Killer instinct - photographer William Furniss' meticulous planning and timing
William Furniss' photos reflect his love for Hong Kong and are often the result of meticulous planning, writes Kate Whitehead
William Furniss can tell you exactly how long it takes for the traffic lights in front of Sogo in Causeway Bay to change. He knows because he's timed them - to the second.
Hearing the 43-year-old photographer describe how he took one of his outstanding Hong Kong images is like listening to a professional hitman. There were numerous variables to take into account to get the capture: it had to be 1pm and sunny for the light to hit the crossing, it had to be a Saturday so there were plenty of people about. And the hit was further complicated by the fact that he was shooting from a tram, his preferred vantage point.
"The pedestrian lights get 45 seconds and the traffic gets 30, so you've got one minute and 15 second cycles, and the tram takes 15 seconds to reach the junction," explains Furniss.
I'm not about the grand vista. I like to hone it down and get to what's interesting, the unique aspects of a place
His camera loaded with 35mm film, he boarded the tram at the stop before Sogo, hung out of the door for 15 seconds to delay the driver and then raced up the stairs and started shooting from the upper deck.
"I love stuff like that, where it is a little bit like a hit. Everything has to be planned out. That's very exciting," says Furniss.
"Causeway Bay Crossing", a contact sheet of 30 images showing the ebb and flow of pedestrians at one of the city's busiest intersections, the frames crossed with bold yellow traffic markings, is among his many visually arresting takes on Hong Kong.
After cutting his teeth alongside big names in the business in London, such as Patrick Lichfield, he arrived in Hong Kong in 1993 and has developed a solid reputation as one of the leading photographers documenting the city.