STAR
FERRY
PIER
Go shooting ! But how far will we go ?
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"Then again, it is a myth that the photographer is always shooting pictures. I would guess that three-quarters of my time is spent on research, reading and thinking about the project before shooting and analyzing the contacts after shooting." - On Being a Photographer : A Practical Guide, by David Hurn (Magnum photographer) & Bill Jay
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When instant image capturing devices, like mobile phones and digital cameras, are widely available, from time to time, there are occasions in Hong Kong that attract crowds of people to go to 'record the history'. In 2006 winter, there were complains about government's policy lacking a continuous planning and insight to preserve historical architecture and local culture. Eventually, the Star Ferry Pier in Central" was demolished, including the 'public monument', the clock tower.
With the highly commercial focus in the government policy, it is quite simple and easy to make the decision in terms of investment and return in money terms. Bring it down, and re-build can be simply kind of common truth. 'Culture' seems to be a misplaced word in this scenario. From the long history since colonial period, Hong Kong is quite often regarded as a rootless place in the realm of culture and identity. However, it may be some change after the reunion to China in 1997.
From the quotes in the beginning of this article, David Hurn pointed out clearly that photography (or probably we call this photojournalism) is not merely images. It is a multi-dimensional disclipine. But at the end, the main content is still the subject itself. Put in simple words, how curious we are to the subject ? How persistent we can maintain our curiosity and effort to continuously work on the subject, for example, the Star Ferry Pier ? A spontaneous interest on photo shooting cannot bring us into deeper level of the images.
Looking from another angle, it is worth looking for any analogy between how people responsed on this incident (photo documentary / photogjournalism is part of this), and how government reacted. We are the observers and we are also the participants. How we interpret 'culture' and react, it will be part of the evolution process of 'culture'.
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Within the Star Ferry Pier, in the past one wing was run by another transportation company providing ferry service between Central / Discovery Bay. That was relocated to the new Central Pier 3 a few years ago. This above photo was taken around 1999 before such relocation.
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More Information
Top/Bottom Photo - The Star Ferry Pier in Central under demolition
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