchildren -- Amy, 9, and Steven, 13 -- sit in their 50-square-foot room in Hong Kong on Jan. 25, 2013. Lee, like many poor residents, has applied for public housing but faces years of waiting. Nearly three-quarters of 500 low-income families questioned by Oxfam Hong Kong in a recent survey had been on the list for more than 4 years without being offered a flat.

    Vincent Yu / AP

    77-year-old Yeung Ying Biu eats next to his cage on Jan. 25, 2013. The cage homes date from the 1950s, when they catered mostly to single men coming in from mainland China

    Related:

    'Coffin' apartments offer wooden box homes for the living

    Manila's hidden spaces: Life on the margins in a crowded megacity

    Woman leaps to her death as housing disputes surge in China

    Follow @NBCNewsPictures

    Some poor residents in Hong Kong have been forced to live in small cages. Around 100,000 people in the city live in inadequate housing, according to the Society for Community Organization. NBCNews.com's Alex Witt reports.

     

    20 comments

    Guess where they get the money to pay the rent on their cages? They work in factories for companies that make goods that Americans buy at Walmart. If we didn't buy all the cheap crap they make, the people would stay in the villages where they would actually raise their own kids and grow fresh food.

    Show more
    Explore related topics: human-rights, hong-kong, asia, elderly, housing, poverty, world-news, featured
  • 2
    Jan
    2013
    8:46am, EST

    Backlash forces shark fin traders onto Hong Kong rooftops

    Antony Dickson / AFP - Getty Images

    Shark fins drying in the sun cover the roof of a factory building in Hong Kong on Jan. 2, 2013.

    Paul Hilton / EPA

    Approximately 18 thousand shark fins are left out to dry on top of an industrial building in Hong Kong's Kennedy Town district on Jan. 2, 2013.

    Bobby Yip / Reuters

    Shark fins, which cost between HK$2,880 ($369) and HK$3,580 ($459) per Chinese catty (1 pound), are seen on display inside a dried seafood store in Hong Kong on Jan. 2, 2013.

    Shark fin traders in Hong Kong have taken to drying freshly sliced fins on rooftops since a public outcry over them drying the fins on public sidewalks forced them to move the trade out of sight. 

    Activists have raised concerns that the over-harvesting of fins is causing an environmental calamity. Although sales have fallen in recent years Hong Kong remains one of the world's biggest markets for shark fins, which are used to make soup that is an expensive staple at Chinese banquets.  

    -- European Pressphoto Agency, Agence France-Presse, Reuters

    Bobby Yip / Reuters

    Thousands of pieces of shark fin are dried on the rooftop of a factory building in Hong Kong on Jan. 2, 2013. The fins were shipped from an unknown location and unloaded at a nearby pier to be dried on the rooftop.

    Bobby Yip / Reuters

    Workers lay out pieces of shark fin to dry on a rooftop of a factory building in Hong Kong on Jan. 2, 2013. Local sales of the luxurious gourmet food have fallen in recent years due to its controversial nature, but activists demand a total shark fin ban in the city, labelled by some as the shark fin capital of the world.

    Follow @NBCNewsPictures

    •Sign up for the NBCNews.com Photos Newsletter

    25 comments

    When we've finally killed all of the sharks in the ocean and forever upset the balance of the world's waters - only then will we see the stupidity of our ways. We don't deserve this wonderous Earth that we inhabit.

    Show more
    Explore related topics: food, hong-kong, asia, shark, world-news, shark-fin
  • 9
    Oct
    2012
    11:20am, EDT

    'Coffin' apartments offer wooden box homes for the living

    Damir Sagolj / Reuters

    Akee, 34, who works as a waiter, rests in a wooden box where he lives in Hong Kong October 9, 2012.

    Damir Sagolj / Reuters

    A movie is shown on a television in a common area between wooden boxes where people live in Hong Kong, October 9, 2012.

    Damir Sagolj / Reuters

    A television placed inside a wooden box used for living in Hong Kong October 9, 2012.

    Damir Sagolj / Reuters

    A NGO worker speaks to people living in wooden boxes in Hong Kong, October 9, 2012.

    By Phaedra Singelis, NBC News

    In Hong Kong, affordable apartments are so scarce that people are living in spaces much like an enclosed bunk bed. These so called "coffin homes" fit a single bed and aren't high enough to stand in. Residents share a common space with a toilet and sink and pay about $155-180 per month for the space. Nearby is some of the most expensive real estate and luxury stores among the city's gleaming skyscrapers. 

    In New York City, a similar disparity is taking place, with new towers going up and multi-million dollar apartments in high demand while a similar building boom is happening for tiny, 200-square foot apartments. But at least they aren't coffin-sized.

    54 comments

    This lifestyle is going to be the norm in a few more years, because of the number of poorly-educated people taking whatever low-paying job they can find. Our growing population is another factor.

    Show more
    Explore related topics: china, hong-kong, housing, apartment, world-news, affordable-living
  • 2
    Oct
    2012
    8:28am, EDT

    Mourning begins as bodies are recovered from Hong Kong ferry crash

    Vincent Yu / AP

    Relatives of the victims throw paper money Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2012 as they pay tribute to the ill-fated people aboard a boat that sank near Lamma Island, off the southwestern coast of Hong Kong Island. The boat packed with revelers on a long holiday weekend collided with a ferry and sank on Monday night.

    Kin Cheung / AP

    Workers look at the salvaged Lamma IV boat which sank the previous night.

    Lam Yik Fei / Getty Images

    Police and rescue officers carry the body of a deceased passenger at the Marine Police Base in Aberdeen.

    Jerome Favre / EPA

    A crane on a floating barge operates to lift the Lamma IV, a ferry owned by Hongkong Electric, out of the water off Lamma Island.

    By NBC News staff and wire reports — Police on Tuesday arrested six crew members from two boats carrying partygoers that collided, killing at least 37 people in one of Hong Kong's deadliest maritime accidents.

    Police Commissioner Tsang Wai-hung said crew members from both boats were detained on suspicion of endangering passengers by operating the craft unsafely, but he provided no other details, The Associated Press reported.

    Salvage crews were raising the Lamma IV, which sank after colliding with a ferry Monday as it carried partygoers to a fireworks show celebrating China's national day. A body found aboard the vessel Tuesday afternoon raised the death toll to 37. Read the full story.

    See earlier pictures of the ferry disaster on PhotoBlog.

    Hong Kong police have arrested six crew members after  a company boat and a ferry carrying more than 120 collided in what is being called Hong Kong's worst maritime disaster in more than 40 years. NBC's Ian Williams reports.  

    Follow @NBCNewsPictures

    Sign up for the NBC News Photos Newsletter

     

     

    Comment

    Show more
    Explore related topics: china, hong-kong, asia, ferry, world-news
  • 1
    Oct
    2012
    4:10pm, EDT

    Rescuers search for Hong Kong ferry collision survivors at night

    Kin Cheung / AP

    Rescuers check on a half submerged boat after it collided Monday night near Lamma Island, off the southwestern coast of Hong Kong Island on Oct. 2, local time. Authorities in Hong Kong have rescued 101 people after a ferry collided with a tugboat and sank. A local broadcaster says eight people died.

    By NBC News and news services

    At least eight people were reported dead and as many as 20 remained missing after a Hong Kong ferry carrying more than 120 people was hit by another vessel late Monday. 

    Police in the Chinese territory said 101 people had been rescued in waters off the Lamma island village of Yung Shue Wan, according to the South China Morning Post.

    Hong Kong's Hospital Authority said there were eight deaths as of midnight Monday (12 p.m. ET), and at least 53 people sent to area hospitals, the Wall Street Journal reported. Continue reading.

    Vincent Yu / AP

    A survivor is carried onto shore after a collision involving two vessels in Hong Kong on Oct. 2, local time.

    Follow @NBCNewsPictures

    Sign up for the NBC News Photos Newsletter

    Comment

    Show more
    Explore related topics: hong-kong, ferry, world-news
  • 30
    Sep
    2012
    4:48pm, EDT

    Kin Cheung / AP

    Chinese celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival in Hong Kong

    A couple lights up a lantern during the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival in Hong Kong, Oct. 1.

    Comment

    Show more
    Explore related topics: china, hong-kong, festival, mid-autumn
  • 28
    Sep
    2012
    6:01pm, EDT

    Hong Kong celebrates the moon during Mid-Autumn Festival

    People take pictures near decorative lanterns at the Mid-Autumn Festival in Hong Kong, Sept. 29, 2012. Red lanterns are hung as a symbol of good luck.

    Aaron Tam / AFP - Getty Images — The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the lunar new year. The festival, also known as the Moon Festival, is traditionally a time when family and friends gather in the evening to celebrate, eat moon cakes and appreciate the moon.

    The moon is framed amongst decorative lights at the Mid-Autumn Festival in Hong Kong, Sept. 29.

    Children play near large decorative lanterns at the Mid-Autumn Festival in Hong Kong, Sept. 29.

    People walk through decorative lanterns at the Mid-Autumn Festival in Hong Kong, Sept. 29.

    Follow @NBCNewsPictures

    •Sign up for the NBCNews.com Photos Newsletter

    Comment

    Show more
    Explore related topics: china, hong-kong, culture, event, mid-autumn-festival, moon-festival
  • 21
    Sep
    2012
    8:30am, EDT

    Giant portraits by JR cover bridge in Hong Kong

    Bobby Yip / Reuters

    "Inside Out", an artwork by French street artist JR, is displayed on the roof of a foot bridge at Hong Kong's Financial Central District Sept. 21.

    Bobby Yip / Reuters

    Vehicles drive past a foot bridge decorated with "Inside Out", an artwork by French street artist JR, at Hong Kong's Financial Central District Sept. 21.

     More photos of the French artist's installations on PhotoBlog.

    Comment

    Show more
    Explore related topics: art, hong-kong, portraits, world-news, jr, inside-out
Older posts

Browse

  • world-news,
  • us-news,
  • featured,
  • sports,
  • weather,
  • protest,
  • politics,
  • asia,
  • india,
  • china,
  • europe,
  • space,
  • religion,
  • afghanistan,
  • middle-east,
  • environment,
  • travel,
  • london,
  • germany,
  • military,
  • animal-tracks,
  • tech-science,
  • jwoods,
  • japan,
  • fire,
  • south-asia,
  • conflict,
  • israel,
  • new-york,
  • russia,
  • pakistan,
  • cosmic-log,
  • snow,
  • egypt,
  • animals,
  • images,
  • entertainment,
  • business,
  • spain,
  • england,
  • africa,
  • earthquake,
  • flood,
  • libya,
  • syria,
  • economy,
  • winter
Also
Advertise | AdChoices

Phaedra Singelis

is a Supervising Producer at NBC News.com Previously she worked as an editor at the New York Times and the Washington Post in addition to working as a photojournalist at numerous newspapers.

Archives

  • 2013
    • May (104)
    • April (172)
    • March (186)
    • February (195)
    • January (251)
  • 2012
    • December (262)
    • November (281)
    • October (371)
    • September (319)
    • August (406)
    • July (387)
    • June (386)
    • May (422)
    • April (425)
    • March (458)
    • February (451)
    • January (502)
  • 2011
    • December (452)
    • November (464)
    • October (441)
    • September (409)
    • August (507)
    • July (439)
    • June (456)
    • May (443)
    • April (403)
    • March (421)
    • February (508)
    • January (651)
  • 2010
    • December (634)
    • November (360)
    • October (188)
    • September (159)
    • August (110)
    • July (89)
    • June (146)
    • May (89)
    • April (71)
    • March (46)
    • February (43)
    • January (54)
  • 2009
    • December (54)
    • November (46)
    • October (36)
    • September (40)
    • August (31)
    • July (39)
    • June (32)
    • May (57)
    • April (41)
    • March (38)
    • February (44)
    • January (45)
  • 2008
    • December (72)
    • November (38)
    • October (40)
    • September (40)
    • August (75)
    • July (36)
    • June (37)
    • May (44)
    • April (34)
    • March (52)
    • February (45)
    • January (26)
  • 2007
    • December (36)
    • November (32)
    • October (72)
    • September (60)
    • August (40)
    • July (23)
    • June (25)
    • May (31)
    • April (43)
    • March (38)
    • February (35)
    • January (47)
  • 2006
    • December (64)
    • November (77)
  • 2000
    • October (1)

Most Commented

  • Before and after: Tornado cuts devastating path through Oklahoma (97)
  • Buggy hordes of cicadas sighted in Virginia ... but New York? Not yet (77)
  • Morehouse graduates, alumni brave driving rain to hear Obama's commencement address (111)
  • Peek inside Jodi Arias' jail cell (20)
  • Panoramic view of Oklahoma tornado destruction (17)
  • Unhappy Italian climbs onto dome of St Peter's in protest — again (19)
  • Aerials show path and destructive force of the Oklahoma tornado (18)

Other blogs

  • The Body Odd
  • Cosmic Log
  • Red Tape Chronicles
  • US News
  • Open Channel

NBCNews.com top stories

3147,10
© 2013 NBCNews.com
  • News photos on NBCNews.com
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Help
  • Site map
  • Careers
  • Closed captioning
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Advertise