Ho Fan

Fan Ho (; 8 October 1931 – 19 June 2016) was a Chinese photographer, film director, and actor. From 1956, he won over 280 awards from international exhibitions and competitions worldwide for his photography.

Photography career Fan Ho was born in Shanghai in 1931, and emigrated with his family to Hong Kong in 1949. At the outbreak of war in 1941, Ho's parents were stranded in Macau for several years and Ho was left in the care of a family servant. Ho began photographing at a very young age with a Brownie which his father had left at home, and later with a Rolleiflex twin-lens reflex camera his father gave him at the age of 14. He developed his images in the family bathtub and soon had built up a significant body of work, chronicling Hong Kong in the 1950s and 1960s as it was becoming a major metropolitan centre. Ho would use the same Rolleiflex K4A throughout his career. Ho was named one of the "Top Ten Photographers of the World" by the Photographic Society of America between 1958 and 1965. A print of "Approaching Shadow" sold for a record in 2015. and moved on to act in several movies for Shaw. Ho played the Monk, Tripitaka, in the lavish Shaw Brothers adaption of Journey to the West four-picture cycle of films. Ho became disillusioned with Shaw's revenue-driven formula, and sought creative relief in photography and in other studios.

During the early 1960s he also produced a series of independent short films, the first of which, Big City Little Man (大都市 小人物; 1963, 30 min), won the "Honor Award Certificate" from the Japan International Film Festival in 1964.

People tell me it seems my photographic works have stories, have some drama. That’s why, later on, I became a film director. Both use images to tell their story, to express the emotions of the author. Photography and filmmaking are like sisters. One is still and one is moving—that is the only difference. — Ho Fan, 2012 HK Magazine article

He also served on the jury of the Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards festival and Hong Kong Film Awards.

Post-retirement career

Ho's wife and children emigrated to San Jose, California in 1979 to pursue a university education Restless in retirement, Ho's health began to decline until his family suggested that he pursue photography again. Rather than using modern equipment and taking photographs locally in the San Francisco Bay Area, Ho went through his old negatives from Hong Kong and began showing his portfolio to local galleries. A chance meeting with Mark Pinsukanjana in 1999 led to Ho being featured at Pinsukanjana's Modernbook Gallery in Palo Alto in 2000, his first solo exhibition since the 1960s, and Ho's films and photographs continued to be shown at festivals hosted at the 4 Star. Ho's daughter credits the first Palo Alto exhibition in 2000 with restoring Ho's confidence and happiness. following exhibits of the same title at Modernbook in summer 2011 and from December 2014 to January 2015.

He died in San Jose on 19 June 2016 of pneumonia at the age of 84. Posthumously, thirty-two photographs taken in 1950s Hong Kong as well as related objects, including his Rolleiflex camera and an early book, Thoughts on Street Photography, were exhibited at Sotheby's Hong Kong gallery in the last half of June 2017. A new photo book, Portrait of Hong Kong, was published in June 2017 to coincide with the exhibition. It was prefaced by the filmmaker John Woo.

Portrait of Hong Kong 《念香港人的舊》 contains 153 new street photographs which were selected from 500 negatives chosen by Ho before he died in 2016. After his death, his surviving family members spent about a year completing the project, together with support from Sarah Greene (Blue Lotus Gallery) and WE Press (香港人出版). 20 quotable excerpts from Ho's earliest book, Thoughts on Street Photography 《街頭攝影叢談》, were included. These 153 photographs provide not only glimpses of Hong Kong in the 1950s and 1960s but also recall the indomitable spirit of the people at the time. This body of realistic street photographs were never highly recognized during the 1950s and 1960s, despite being Ho's favorites, as quoted in Ho's reply to Sarah Greene during one of her visits to Ho in early 2016. The quote appeared in the afterword of his latest monograph:

Ho's family also established a website to celebrate his life and work.

Works by Ho

Short films Big City Little Man / (1963, 30 min, Hong Kong) Home Work / (1966, 40 min, Hong Kong) Gulf / 離 : (1966 Banbury England Best Film Award, 15 min, Hong Kong)

Feature films Year Title Role Market Production company Notes 1961 Love Without End《不了情》 Actor(Tang's brother)Hong KongShaw Brothers 1963 Revenge of a Swordswoman《原野奇俠傳》 Actor 1964 The Female Prince《雙鳳奇緣》 Actor(Hsiao's step-brother)1965 Vermilion Door《紅伶淚》 Actor(Luo Shao-Hua) Inside the Forbidden City《宋宮秘史》 Actor(Empress Di's son)1966 The Perfumed Arrow《女秀才》 Actor(Wei Zhuan-Zi) The Blue and the Black (Parts 1 and 2)《藍與黑》 (上) and (下) Actor(Hui Ya's husband) The Monkey Goes West《西遊記》 Actor(Monk Tang Xuan-Zang) Princess Iron Fan《鐵扇公主》 Actor(Monk Tang Xuan-Zang) The Joy of Spring《歡樂青春》 Actor1967 The Cave of the Silken Web《盤絲洞》 Actor(Monk Tang Xuan-Zang) Madame Slender Plum aka Under the Spell of Love《慾海情魔》 Actor(David Xu) Sweet Is Revenge《大俠復仇記》 Actor(David Li) Susanna《珊珊》 Actor(Yu Chih Chien) 1968 The Land of Many Perfumes《女兒國》 Actor(Monk Tang Xuan-Zang) 1969 The Millionaire Chase《釣金龜》 Actor(Sun Jia Wen) Miss Fragrance aka The Lovely Girl《香噴噴小姐》 Actor(Dr. Lam Kin-Wah) Kam Bo Motion Picture Co. Lost《迷》 Director 1970 Feng Kuang Chia Jen《瘋狂佳人》 Actor Taiwan What's Good for a Goose《大丈夫能屈能伸》 Actor Hong Kong Ming Xing Film Company Golden Sword and the Blind Swordswoman《金劍》 ActorTaiwan Wa Ha Ying Yip Gung Shut The Great Wall《孟姜女》 Actor Hong Kong Rong Hua Co.Lee Ming Film Co. From Home with Love《警告逃妻》 Actor Ta Chung Motion Picture Co.1971 I Asked the Clouds《問白雲》 Actor Song of Happy Life aka Naughty Songstress《淘氣女歌手》 ActorHong Kong Kam Bo Motion Picture Co.1972 The Song of Thailand《湄南河之歌》 Actor Tsun Lee Film Company Love and Blood《血愛》 Director Wai Diy Golden Rose《金玫瑰》 Actor Taiwan Hong Kong Rong Hua Co.Lee Ming Film Co.1973 Adventure in Denmark《春滿丹麥》 DirectorHong Kong Wai Diy Na Cha and the Seven Devils《梅山收七怪》 Actor(Qiu Ping) Shaw Brothers 1974 The Adventurous Air-Steward《空中少爺》 Director Goldig Films (H.K.) Ltd.1975 The Miserable Girl《昨夜星辰昨夜風》 Director Girl with the Long Hair《長髮姑娘》 Cinematographer, director Shaw Brothers 1976 Body for Sale《賣身》 Director Lo Wei Motion Picture Co., Ltd.1977 Innocent Lust《初哥初女初夜情》 Director Shaw Brothers Go a Little Crazy aka Encore《戇哥哥》 Director Daai Sing1978 The Notorious Frameup《淫獸》 Director Shaw Brothers Hello Sexy Late Homecomers《哈囉床上夜歸人》 Director 1980 Two for the Road aka Taipei My Love《台北吾愛》 aka 《姻緣道》 Cowriter, Director Taiwan Seasonal Film Corporation 1982 Expensive Tastes《花劫》 Writer, director Hong Kong 1985 Smile Again《花女情狂》 Director Golden Harvest 1986 Yu Pui Tsuen《玉蒲團》 Director 1987 Yu Pui Tsuen II《浮世風情繪》 Director Carnal Desire aka The Locked Heart《心鎖》 Director Taiwan Tomson (Hong Kong) Films Co., Ltd. 1988 Brief Encounter《慾燄濃情》 Director Hong Kong Gam Sing (Jinxing) Film Company 1989 Erotic Nights《夜激情》 Writer, director Mai Laan Din Ying Yau Haan Gung Shut1990 Temptation Summary《三度誘惑》 Director Sam Po Film Co L'Air Du Temps《豪門聖女》 aka 《時代之風》 Director Taiwan 1991 Hidden Desire《我為卿狂》 DirectorHong Kong World Perfect Production Co., Ltd. Temptation Summary II《四度誘惑》 Director Sam Po Film Co 1992 False Lady《哎也女朋友》 Executive Director, Producer1993 7 Days in Paris《少女情懷總是詩》 Producer Wild at Heart《不羈的心》 Director, producer Heung Gong Din Ying Chai Chok Gung Shut 1994 The Sichuan Concubines《罌粟》 Director

Monographs