Street Photography Tips, Interaction, Travel, Guides
* “Master Profiles” is a series profiling all the great photographers of uncontrolled life. Unlike the rest of the blog, I’m doing these in a straight profile format to make it easy for quick access to facts, quotes and knowledge on all the masters. I’ll also group them together here every time I add a new one.
Ernst Haas (1921-1986)
Austrian photographer and photojournalist known for his pioneering use of color and abstract aesthetic.
While living in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, I made sure to make a trip up to the capital of Hanoi. I’d heard a lot of good things from locals, especially photographers, so I was excited to see another side of the country. I also met up with Hanoi’s very own Chu Việt Hà, who thankfully showed me around his city. I’d recommend everyone check out his work, if you haven’t already. Super talented.
Hanoi quickly grew on me and while I love Saigon, I’d have to say Hanoi is even better for photography. It has a more old world atmosphere full of character that’s hard to beat. It’s also extremely walkable and has some can’t miss spots that you can go to over and over again.
So here are my first impressions of Hanoi, from my personal Street Photographer perspective…
This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Cuong Tran, a local street photographer in Saigon, was kind enough to take me along for a few walks to show some of the places he likes to shoot. One stop we made was at a village along the river in Binh Thanh, a district in the center of the city just north of District 1. While it’s in the heart of the city near skyscrapers and modern developments, this area takes you back in time and out of the city with its atmosphere.
After exploring the narrow village streets and talking to the friendly locals, I spotted some work being done on a small bridge. Saigon is in constant development and you see construction and electrical workers in their blue jackets all over the city. I liked the blue/turquoise shades of the bridge, water and sky matching their uniforms, and the background reflection of the city and village on the river. So I decided to wait and see if anything interesting happened to capture.
As one worker was strapped below the bridge and making his was back up, I made this shot in mid-effort to pull himself up. Judging by his expression, it’s not easy work.
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*A series of guides on shooting Street Photography in cities around the world. Find the best spots to shoot, things to capture, safety concerns, street tips, and more for cities around the world. I have personally researched, explored and shot Street Photography in every city that I create a guide for. So you can be ready to capture the streets as soon as you step outside with your camera!
This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in the Gò Vấp district of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Gò Vấp is a district in the northwest of Saigon, just above the international airport. Having the airport right inside the city can provide some interesting captures from the planes flying so low over the buildings. This urban district also has some nice little alley neighborhoods and markets for street photography.
I was exploring the winding, narrow alleys with some local street photographers. It was pretty quiet, but around a corner, we came across a few people outside their home. Out of the corner of my eye I saw an older women quickly pop her head out of her curtain door. She popped back inside before I had a chance to capture it, but I decided to get my camera ready just in case she came out again.
Sure enough, only a few seconds later, out popped her head. At the same time, I saw a little boy watching me in the door window’s reflection. So just as she looked to talk to someone in the street, I snapped the photo to include them both. It doesn’t get much friendlier than here so she had a good laugh about it before going back inside, while some of the curious kids gathered around to check out my camera.
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Unfortunately, I haven’t had great luck with weather in Hong Kong. Mostly clouds and rain instead of sun. And while that can be frustrating, clouds can’t cover the fact that Hong Kong is a one of a kind city full of character, variety and interest. A densely populated multi-cultural city that shows the future in one direction and the past in another, all wrapped up into one of the better big city experiences I’ve had. Clouds and all.
So here are my first impressions of Hong Kong, from my personal Street Photographer perspective…
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam became my base this year, and a chance to stay in one spot during all my travel. That being said, I was only able to spend 3 months there so far before leaving to Europe for the summer. And some of that time was spent traveling outside the city. Still, 2+ months, while having an apartment in the heart of Saigon, gave me plenty of time to explore and photograph this lively city.
But for now, here’s 33 photos that I was able to capture during my time in Saigon…
This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken by Nguyen Hue Street in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Also called Walking Street, Nguyen Hue is the first pedestrian-only street in Ho Chi Minh City. The French colonial styled City Hall and Ho Chi Minh statue sit here, which brings tourists during the day, but at night is when it gets busy. Especially on weekend nights, it becomes a gathering place for young locals, tourists, and street performers.
In addition to the activity Nguyen Hue Street attracts, the area is lined with restaurants and cafes. I was a block away from Walking Street, just as the the sun was about to set, when I saw how the low light was hitting this restaurant. The bright red chairs against the black shadow first caught my eye, with the subtle reflection of the buildings in the string curtains, but then this lady holding a colorful duster started cleaning the window sill. I took a few photos, but liked this one where she shortly glanced at me the best.
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