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Tribute To A Silent Photo Farmer"Photo Asia" Magazine of Singapore
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Tribute To A Silent Photo Farmer"Photo Asia" Magazine of Singapore
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From the many friends I have made in the photo circle in Hong Kong, I especially respect a few extraordinary persons. Mr. Tong Fuk Hing is one, whose total dedication to photography and education deserves my full recognition.Mr. Tong came from a very rich family, but from disputes over the family estates, he could clearly see the damage money could bring to the otherwise harmonious family relationship. And from that moment on, money is very low on his priority list, even though he had to fund his own studies due to business failure of his father.
Starting from primary classes, he did not believe in the hard-core memorisation approach of the schools in Hong Kong, as opposed to promoting individual thinking as in North America. Hence he started to educate himself by reading about every subject that had his interest. He tried very hard to concentrate on each and every word so that he would not miss out on any great new idea. The more he learned, the more he opened himself up to benefit from the different views of others.
When he received a plastic toy camera as a gift that could make photos, he felt in love with the art instantly. He started reading books on photography and in two or three years he had practically exhausted all the volumes kept in the public libraries in Hong Kong. To continue, he finally had to open a book store to import photo books from overseas which could satisfy his desire for photographic knowledge. I first met him when he had moved his book store from the New Territories to North Point, Hong Kong island.
He became aware that most young photographers were misguided by their mentors, treating photography as a casual hobby rather than as a serious art. From that time on he made it his lifetime mission to introduce photography as an visual art amongst young photographers.
He started organising photo lectures and workshops targeted to students in Hong Kong Arts Centre and later built his own studio and darkrooms. To make his training affordable to all students, he kept his fees very low, barely covering the costs, with darkroom materials and equipment sponsored by distributors such as Kodak, Canon and others. He has no restrictions for admission to his photo workshops since he believes everyone has the right to learn. If the participants do not learn well, he thinks the trainer has failed.
To cover his daily expenses, he is still working as an accountant in a shipping company for more than twenty years under very special terms. He does not ask for any raise in salary but instead negotiates the freedom to leave office from time to time to prepare for his evening workshops. He spends only less than six hours in bed consistently and all his leisure time is dedicated to his students, from five to midnight, including weekends, sundays and public holidays.
Another heavy price he had to pay was his divorce from his first wife. His total devotion to photography was the major cause.
He constantly modifies his lecturing skills to ensure that his students fully understand the contents. He believes that practice is more effective than theory. He keeps in close touch with all his past students and organises group activities to ensure that they head in the right direction. Through joint projects, past students can acquire working experience in photojournalism, studio management, printing and other practical skills.
Mr. Tong spent all his energy not for profits, not for fame, but for the well-being of his students. Through hard work for more than twenty years, he has built up a network of middle school teachers who are responsible for supervision of the school photo clubs. They meet frequently to organise joint-projects and outdoor shootings during summer holidays.
Mr. Tong does not believe in fancy titles, a high profile or diplomas but considers the end product, the photograph itself, as the photographer's certificate. Ansel Adams, the great master in landscape photography, once said : "The picture you took yesterday is your certificate."
He keeps on learning in order to keep up with electronic imaging and new technologies.
His ultimate desire is to be able to run his workshops on break-even basis, just enough to cover his house-hold expenses, so that he can quit his present job and invest one hundred percent of his time in photography.
A Salute to a man who has devoted himself completely and unreservedly to photography, for the development of the younger generation and the continuation of photography as a visual art.
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