In the first half of the 20th century, photography struggled to find acceptance in the art world. But some major developments, including the move in 1940 by the Museum of Modern Art to create the first photography department in a United States museum, changed the way the medium was perceived. While largely male-dominated, there were a number of women who were carving a career in photography. Among them was German Ilse Bing. In the 1930s, Bing became one of the few female photographers to master the avant-garde handheld Leica 35mm camera. Dubbed “Queen of the Leica”, she experimented with unconventional cropping, solarisation, electronic flashes and night photography. As a freelance commercial photographer in Paris, her work appeared in fashion magazines such as Vogue , Adam , Marchal and Harper’s Bazaar . In 1936, her work was included in the first modern photography exhibition at the Louvre, in Paris, and the following year she had her first solo exhibition at the June Rhodes Gallery, in New York. Now Hong Kong is celebrating the artist with an exhibition titled “Ilse Bing – Paris and Beyond”, comprising 100 works on display at F11 Foto Museum , in Happy Valley, until October 31. “This exhibition is a visual journey of the influential photographer, who contributed to the establishment of Paris as the centre of modern photography in the 1930s,” says F11 Foto Museum founder and director Douglas So, adding that it is the first solo exhibition of Bing to be held in Hong Kong, with more than 100 vintage silver-gelatin prints. “She was one of the few female photographers of her time who believed in photography as an art form, and was determined to connect photography with new ideas, techniques, creativity and the human experience.” The exhibition includes lectures, guided tours and VIP events. “Ilse Bing – Paris and Beyond”, a project associated with Le French May, runs until October 31. F11 Foto Museum is at 11 Yuk Sau Street, Happy Valley. For more information, click here .