YAU LEUNG 邱良 | CHEONGSAMS (GLOUCESTER ROAD) 儷人行（告士打道)

Two Women is one of the most recognizable works of Yau Leung, which depicts two women dressed in cheongsams walking down Gloucester Road in the 1960s. The scene reflects a society still recovering from World War II. The design of the cheongsams appears rather minimalist and sleek, with fabrics typically monochrome or abstract-patterned prints, and cut close-fitting to the body with tight hems in order to accentuate curves of the female figure. Yau's camera memorializes the nostalgia and poetry of a bygone era.

Yau Leung is one of the most prominent photographers in Hong Kong's postwar era, dubbed "Bresson of Hong Kong." He was best known for his street photography, capturing with authenticity the lives of people in the city. Yau Leung's eye was drawn to Hong Kong's least privileged residents — children and laborers from the lower social classes. His compositions are minimalist yet thought-provoking, documenting everyday life and stories of old Hong Kong.

Yau's documentary photography witnesses Hong Kong during a time when the Chinese and Western culture were intermingled. The way he captured the subtle details of the everyday affords the viewer a contemplative and deeper understanding of life from the 1960s to 1990s. Moreover, the angle and composition of each of his photos showcase his subjects within the context of life and time in all their fluidity, while also externalizing personal emotion.

Image reproduction courtesy of Photo Pictorial Publishers Ltd.

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攝於1960年代的《儷人行》，是邱良眾多經典作品之一，記錄兩名長衫女子沿著告士打道行走的背影。香港的長衫設計歷久常新，反映著當時社會的發展變遷。1960年代正值二戰結束 ，社會百廢待興之時，長衫設計因此亦以追求簡約時尚為主，多採用單色或印有抽象圖案的布料，更貼身的剪裁和緊窄下擺，更充分突顯女性體態的曼妙曲線。邱良鏡頭下《儷人行》正好記下了這滿載時代韻味和浪漫的畫面，別具詩意。

邱良是戰後香港最具代表性的攝影師之一，被譽為「香港布列松」，堅持以寫實風格，拍攝以香港普羅大眾的生活為題的作品，他偏愛拍攝孩童和基層的生活點滴，以簡潔深刻的構圖，紀錄生活真情，道出老香港的軼事。

邱良的寫實攝影見證香港華洋共處的時代，透過鏡頭勘視1960-90年代間的社會真情，當中記錄的不單讓觀者對於時代的人生百態有更深廣的觀照和理解，其所採用的拍攝角度和對主體人物的表現方式，更充分體現其對世態流動的細膩感知，進而外化的情感。

此作品蒙 攝影畫報有限公司俞允授權。