Shooter Files by f.d. walker

Street Photography Tips, Interaction, Travel, Guides

Vietnam

Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week:
“Dog Clap”

Saigon Shooter Files

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken at September 23 Park in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Taken in the same area as a previous Sunday Street Shot, this long, skinny park runs along Saigon’s backpacker district up to the popular Bến Thành Market. In the heart of the city here, there’s always something going.

After shooting in the park some, I noticed this little white dog at the edge of the grass. I really liked the colors, with the bright white dog inside the red cloth set on green grass. As I walked over to take a photo, his owner came over too. The short, older man leaned over and started playfully talking to his dog while clapping. Due to how short the man was, I was able to tower over them by stepping on the grass side curb. I tried to compose the shot directly above the dog to accentuate the combination of colors, while also creating a sort of illusion with the man’s hands and feet only showing from under his hat. While it was a little difficult balancing above for the shot, the old man got a good laugh once he noticed what I was doing. 

Stats:

  • Camera: Fujifilm Xpro1
  • Lens: Fujinon XF 18mm 
  • Focal Length: 18mm (27mm full frame equivalent)
  • Aperture: f/8
  • Shutter Speed: 1/500
  • ISO: 1600

Saigon Shooter Files

Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week:
“Siesta and a Short Dress”

Saigon Shooter Files-47

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken on 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 can bring some tourists during the day, but it usually doesn’t get crowded until night.

Streets run across each side of the walking lane, lined with cafes and shops. I was walking along when I noticed this attractive woman in a tight, short dress with an unusual pattern that stood out. She was also wearing purple high heels and looked like she was dressed for the club in the middle of the day. As she stopped at a closed business to look in the window, I also noticed a man dressed in a bright orange work uniform sleeping on his motorcycle, with shoes off on the ground and his feet resting above.

In Saigon, men sleeping on their motorbikes are about as common as Pho restaurants. So I normally avoid taking photos of them due to how common of a sight it is, but this scene gave me a reason to stop. I composed them together while catching some of the city reflection in the window, and making sure to expose correctly since they were under shadow, out of the bright Saigon sun. For me, this scene is 100% Saigon. 

Stats:

  • Camera: Fujifilm Xpro1
  • Lens: Fujinon XF 18mm 
  • Focal Length: 18mm (27mm full frame equivalent)
  • Aperture: f/5.6
  • Shutter Speed: 1/500
  • ISO: 800

Saigon Shooter Files-47

7 First Impressions of Hanoi, Vietnam
(From a Street Photography Perspective)

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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. 

Hanoi Shooter Files-27

So here are my first impressions of Hanoi, from my personal Street Photographer perspective…

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Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week:
“Bridge Work”

Saigon Shooter Files-18

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

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. 

Stats:

  • Camera: Fujifilm Xpro1
  • Lens: Fujinon XF 18mm 
  • Focal Length: 18mm (27mm full frame equivalent)
  • Aperture: f/11
  • Shutter Speed: 1/500
  • ISO: 800

Saigon Shooter Files-18

Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week:
“Head Out”

Saigon Shooter Files-38

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

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.

Stats:

  • Camera: Fujifilm Xpro1
  • Lens: Fujinon XF 18mm 
  • Focal Length: 18mm (27mm full frame equivalent)
  • Aperture: f/5.6
  • Shutter Speed: 1/500
  • ISO: 1600

Saigon Shooter Files-38

33 Street Photography Photos from Three Months in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

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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.

Saigon Shooter Files-22

But for now, here’s 33 photos that I was able to capture during my time in Saigon…

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Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week:
“Window Dust”

Saigon Shooter Files-4

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

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. 

Stats:

  • Camera: Fujifilm Xpro1
  • Lens: Fujinon XF 18mm 
  • Focal Length: 18mm (27mm full frame equivalent)
  • Aperture: f/11
  • Shutter Speed: 1/500
  • ISO: 800

Saigon Shooter Files-4

Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week:
“Saigon Stretch”

Saigon Shooter Files-36

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam at September 23 Park (Công viên 23 tháng 9). This park stretches multiple blocks along Phạm Ngũ Lão street up to Ben Thanh Market. So it’s in the heart of the city right by the touristic backpacker district and ends at the city’s most famous market, making it one of the busier spots in the city. You get a mix of locals and tourists, different events, students looking to practice english, people playing shuttlecock, and people exercising like the man in this pic.

Saigon has these exercise stations in parks all over the city. They’re for very simple exercises that don’t take much strength and seem to be used by the city’s elderly more than anybody. This can create some humorous scenes. They rarely dress in exercise clothes, but they’re rarely breaking much of a sweat, either. This man was a different story, though. He was giving full effort in his button-up shirt. 

He was doing this ab workout where he’d bring his legs up and down, while also stretching them in and out at the same time. So I decided to capture a shot of this funny scene right when his legs were fully out and his facial expression showed all that effort he was putting into his routine.

Stats:

  • Camera: Fujifilm Xpro1
  • Lens: Fujinon XF 18mm 
  • Focal Length: 18mm (27mm full frame equivalent)
  • Aperture: f/11
  • Shutter Speed: 1/500
  • ISO: 1600

Saigon Shooter Files-36

7 First Impressions of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
(From a Street Photography Perspective)

saigon-impressions-cover

After traveling around Sri Lanka, India and Nepal, it was finally time stay in one place for a little while. That place was Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, or better known as Saigon. Honestly, everyone and everything in the city still refers to Ho Chi Minh City as Saigon so for this post we’ll go with the much shorter (and quicker to type) name too.

For my time in Saigon, I had my own apartment right in the heart of the city in District 1. Currently at 19 districts, Saigon uses this numbered system to section off different neighborhoods, many of which have their own character and what they’re known for. While District 1 is the heart of the city, and where most of the attractions are located, there’s a lot more to see if you have the time. Luckily, I had plenty of time to explore the many districts. 

Saigon Shooter Files-47

So here are my first impressions of Saigon (HCMC), from my personal Street Photographer perspective…

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20 Questions in Hanoi, Vietnam with Chu Việt Hà

Chu-Cover

*A new interview series with a play on “20 questions,” where I try to mix it up with different questions. Some serious, some not so much. I’ll also be focusing the series on some of the best street photographers from the cities I visit around the world during my 100 Cities project.

During my time living in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, I made sure to visit the capital of Hanoi too. I really enjoyed how full of character Hanoi is, and the older feeling it gives you compared to Saigon. While in Hanoi, I was lucky enough to meet and shoot with local photographer Chu Việt Hà, who really knows how to capture that character and discover the moments this city has to offer.

Chu Việt Hà’s work shows how important a good eye is in street photography. He’s able to find interesting, and sometimes surreal, scenes and moments within day-to-day life that most would never notice. He gets up close and brings you into what he captures. Seeing the world through his eyes shows you how unique all that life around us really is.

So now to learn more about him, it’s time for 20 Questions in Hanoi, Vietnam with Chu Việt Hà…

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