This portrait of legendary singer and actress Bai Guang is just one of countless photos taken by Yau Leung during his career as stills photographer for the Hong Kong movie industry. I don't know too much about him, except that he worked for both Shaw Brothers and Cathay/MP&GI and, judging from his output, many other studios as well. But it's clear from his work that he was an important contributor to Hong Kong movie culture. Besides helping to create the publicity that fueled the fantasies of the silver screen, he also trained his camera on the regular folks who lived and worked in Hong Kong. Yau Leung's photographs of everyday life are just as beautiful as his glamor shots, and placed side by side, both aspects of his work create a unique historical record of the city and its dreams.
Here's a recent article from Time magazine bemoaning the lack of greater recognition for Yau Leung's work.
There are two volumes featuring his movie star portraits, which I highly recommend, but unfortunately they can be quite difficult to track down. Two of his other books can be ordered from YesAsia (although you might want to shop around for a better deal).
But you don't need to spend a dime to see the wonderful selection of Yau Leung's photographs at the Yesterday Hong Kong website.
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