Lessons from Fan Ho for Street Photographers - How To

[@dennisng4627]

Very nice commentary on one of my favorite photographers. I met Fan Ho approximately 10 years ago in a San Francisco gallery opening of his works. He’s very shy, humble & very approachable. He had no interest in his masterpieces. He wanted to talk about his new experiments with double exposure, montages...he’s constantly looking forward to the “New”. It was a memorable moment for me. Thank you for sharing ✌🏼

[@ribsy]

this is really cool! thanks for sharing. i'm not surprised that he wanted to talk about the "new". he was so creative and so multifaceted

[@jenohogan9254]

I highly recommend picking up one of his books. Of course, it's such a different experience and really enhances his work. HIs work gets me really excited about photography. It's so inspiring.

[@ribsy]

yea! i was doing some research and they seem hard to find 😅

[@BrianBoycePhotography]

@@ribsy if you are still looking for a Fan Ho book (and are in the UK which I think you are) message me.

[@PixlByPixl]

You forgot to mention that in the image with the posed relative he also added that shadow was added/created while in the darkroom.

[@ribsy]

Yup - a bunch of people told me so 😀

[@thomaswilk9422]

Excellent analysis of pictures of Fan Ho. Thanks for sharing. Best regards, Thomas

[@ribsy]

Thanks for watching

[@JarrefanErPenombra]

Thanks! I’ve watched a lot of videos about Fan Ho, but you’ve been able to condensate a lot of informations in a few minutes.

[@ribsy]

Glad you liked it

[@SinaFarhat]

The years after ww2 created a new world and his photos are interesting because it is a time capsule of a age before it would be a high tech modern world! Keep up the good work!

[@ribsy]

it really is! time capsule is the perfect phase 😊

[@tonyparatore888]

Yeah... I knew about fan ho... One of my favorites... 👌

[@ribsy]

For sure!

[@Robservatory]

Fan Ho used dodging and burning to manipulate his images. The Approaching Shadow image of his cousin leaning on the wall for example, there was no diagonal shadow, he added it in the dark room. He believed in the second decisive moment and would crop, dodge and burn and even composite images in the darkroom. The OG Photoshopper.

[@ribsy]

yea he def was the OG photoshopper! haha

[@ghosttownsentinel5288]

@@ribsy yup, haha

[@Hungtube1]

Thank you for your great commentary!!!

[@ribsy]

Thanks for watching

[@paultaylorphotography9499]

Was in HK three years ago loved the place to bits amazing locations and people. I shot some of my fave photos in HK. It was the first time I’d heard of Fan Ho his work was exhibited I looked around and was blown away I’ve kicked myself everyday since that I didn’t come away with a book or three. I will order a copy ASAP love his work just incredible stuff. Great video mate a very easy effortless genuine thumbs up. Regards Paul

[@ribsy]

oh yea! his books are a must

[@paultaylorphotography9499]

@@ribsy shopping soon mate 📷❤️

[@formicapple2]

Thanks for the vid. Very informative. Had forgotten about Fan Ho's work. Pleased I found your vid.

[@ribsy]

great- thanks for watching!

[@PaulieB]

Yess bro! Fan Ho was one of my earlier inspirations. Cheers Eric

[@ribsy]

yea! his work is great. thanks for watching 😊

[@ruff1draft]

I love Fan Ho photographs. He later became a film director in Hong Kong and discovered a few Hong Kong actors

[@ribsy]

yup! he's a legend

[@stephenvictor8961]

I’m glad I found your channel. I like your style, your cadence, your articulation of the lessons: Mostly though I like you doing something with such importance: meaning, people are loath to learn from others’ experiences, e.g., what Ho Fan actually did. Good job. Most people want to hear information from others, e.g., their thoughts. Okay enough but significantly less valuable than learning from the direct experiences of others. Good on ya!

[@ribsy]

Thank you for watching!

[@gurhanpekuz1813]

Great lessons . Thank you

[@ribsy]

glad you enjoyed!

[@patrickcoggins6279]

Nice video. I like the shot at 8:40 - the people in the street also seem to repeat the curvature of the street covers

[@ribsy]

Yea such a good shot!

[@dentonino]

love this episode !

[@ribsy]

thanks! glad you enjoyed it 😊

[@Envo77]

11:10 can somebody explain how to do this? Should I just turn down shutter speed to achieve that effect or something else?

[@ribsy]

slow shutter / maybe a double exposure

[@christianevanoverbeke7395]

great video, thank you so much!!! Fan Ho's work is amazing

[@ribsy]

yea fan ho is so legit

[@ReimannPembroke]

Great video dude! Fan Ho is one of my favorites!

[@ribsy]

thanks for watching! yea his work is great

[@DAGL]

you made a new suscriber and a new ig follower, thanks for the work!

[@ribsy]

thanks for watching!

[@finleyhartsuiker]

Going to give the motion blur a try!

[@ribsy]

Yup!

[@Resgerr]

Love the podcast 👏🏻👍🏻, and making notes here! I like the raking light photo last but also the motion blur as I like to do that as well some times

[@ribsy]

thanks! yea the motion blur photo is a nice one

[@5244Barry]

Very good. But the shadow in "Approaching shadow" was not in the original shot, but was added in post.

[@ribsy]

yup! already noted 😊

[@MsElleBee]

Interesting. Reading up on him, he used the same camera I have -- A Rolleiflex 3.5! but I'm guessing he cropped in to get that aspect ratio.

[@ribsy]

yea he def took liberties in cropping. i realize now that this is ok lol

[@emilio_bc]

Excellent and pedagogical video. I have seen many videos about Fan Ho, and all of them say empty things, details of his biography, that are of no interest from the point of view of the essence of photography, that is, the artist's intention, light, etc. You summarize it very well in those 4 bases or columns of his photography. Sincerely, thank you very much from Granada (Spain).

[@ribsy]

thanks for watching! glad it was useful

[@nandouy]

gran video Ribs, se agradece!

[@ribsy]

gracias! me alegro que te gusto

[@fatheroftheskies]

i need to try fishing. i need to stay in certain spots longer. slow down. thank you for this!

[@ribsy]

totally! slowing down and being patient is always a good thing

[@fatheroftheskies]

@@ribsy anxiously waiting for my mamiya 625 pro tl i just ordered. soon as it gets here ima try and use these methods to get a much different look than what im used to.

[@kbqvist]

Great video, thanks!

[@ribsy]

thanks 😊

[@francocerna4889]

I love your videos!

[@ribsy]

Thanks for watching!

[@NPJensen]

The first photo with the people on the stairs is great. I particularly like how he managed to capture, the woman walking up the stairs with a child on her back, just as she looks back at the other woman behind her. The photo wouldn't be nearly as interesting without her. I'm waiting on a new tripod to arrive. When it does, I will load a roll of B&W medium format film in my foldable 6x9 and go do some double/multiple exposures in a specific street not too far from my home. I'll keep the camera in the same position, so that the buildings in the street will be well exposed and perfectly sharp while the people in the street will be faded - possibly even blurry depending on the amount of light I will have to work with. I'm even considering using the self timer to be able to make myself one of the blurry faded shapes in the photo. Definitely experimental and not exactly street photography, but it could result in some interesting exposures.

[@ribsy]

yea! completely agree. the double exposure idea sounds cool -- looking forward to seeing it 😊

[@ehtesham_digital]

I'll definitely try the motion blur style... 👍🏼

[@ribsy]

Yea for sure!

[@RalphJacob]

I believe the woman in Fan Ho's most famous photo was his cousin.

[@b.iketani]

He also added the hard shadow in the darkroom if I am not mistaken.

[@ribsy]

interesting. still a nice use of "shadow" and lines

[@ribsy]

yea! it was fully contrived, still cool nonetheless 😊

[@photogroup16]

Nice image but not street photography.

[@ehtesham_digital]

True. I've heard that this shadow was also fake. It was developed in the darkroom.

[@mforfilm4833]

Love how you deconstructed each photo. It’s like you gave us a roadmap to follow him in our own practice. Quite the lesson! Thank you

[@ribsy]

glad you found it useful!

[@danielemuna9900]

Does anyone know which camera Fan Ho used?

[@ribsy]

some were saying it was a rollei tlr 3.5 i think

[@jimkamradt8387]

Cropping of the last image is long and narrow. It goes with the images of the people blending with their shadows, which are long, the person and shadow become one. I used double exposure when doing wedding photography years ago, the studio sold many of them. Very good presentation

[@ribsy]

thanks for watching 😊

[@aquilifergroup]

Thanks

[@ribsy]

Thanks for watching!

[@taiwik]

At 13:12 it is not a bus but a tram that is still in operation

[@ribsy]

never been to hong kong. gotta check it out

[@isofilmy]

It would be cool to see you go out and take images inspired by an artist.

[@ribsy]

Yea I’ve wanted to do that

[@deirdremcquade9690]

Inspiring & insightful... thank you!

[@ribsy]

yea fan ho's work is really inspiring! so approachable yet so complex

[@taiwik]

It is not a station - it is the grand staircase of the old central market in Central.

[@ribsy]

ahh cool

[@RJMPictures]

First. Good stuff

[@ribsy]

thanks for watching!

[@gonnaloveyoumore]

That part of the laptop hanging off the table is making me anxious

[@ribsy]

lol sorry

[@1911geek]

The work is just simple as daily life documentary photography before westerners coined it street photography

[@ribsy]

daily life photography sounds like street photography to me hahaha

[@matteoenricocattaneo]

I have to add that the imagine at 5.08 is totally manipulated, the girl is the cousin, and the shadow has been added later...in the original shot there was not.

[@ribsy]

yea i keep hearing that!

[@thevalleyofdisappointment]

11:35 the very act or taking a photo involves cropping

[@ribsy]

sure thing

[@taiwik]

Fan Ho used the Rollei exclusively so all the original negatives are square.

[@ribsy]

yea! he liked cropping in post alot tho. took lots of liberties

[@JamesRandall47]

The famous photo of the girl with the diagonal “shadow” was in fact pure manipulation. The shadow was added in post. Fan ho admitted this himself.

[@ribsy]

correct

[@jaxchambers7652]

The shadow of the image with the woman his cousin. it is 100% darkroom work. Fan said so.

[@ribsy]

yup! i found that out afterwards

[@bhop0073]

I've been a fan (pun intended) for years. His photos are fantastic. Glad to see him getting some love.

[@ribsy]

haha i like what you did there. for sure, he deserves a lot of praise, really stellar work

[@mattdavis9986]

Ages ago, I read that he burnt the diagonal shadow line in the darkroom. Probably bullshit. Doubt he would have done that and pose the woman in the photo too

[@ribsy]

yea a couple people have said the same! im not mad at it tho, he liked to get really creative with his photography

[@davehandelman2832]

Not bullshit. It goes to show that even back then, people were into photo manipulation

[@arturors30]

And that is answer for those who say to need a thousand euros/pounds/dollars camera to make great photos.

[@arturors30]

Black and white. Even without color.

[@ribsy]

seriously!

[@ribsy]

exactly! no need for expensive gear

[@ghosttownsentinel5288]

@@ribsy yo, It was a Rolleiflex 3.5F. What do you mean by no need for expensive gear in this context? It's no Holga.

[@johndurrack757]

Golden hour is *not* when the sun is at 45° (with respect the surface of earth).

[@ribsy]

fair enough haha. i guess the main point is the degrees of hard sunlight whether mid day or closer to golden hour

[@krismctopher7]

Too many ads. I gave up.

[@ribsy]

sorry. there are only 2 tho

[@krismctopher7]

@@ribsy You'd better check that. I swear I saw more.

[@mjolninja9358]

Hang kang

[@ribsy]

🙃

[@arunashamal]

Please don't learn from Fan-Ho... too many idoits trying to copy him and polluting my instagram with someone walking next to a patch of light...This is lazy photography... Why won't any youtubers promote "learn from Winongrand, Willian Klein? etc?

[@ribsy]

Why not learn something from them all?

[@donaldgibson4459]

You probly own camera equipment that was stolen. Boycotting u

[@ribsy]

lol what?

[@BoyGorge]

hung kung

[@ribsy]

Tes

[@enricomarconi8358]

Great Video! Thank you!

[@ribsy]

thank you!