Fan Ho: Photographer Review

“The great master”. This was the nickname of one of the most famous Chinese street photographers. Fan Ho was a Chinese photographer born in 1931 in Shanghai. After a life of photography, film directing, and acting, he died at the age of 84 in 2016 in San Jose California. He started photography after receiving a Kodak Brownie camera from his father at the age of 14. He was very talented and won his first award within the first year of having the camera. He moved to Hong Kong to continue to pursue his passion for photography. This is where he captured many of the works that he became so well known for. Many of his pieces show the everyday lifestyle of the streets of Hong Kong. He wanted to “capture the soul of Hong Kong, the hardship and resilience of its citizens” (Fan Ho Website About me Page). He won many awards including the Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2nd Global Chinese International Photography Award, China, 2015 and is a part of many photographic societies within many countries internationally.

Something interesting about Ho’s work is that you can see through his photos how he was able to go into directing films later on in his life. You can see and notice the shots that he shoots with, would make very good scenes for certain movies. He knows how and where to place people correctly and the best lighting and angles for his shots. This would later help him in his movie career days.

The photo above is my favorite piece by Fan Ho. I love the way the light is only focused on the man because it gives the photograph an eerie feeling. It is almost like the man on the boat is a silhouette and he is paddling into the light. Along with eerie, this photo seems hopeful because it looks like he is paddling away from the dark and into the bright light. The photo also follows the rule of thirds. If you drew two vertical lines down on the sides of him where the light ends and it looks black, it would be split into three almost perfect sections. It is perfect that he is in the middle because it draws your eye to him making him the center focal point, which is what Fan had hoped.

This photo is aesthetically very pleasing to the eye. The way the photograph has so many distinct shapes and lines make it come together. It has a deep depth of field so we are able to see everything very clearly. He must have had to wait a long time for the sun, lines, and shadows to line up perfectly. The lines all come together to meet at the bottom left, where our eye is then drawn to the woman or the subject of the photo. That is how the symmetry made this photo so perfect.

In photography, and especially street photography, it is important to get the best angles and shots, even if it is uncomfortable because you are in public. In Fan Ho’s work, you can tell that he did what was best for the outcome of the photos and not being embarrassed to ask people to pose or to take the photos in the moment. Even if they didn’t want their photo taken.

His biggest accomplishment was the way he was able to work with light and shadows. It was important to him for the lighting and composition to be exactly how he wanted it to be before he took the shot. Sometimes he would wait for a long time until it was perfect.

I love his work because of the way it shows the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong. They are mostly action shots and it really delves into the look at life in Hong Kong in the fifties and sixties. I also enjoy how all the photos, although so different and unique, all blend so well together creating a certain and a similar style that makes Fan Ho’s work so recognizable.

Fan Ho at a young age with his camera. He never used a digital only film.

Work Cited

Bio. Retrieved September 07, 2020, from https://fanho-forgetmenot.com/about

Heaver, S. (2019, September 20). How Fan Ho, the poet with a camera, found his calling. Retrieved September 07, 2020, from https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/2098441/how-fan-ho-hong-kongs-poet-camera-found-his

Shovava, Day, T., Comma, & Colorsheets, V. (2019, January 31). Striking Street Photography of Hong Kong in the 1950s and 1960s by Fan Ho. Retrieved September 07, 2020, from https://mymodernmet.com/fan-ho-hong-kong-street-photography/