Kids And Travel Photography At Its Best In Chau Doc, Vietnam

I can always depend on Chau Doc for kids and travel photography so this is the 3rd time I stopped by on my way to the Cambodian border.
My days spent here have been memorable every time mostly because of the Cham people who live by the riverside across town; they provided me with the warmest welcome and some very nice photos.

The little girl above has been ill and I was told this special haircut has healing powers to help her get better.

The communities in the outskirts of Chau Doc happen to have all the characteristics needed for some excellent photography.
The roads behind the houses on stilts are always teaming with kids, colorful scenery and plenty of interest and curiosity towards me due to few tourists venturing into these areas.

My most successful days when I took my best photos were all based on a simple plan.
Taking a motorbike is a total overkill, way too fast to notice photo opportunities and react to them, even riding the bicycle is too fast to make the right type of contact with people.
I would ride a bike if there were villages, pagodas or real scenic landscapes a few miles from my hotel.

Otherwise walking provides the optimal speed to get around and be able to discover small alleys and doorways, to capture fleeting moments.

I never have a clue what to expect from a new town or neighborhood so getting lost is the best way to photograph real moments of real people as opposed to suffering through the painful process of taking pictures of unwilling locals at tourist traps who are just there to make as much money as possible.

Being in a genuinely good mood is very important, I have just stayed in my hotel room or walked around without my camera on days when I was not feeling like smiling at and greeting hundreds of people.
Smiling is a way of life in Southeast Asia and especially when a tourist enters a non-touristy area and attempts to take hundreds of pictures.
Fake smiles are not a substitute, it is not Hollywood where those would work.

I try to think as little as possible not to self defeat because the process is a lot more intimidating than taking photos in Europe or the USA.
I look and dress differently from locals, drawing much attention which has its benefits but also put me on the spot where I cannot just blend in and take my time figuring things out.

Being surrounded by National Geographic worthy landscapes, streets, houses, people and cultures still “really hits me” even after 6 months and I never wish to take those experiences for granted.
It has happened to me quite a few times that I noticed I was forgetting to breathe while photographing truly “breathtaking” subjects. I find those moments very funny as long as I do not to pass out.

Chau Doc is one of few places I spurge with my hotel budget because I found so much luxury for so little money.
I returned to the same fantastic 10 dollar hotel where I stayed previously planning to ask for a discount for a longer stay and for being there the third time.

The new rate was 12 dollars even though it was the low season. Hotel owners are gettig more savvy and are quick to adjust their rates if they are too low.

My negotiations resulted in a one dollar discount even though the hotel was almost empty which I can only attribute to greed mixed with stupidity.
So I checked out after one night and went to a 6 dollar hotel which was just fine with me. Giving up the in room Wi-Fi and the modern elegant look of the hotel was worth the 5 dollar difference.

One a funny note: one day when the electricity was shut down in the entire town of Chau Doc due to maintenance my cheaper hotel was running generators but my luxury hotel was not. Greedy owners are the same around the world, plain pathetic.

Besides the hotel mishap there was another incident. Third time is apparently not the charm in Chau Doc for grooming purposes because after returning to the same hair salon for the third time my real simple request for a shorter haircut resulted in a horrific buzz cut which was somewhat successfully fixed by a more capable stylist a few minutes later.

But it all worked out and I ended up with the shortest hairstyle I had since being a soldier at age 18.
Just when I felt OK about my new look which almost completely lacked hair, I was greeted by a laughing shop owner who was pointing at my head saying: Vietnam haircut??? It was pretty funny.

Photo taken from the modern bridge which I always walk over to visit the Cham communities across from Chau Doc.
The wet season provides much more picturesque and dramatic skies than the mostly cloudless dry season:

A very nice and patient lady let me take as many photos as I wanted of her. She was glowing and had a beautiful look about her. Some of her close up portraits I find book cover good.
All elements came together: her white shirt really stood out against the dark background and her skin color, the bright orange color of the hammock complimented the brown wood behind, the very bright sunlight softly and evenly illuminated her in the open shade of the porch providing studio quality lighting:

Like a true superhero the kid insisted on keeping his mask on. The porch provided a great background, it was not too busy but while looking at the picture the eye can wonder around and discover small details:

For every shy kid there are 10 who are super enthusiastic to perform and be photographed:

I stopped across a building which was in shambles to use it as a background and waited a few minutes to take photos of everyone interesting who walked by. This mini project could have gone on for hours resulting in a nice picture story about the people and life in Vietnam.
There was a performer in this group of kids who made the photo interesting:

The picture of this lady who is taking a break from work will always remind me of the friendly, kind, no-drama, peaceful, just really normal attitude of the Vietnamese people which is in stark contrast with the insanely stressed out, caught in a rat race, unfriendly, aggressive American way:

Heavy bundles of bamboo unloaded from boats is being carried by kids further ashore:

This photo is part of an ongoing project I am shooting and will present in a post later on. The theme is: what kids play with in Southeast Asia.
It is about how children entertain themselves without Playstations and thousands of dollars worth of electronics and toys in very poor communities.
This boy was getting the last drips of paint out of some discarded spray cans while having a good old time:

Sometimes all it takes is pointing the camera on people and they loose it immediately:

Catching a natural unposed moment is not always possible, some people have an idea what they are supposed to be doing for a good photo which eliminates any spontaneity.
They make up for funny photos though, this girl is trying to force (or pull) a smile on the face of the terrified, unwilling little boy:

Unfortunately these kids have learned from someone that this index finger pressed into the cheek look is cute.
I tried not to laugh while taking this photo as I knew it was useless in a classic sense but a gem when it comes to comedy:

This photo was taken at 6:30AM from one of my favorite spots which is the busy local boat and ferry dock. A great place to view life passing by especially in the morning when the light is soft, it is not hot yet and people are just starting their days.
Peaceful moment of a father with his baby on the porch of their floating house:

From the same dock using a wider angle a woman washing greens in the river which is not recommended for foreigners to set foot in due to high levels of bacteria.
When eating at roadside restaurants skipping uncooked vegetables served on the side is a good way to make sure the next day is not spent on the toilet:

The dock sees high volume of traffic which gives a fresh new photo opportunity every minute. I like this picture because of the expression on the face of the kid who obviously just woke up, the signature Vietnamese pink outfit against the green plants and the typical Mekong Delta background:

In Vietnam only government workers receive a retirement pension so the age of the lady rowing this boat across the river is not surprising or unusual:

When spotting a scene like this during a travel and kids photography trip it is better luck than winning the lottery. The kids finished cooling down in the river about 15 minutes later so I easily could have missed them and of course I miss dozens of these moments every day.
But when I find them they are the best:

My 18-200mm Nikon zoom lens is indispensable in these situations as the above photo and the one below were taken from the same viewpoint just a few seconds apart:

The photo of this bridge being ordinary is the point of the photo and this story. How could I have known or guessed that the other side was Cambodia?
The Cambodian border is about 25 kilometers away on road and takes about one hour by boat from Chau Doc so how is it possible that a bridge in the middle of Chau Doc is a border crossing point? The most confusing surprise during my trip so far.
So I did cross the bridge of course unbeknownst to me ending up illegally in Cambodia for about 30 minutes, shooting a few photos and sitting on the riverbank passing dozens of people until a not-so-friendly man on a motorbike pointed me back towards Vietnam.
Later I was told that there are signs after the bridge on the Cambodian side. Probably it would be smarter to put an English sign before the bridge but there might not be many tourist wondering this way which is why I come to these neighborhoods anyways:

An illegally (without a Cambodian visa) obtained photo of looking back at Chu Doc, Vietnam:

I took this picture while sitting on my small plastic chair and eating noodle soup for breakfast at a roadside eatery.
How great is this: blue cyclo, blue pants, blue shirt, partially blue cap, blue door and blue window:

Best for last? Better believe it! Cannot top ducks and a motorbike! And how much more lucky one can get? Both the weaving and the letters on the bags are the same yellow color as the ducks’ beaks: