Remembering the Photography Hit of the 1950s in Hong Kong 回溯五十年代香港的摄影热潮 Norman s.k. Lau F.RPS E.FIAP F.PSA Hon.President FAPA Originally appears in issue 335《摄影晝报》第335期 1994 The photography circle has a developed a nostalgic trend recently. There is first Chung Man- Lurk’s Hong Kong. Yesterday’ photography exhibition, then Image of Hong Kong, a photogra per’s monograph by Yau Leung –both show the living conditions of the people of Hong Kong and the changes in the social the 1950s and’ 60s, and preserve richi mages for Hong Kong history. The recent “Gone AreThe Days,”a ‘joint Exhibition of Steven N.S. Cheung, Ho Fan, Tchan Fou Li and Kan Hing Fook’ held in the lower Block of Hong Kong City Hall ,is a large-scale photo exhibition of salon and landscape photography by photographers of Hong Kong in the ‘50s. The whole early 50’s In Hong Kong, it could be said was the golden era of salon photography in Hong Kong.During the late’60s ,the standard living of the people of Hong Kong gradually rose, and photographic equipment became more popular. Hence, amateur photography had become a big trend. At the time other recreational activities were not popular, and together with the fact that knowledge Hong Kong photographers excelled in darkroom techniques, this enabled the photographic works of Hong Kong to win several big awards in international salon exhibitions. The percentage of works being selected and the results of title examination made us proud. The fame of “photography Kingdom “spread like wildfire. It made landscape photography a big success. In those years, the photographers in Southeast Asian countries And world- wide all concurred with Hong Kong’s leading place. Water-crossings in Aberdeen, boathouses full of patterns, poetic picturesque misty landscapes of Shatin, smoke from cooking in fishing villages at Shau Kee Wan, sparkling bright tram rails, returning boats at dusk in Lau Fau Shan, dazzling and colourful night scenery, farming landscapes in the New Territories, outlines of avant-garde architecture, sunsets at crossings and backstreets, different faces at open food market and poor man’s nightclub, land scenery of nightfall at the Central Market, Pottinger Street and Ladder Street…these were all hot topics loved by photographers in the ‘50s and ‘60s .Through the tonal beauty in black-and –white images, the characteristics of living and beautiful scenery of Hong Kong were introduced to the rest of the World. Photographers such as Peter Dragon, S. F. Dan and Francis Wu could be said as the pioneers of Hong Kong photographers. In early 1950s, they opened a photography company in the urban Central district. Besides offering various photographic services, they held classes teaching photographic techniques, and helped solve difficult problems in photography. In those years, the Agfa company held four seasonal photo contests each year with big cash prizes. In each quarter, the first prize would receive HK＄1，000， which was equivalent to 5 to 6 times of the monthly salary of an ordinary citizen. Hence, a number of photo enthusiasts participated in these contests. In order to gain more readership, big and small newspapers also held photography activities and photo contests. I remember on 22nd july 1961,The new Evening Post held a grand photographic event at Tolo Harbour. N.T On the streets from Shatin to Tai Po, there were many photographic topics, such as misty fishing villages, smoke from cooking in forest, beautiful village girls, outdoor still lifes, ethnic dances and fashion photography, etc. The event was so grand, and there were a vast number of sponsors, event officials and photo enthusiasts participant. Even now it is considered such a large-scale photographic event that photographers often talk about it .As for photographic associations,there was The Photographic Salon Exhibitors Association(HK) in 1963, as well as Hong Kong Camera Club established in 1964,and Mpc Foto-Club in 1970 plus many others. At that time ,the photographers in the “photographic Kingdom”al had their personal styles and characteristics. Citizens of today are still impressed by the topics and the means of handling, composition and tonal control of these photographers. Some examples are the daring and novel cropping of Ho Fan ,Hong Kong and Macau’s scenery by Kan Hing-fook , works from Southeast Asia by Tchan Fou-li, landscapes with double exposure by Chow Chung-lim, characteristic portraits and darkroom manipulation by Soman Lo, meaningful still objects by Lee Seck-on, human bodies by Peter Dragon, studio portraits by S. F. Dan, goldfish by Cheung Yu-chiu, the narrative” haunting phantom” by Chin Manly,works of small cameras by Eddie Ching. The novel composition by Li fook-hing, African hunting of Hsu C. F. colour photography by K. H. Wu, ”impulsive” portraits by Kwan Tai-chi,and dynamic human photos of Onward Szeto and Chan Wang-hoi, etc All of them together have made the landscape of photographic art reach the highest level.
Posted on: Tue, 13 Jan 2015 09:31:23 +0000
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