Artist Lens｜Fan Ho: Capturing the Essence of Old Hong Kong Through Photography

While much of the Hong Kong of the 1950s and 1960s captured by Fan Ho no longer exists, it can still be experienced through his photographs of the time.
In this interview from 2014, we sat down with the artist during his final trip to Hong Kong to learn more about his photographic method and the inspiration behind his iconic images. Fan Ho was a multi-talented individual - a photographer, film director, and actor - who captured the essence of everyday life in Hong Kong with his striking photographs. M+ is proud to have twenty-eight seminal photographs by Fan Ho in our collections, providing a unique window into the past. Join us to discover the art and soul of Fan Ho’s photography and experience the Hong Kong of the past in a new way.
‘Truly good photographs are not taken with the camera. They come from inside you, your eyes, your brain, your heart, not some cold piece of equipment.’
- Fan Ho
The Early Years
Fan Ho (American, b. China, 1931-2016) was a photographer, film director, and actor. He spent his early years in Shanghai, where he began taking photographs after receiving his first camera at the age of fourteen. He moved to Hong Kong in 1949, and from the 1950s onwards gained considerable attention for his striking photographs of everyday life in Hong Kong.
From Photography to a Career in Film
Fan Ho’s skills in image-making in photography made him a natural fit for the emerging Hong Kong film industry. From the 1960s to the 1980s, he became better known for his work in film, in particular with the famous Shaw Brothers studio. In addition to his role behind the camera as a director, Fan Ho occasionally appeared in front of the camera, debuting as an actor in ‘Love Without End’ (1961).
Fan Ho’s Legacy
Fan Ho’s style of photography exemplifies what the French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson dubbed the ‘decisive moment’. This method-of waiting for the perfect moment to click the camera shutter-is today considered a rather old-fashioned and even purist approach to photography. It remains a practice that is widely adopted by street photographers and photojournalists alike.
Fan Ho in M+ Magazine
10 Facts about the Photographer Who Captured 1950s and ‘60s Hong Kong: mplus.org/10-f...
捕捉舊香港──鏡頭背後的攝影大師何藩: mplus.org/10-f...
捕捉旧香港──镜头背后的摄影大师何藩: mplus.org/10-f...
English, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese closed captions are available in the player.
Transcript: mplus.org/en-f...
影片謄本: mplus.org/tc-f...
视频文稿: mplus.org/sc-f...
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