Fan Ho: Hong Kong Yesterday 1950s–1960s

Fan Ho: Hong Kong Yesterday 1950s–1960s

Famed self-taught photographer, film director, and actor Fan Ho received his first camera, a Rolleiflex, from his father when he was thirteen years old. Ho, well known for chronicling Hong Kong during the 1950s–60s while it emerged into a major metropolitan center, was born in 1932 in Shanghai.

He immigrated with his parents to Hong Kong when he was eighteen. Stricken by severe migraine headaches while a student at St. Paul’s College (now St. Paul’s Co-ed College), Ho discovered that the only cure for his pain was breathing fresh air while walking the streets of Hong Kong. To alleviate his boredom, he took photographs. Captivated by Hong Kong’s daily drama of crowded marketplaces, robust street life, and hidden alleyways, Ho found that photography not only relieved his headaches but was also a potent medium for his artistic vision.

Concurrent with his photography career, Ho started to work in the movie industry, first as an actor and later as a film director. As a child in Shanghai, he watched many movies, spellbound by cinema’s powerful storytelling capabilities. Ho successfully mastered the art of storytelling through filmmaking. During his forty- year career, in the film industry, he acted in twenty films and directed a total of twelve films. His films have earned awards in the International Film Festivals in Cannes, Berlin, and San Francisco, and are in permanent collection at the National Film Archives in Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Fan Ho is a Fellow at many organizations, including the Photographic Society of America, the Royal Photographic Society, and the Royal Society of Arts, England. He has taught photography and filmmaking at universities around the world. He lives in San Jose, California.

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