Photo: Michael Wolf
The man who captured
Hong Kong
as a skyscraper dystopia
When you think of Hong Kong, you probably imagine pictures of colorful buildings like this.
Photo: Michael Wolf
And this.
Photo: Michael Wolf
And this.
Photo: Michael Wolf
All these photographs were taken by one man:
Photo: Michael Wolf
Michael Wolf.
Wolf was born in Munich and grew up in the U.S. but moved to Hong Kong in the 1970s to photograph China for German magazines.
Photo: Michael Wolf
In the early 2000s, he started working as an independent artist.
Photo: Michael Wolf
He was particularly drawn to Hong Kong's tall buildings and their "never-ending repetitions of architectural patterns."
Photo: Michael Wolf
His photographs captured a city so densely populated that its skyscrapers never seemed to touch the sky.
Photo: Michael Wolf
But he didn't just photograph buildings.
Photo: Michael Wolf
In 2006, Wolf profiled the residents of the city's oldest public housing complex, which was on the verge of demolition.
Photo: Michael Wolf
He had an eye for the human aspects of city life, showcasing people crushed inside Tokyo's crowded subways.
Photo: Michael Wolf
Despite spending his life documenting urban jungles, Wolf preferred living away from the city, in an outlying island in Hong Kong.
Photo: Michael Wolf
One of the last pieces he released was a collection of tranquil sunset photos.
Photo: Michael Wolf
Last week, he died in his home at the age of 65.
Photo: Michael Wolf