Basil Pao
Encyclopedia
Basil Pao Ho-Yun is a Hong Kong
-based photographer who is perhaps best known for his work as the stills photographer on the BBC
filming teams that made Michael Palin
's TV travel programs.
and Los Angeles
. His work during that time included making numerous record covers and posters for Atlantic Records
, Polygram
and Warner Bros. Records
.
During this time Pao also met Michael Palin, when they worked together on the book for the Monty Python
film Life of Brian.
In 1980 Pao returned to Hong Kong and took up photography as his new career.
, he asked Basil Pao to show him around Hong Kong when he arrived there. After a couple of days in Hong Kong, Palin asked Pao to accompany the BBC team on the stretch from Hong Kong to Shanghai to act as guide and interpreter, and Pao agreed. Many of the photographs between Hong Kong and Shanghai used in the book that Palin later wrote about this trip, Around the World in 80 Days
, were taken by Pao.
In 1992 when Palin and the BBC were planning to make a new travel program, Pole to Pole
, they decided that it would be a good idea to have a full-time stills photographer on the team, and that Pao was a top candidate for the job. Pao accepted, and, except for the very first few days and the very last few days (he missed out on the two poles due to lack of space in the small aircraft used at both ends of the trip) it was exclusively his pictures that were used in the follow-on book that Palin wrote, Pole to Pole with Michael Palin
.
Basil Pao had taken an incredible 30,000 pictures on the Pole to Pole trip, and Pao together with BBC Books
released a large coffee-table style book with some of these pictures, Pole to Pole - The Photographs
. Palin wrote some introductory text and lent his name to the cover, but the book was almost completely dedicated to Pao's pictures, some of them displayed in two-page spreads.
The success of the collaboration on Pole to Pole marked the start of a long tradition. Each of the following Michael Palin trips for the BBC included Basil Pao on the team as the stills photographer, and it was exclusively (or almost exclusively) Pao's pictures that were used in the follow-up book that Palin wrote about each trip. These books are Full Circle
, Hemingway Adventure
, Sahara
, Himalaya
, and New Europe
.
As well as providing pictures for the Michael Palin books, Basil Pao made three additional photography books: Full Circle - The Photographs
, Inside Sahara
, and Inside Himalaya
. Palin's name is featured on each of these books and he provided some introductory text, but these books are otherwise exclusively about Pao's pictures. (There are no Basil Pao photography books related to Hemingway Adventure or New Europe
, although he was on the team for those trips too.)
Michael Palin sometimes refers to Basil Pao as "The Man Who Took The Photos".
's The Last Emperor
and Il piccolo Buddha (Little Buddha), and held the photographic exhibitions Glimpses of Silence and The Last Emperor Collection across Asia
and Europe
. He has also produced several other photography books, including China Revealed (publisher Weidenfeld & Nicolson
) and limited edition books Aman and Bhutan for publisher Amanresorts. He lately released a book called Hands containing only pictures of people's hands from all over the world.
Pao also performed as actor and assistant director in The Last Emperor.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
-based photographer who is perhaps best known for his work as the stills photographer on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
filming teams that made Michael Palin
Michael Palin
Michael Edward Palin, CBE FRGS is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries....
's TV travel programs.
Early career
Pao was born in Hong Kong, but started his career as an art director and graphic designer in New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. His work during that time included making numerous record covers and posters for Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
, Polygram
PolyGram
PolyGram was the name of the major label recording company started by Philips from as a holding company for its music interests in 1945. In 1999 it was sold to Seagram and merged into Universal Music Group.-Hollandsche Decca Distributie , 1929-1950:...
and Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
.
During this time Pao also met Michael Palin, when they worked together on the book for the Monty Python
Monty Python
Monty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
film Life of Brian.
In 1980 Pao returned to Hong Kong and took up photography as his new career.
The Michael Palin trips
When Michael Palin was doing his first trip for the BBC in 1988, Around the World in Eighty DaysMichael Palin: Around the World in 80 Days
Around the World in 80 Days is a BBC television travel series first broadcast in 1989. It was presented by comedian and actor Michael Palin. The show was inspired by Jules Verne's classic novel Around the World in Eighty Days, in which a character named Phileas Fogg accepts a wager to...
, he asked Basil Pao to show him around Hong Kong when he arrived there. After a couple of days in Hong Kong, Palin asked Pao to accompany the BBC team on the stretch from Hong Kong to Shanghai to act as guide and interpreter, and Pao agreed. Many of the photographs between Hong Kong and Shanghai used in the book that Palin later wrote about this trip, Around the World in 80 Days
Around the World in 80 Days (Michael Palin book)
Around the World in 80 Days is the book that Michael Palin wrote to accompany the BBC TV program Around the World in 80 Days.This trip was intended to follow in the footsteps of the Phileas Fogg in the Jules Verne book Around the World in Eighty Days. The use of aeroplanes was not allowed, a...
, were taken by Pao.
In 1992 when Palin and the BBC were planning to make a new travel program, Pole to Pole
Pole to Pole
Pole to Pole is an eight-part television documentary travel series made for the BBC and released in 1992. The presenter is Michael Palin, this being the second of Palin's major journeys for the BBC. The trip from the North Pole to the South Pole went via Scandinavia, the Soviet Union, parts of...
, they decided that it would be a good idea to have a full-time stills photographer on the team, and that Pao was a top candidate for the job. Pao accepted, and, except for the very first few days and the very last few days (he missed out on the two poles due to lack of space in the small aircraft used at both ends of the trip) it was exclusively his pictures that were used in the follow-on book that Palin wrote, Pole to Pole with Michael Palin
Pole to Pole (book)
Pole to Pole is a book written by Michael Palin to accompany his BBC television series Pole to Pole.-Book contents:The book follows each of his seven trips made for the BBC, consisting of both his text and of many photographs to illustrate the trip...
.
Basil Pao had taken an incredible 30,000 pictures on the Pole to Pole trip, and Pao together with BBC Books
BBC Books
BBC Books is an imprint majority owned and managed by Random House. The minority shareholder is BBC Worldwide, the commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation...
released a large coffee-table style book with some of these pictures, Pole to Pole - The Photographs
Pole to Pole - The Photographs
Pole to Pole – The Photographs is a large coffee-table style book containing pictures taken by Basil Pao, who was the stills photographer on the team that made the Pole to Pole with Michael Palin TV program for the BBC....
. Palin wrote some introductory text and lent his name to the cover, but the book was almost completely dedicated to Pao's pictures, some of them displayed in two-page spreads.
The success of the collaboration on Pole to Pole marked the start of a long tradition. Each of the following Michael Palin trips for the BBC included Basil Pao on the team as the stills photographer, and it was exclusively (or almost exclusively) Pao's pictures that were used in the follow-up book that Palin wrote about each trip. These books are Full Circle
Full Circle - Michael Palin
Full Circle is the book that Michael Palin wrote to accompany the BBC TV program Full Circle with Michael Palin.This book, like the other books that Michael Palin wrote following each of his seven trips for the BBC, consists both of his text and of many photographs to illustrate the trip...
, Hemingway Adventure
Hemingway Adventure (book)
Michael Palin's Hemingway Adventure is the book that Michael Palin wrote to accompany the BBC TV program Michael Palin's Hemingway Adventure....
, Sahara
Sahara (Michael Palin)
Sahara is the book that Michael Palin wrote to accompany the BBC television documentary series Sahara with Michael Palin.This book, like the other books that Palin wrote following each of his seven trips for the BBC, consists both of his text and of many photographs to illustrate the trip...
, Himalaya
Himalaya (book)
Himalaya is the book that Michael Palin wrote to accompany the BBC television documentary series Himalaya with Michael Palin.This book, like the other books that Michael Palin wrote following each of his seven trips for the BBC, consists both of his text and of many photographs to illustrate the trip...
, and New Europe
New Europe (book)
New Europe is the book that Michael Palin wrote to accompany the BBC television documentary series Michael Palin's New Europe.This book, like the other books that Michael Palin wrote following each of his seven trips for the BBC, consists both of his text and of many photographs to illustrate the...
.
As well as providing pictures for the Michael Palin books, Basil Pao made three additional photography books: Full Circle - The Photographs
Full Circle - The Photographs
Full Circle - The Photographs is a large coffee-table style book containing pictures taken by Basil Pao, who was the stills photographer on the team that made the Full Circle with Michael Palin TV program for the BBC....
, Inside Sahara
Inside Sahara
Inside Sahara is a large coffee-table style book containing pictures taken by Basil Pao, who was the stills photographer on the team that made the Sahara with Michael Palin TV program for the BBC....
, and Inside Himalaya
Inside Himalaya
Inside Himalaya is a large coffee-table style book containing pictures taken by Basil Pao, who was the stills photographer on the team that made the Himalaya with Michael Palin TV program for the BBC....
. Palin's name is featured on each of these books and he provided some introductory text, but these books are otherwise exclusively about Pao's pictures. (There are no Basil Pao photography books related to Hemingway Adventure or New Europe
New Europe (book)
New Europe is the book that Michael Palin wrote to accompany the BBC television documentary series Michael Palin's New Europe.This book, like the other books that Michael Palin wrote following each of his seven trips for the BBC, consists both of his text and of many photographs to illustrate the...
, although he was on the team for those trips too.)
Michael Palin sometimes refers to Basil Pao as "The Man Who Took The Photos".
Other activities
Basil Pao's photographs have been used in books and magazines all over the world. He took photographs for Bernardo BertolucciBernardo Bertolucci
Bernardo Bertolucci is an Italian film director and screenwriter, whose films include The Conformist, Last Tango in Paris, 1900, The Last Emperor and The Dreamers...
's The Last Emperor
The Last Emperor
The Last Emperor is a 1987 biopic about the life of Puyi, the last Emperor of China, whose autobiography was the basis for the screenplay written by Mark Peploe and Bernardo Bertolucci. Independently produced by Jeremy Thomas, it was directed by Bertolucci and released in 1987 by Columbia Pictures...
and Il piccolo Buddha (Little Buddha), and held the photographic exhibitions Glimpses of Silence and The Last Emperor Collection across Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. He has also produced several other photography books, including China Revealed (publisher Weidenfeld & Nicolson
Weidenfeld & Nicolson
Weidenfeld & Nicolson Ltd is a British publisher of fiction and reference books. It is a division of the Orion Publishing Group.-History:...
) and limited edition books Aman and Bhutan for publisher Amanresorts. He lately released a book called Hands containing only pictures of people's hands from all over the world.
Pao also performed as actor and assistant director in The Last Emperor.