Saigon, Vietnam: Definitely NOT A National Geographic Photographer

My first official photography session in Vietnam was educational on many levels:
1. spite the poverty the Vietnamese people are full of smiles and kindness
2. I don’t have the right at this point to dream about ever becoming a National Geographic Photographer <-- summary critique of the photos below.

I stayed in the Go Vap District of Saigon during my first 3 days in Vietnam, it is about a 20 minute taxi ride from Saigon central.
This district has very few foreigners which is great because I did not have to “crop out tourists” and I was instantly the center of attention.

One may think it is best to blend in for street, documentary and people photography but fortunately being extra visible had its advantages.

This shoot at a large market was my first real attempt to take pictures of people in Vietnam, it involved interaction with the locals and I had no idea what to expect.

I was moving slowly through the market observing and making eye contact before taking any pictures. If I felt the other person was comfortable with having me around I started shooting without asking for permission.
But if there was any doubt or reservation in the eyes I either pointed at my camera to ask to take the picture or I did not even choose to photograph that subject.

Probably just a coincidence that I was not incredibly welcomed in the garment and clothing section but as soon as I entered the fish market things took a 180 degree turn.
I guess one has to have a certain openness and acceptance to be able to peel shrimp all day long - and they surely did!

Men approached me asking me to take photos of their wives or girlfriends working which usually got the women a bit mad (not in a serious way), this teasing went on and on, the men egging on the women to be in my pictures.

There was a lot of laughter and giggling which created a very relaxed environment for photography.
But this did not stop with the men. The women were just as bad pointing at their girlfriends behind their backs urging me to select them, half the market was making fun of each other!

This is what I mean by being visible and the center of attention but not intimidating can be useful to build chemistry between photographer and everyday people who might not be so keen on being photographed.

Woman selling cutlery; there was a doorway where I could sit down out of the way and out of sight. This angle gave me a chance to give the picture a balanced composition with the woman in the foreground and a perspective of the walkway and people shopping.

My fish market guide was a very enthusiastic man who led me around to show me the finest fish of the market.
I nicknamed him the Vietnamese Brad Pitt, his face with that hat on bore a close resemblance.

Notice the 3rd woman in the background, she is laughing because she is not the one being photographed … these are some of the women who were teasing each other.
I put the dirty rinsing water in the foreground on purpose just to add realism, everywhere you go in Vietnam, meals or ingredients are prepared on or close to the ground (too close for western standards) let it be a market or the sidewalk of a busy city street.

Young girl cleaning shrimp; I talked to another girl who works at the market in the morning to help her family, goes to university during the day and has a regular job at night.

Cleaning and displaying fish for customers; my Vietnamese Brad Pitt helper was constantly poking and moving the fish around to have the fish jump, twist and turn to make them even more exciting “props” for my pictures .. what a great guy!

It was difficult to choose an interesting moment to show a seller and buyer interaction without standing one place too long.
It felt to me like hanging around one spot for more than a minute or pointing a (not very small) camera for more than 20 seconds at someone was already pushing it.
So I tried to make the best of every location, too bad the face of the seller is not showing but there is a bamboo hat (always good element) and a reaching hand of a customer which is still better than just photographing the food.

This lovely Vietnamese girl at a grain stand had the prettiest smile which I also photographed but this quiet (and natural) moment happens to be my favorite from her photos.

Just grains … but very neatly displayed.

The market had air vents (sections of the roof cut out) which let in the morning sun to illuminate some sections with a kind of spotlight effect.
This stand was one of them and all the produce and plastic bottles were glowing in a perfect side lighting giving them a real nice 3D effect.

The colors and perfectness of produce caught my eyes when I walked by this stand.

I did not ask for a free sample from this lady, some things are better left for the imagination.

There was just a lot of intensity about this man.

More meat chopping action, I became fascinated by the swinging cleaver … actually I was just practicing timing and catching the movement in its most dynamic moment.

… before McDonalds .. there was real food.

The only reason for this photo was to place that thing (whatever was hanging from a hook) in the foreground of this picture. You can almost touch it, right? But why would you?

Just a compositional practice photo making use of a wide angle lens. Bamboo hat, interaction between seller and buyer, interesting product .. all there.

And Iron Chef’s Best Fish Presentation Award goes to this fish market stand. There wasn’t even a close 2nd runner up, this was a great example of attention to detail!

Vietnamese Fashion 101: everything goes with bamboo hats and bamboo hats go with everything!
Any questions?

Becoming A National Geographic Photographer

It is good to have massive goals and becoming a National Geographic Photographer is quite an elusive one.
The only reason I even brought up National Geographic Magazine was for fun and because I realized how far I am from it now.

But whenever National Geographic will contact me I will be ready. And I will also know it was one of you readers of mine playing a joke on me.
So I will be checking the from email address, NationalGeographic@yahoo.com most likely will not fool me!