Spilled Carrots Photographer In Haiphong, Vietnam
Posted on March 24, 2008
Haiphong is said to be a less touristy version of Vietnam’s capital, LonelyPlanet refers to it as Hanoi 10 years ago.
Far away cultures offer interesting experiences around every corner. All that’s needed are open eyes and an open mind.
The sign below is quite bizarre: from 5AM to 9PM it is prohibited to transport a seal on a bicycle in Haiphong! Go figure!
It is a nice and relaxing place but I expected plenty of photo opportunities after successfully photographing the Old Quarter of Hanoi for a week straight.
What happens when there are zero keepers after a multi hour street photoshoot in Haiphong, Vietnam spite the exotic Southeast Asia location and my best intentions?
Since many times there are no second takes when doing travel photography it is crucial to be as prepared as possible when it comes to camera settings, choice of lens, selection of subject and location, determining angles, etc.
Somehow I was not mastering any of these elements in Haiphong.
But every town during this trip deserves to be mentioned so here are my less than stellar photos from my brief 24 hour stay at Haiphong.
Kids are usually very excited to be photographed, screaming, laughing, jumping up and down. In Haiphong I was practically unnoticed.
I was a few feet away from these kids and even though they might have been immersed in playing the game I expected they would end up paying some attention to me and the clicking camera. They did not look up once:
Warm rays of the the sun just before setting illuminate this street scene, the background is a dusty and colorful bus and typical yellow buildings.
There is bright colored produce in the foreground and the women all wearing traditional hats.
All these exotic elements surprisingly resulted in a rather boring photo:
The color of the cyclo and the man’s shirt match nicely, he is sporting a big friendly smile, there is a decent contrast against the background (but I am probably too far) therefore completely unimpressed with what came of this effort:
Being at the right place at the right time is key for successful street and documentary photography!
The accidentally spilled carrots add unexpected drama to this photo … kidding … it is boring and all together a useless photo:
A breathtaking reflection photo of a disgustingly polluted river. Glamorizing a urine, feces and trash filled gutter is definitely an uphill battle:
Man urinating into the river which trickles through the town of Haiphong:
Camera equipped with a wide angle lens held above my head pointing downwards always gets curious reactions from the people below.
Along with the smiling faces and the yellow cable which really pops this photo is remarkably unremarkable:
Feathers laid out on a table at a market show a slice of a distant culture. Surprisingly the variety of the surrounding shapes and textures cannot save this photo from complete mediocrity:
Perhaps a sepia toned version can convey a more classic timeless feeling. No, it does not:
A more complex composition involving white feathers again.
Notice the balanced arrangements of all elements, the tree branches framing the a corner which otherwise would be empty space. The perfect timing of capturing a motorboat on the river coupled with the warm just before sunset light adds up to a highly unsatisfying and useless photo:
I’ll never forget the saying: being unique does not always mean creative (perhaps it can be the slogan for my website).
I noticed a woman’s face from where I was standing appearing in the rear view mirror of a motorbike, she was busy talking to a friend.
It was a just a really lucky angle, I never would have thought about placing her there on purpose. I was quite excited about this discovery … eagle eyes, yes I got them!
But no matter how I shot this idea (using about 25 frames) while trying to remain unnoticed and keeping her face showing in the mirror I find even this best pick out of the bunch is visually very weak:
Reality check: I am not a superstar everywhere I go in Vietnam.
Another funny example of the unenthusiastic welcome by the children of Haiphong:
Trying to catch an action shot of kids playing with a (fortunately) red ball in front of a government building decorated with a lot of Communist red.
The photo fails just like Communism did:
The moral of this post: it is refreshing to post my unsuccessful photos (some might say I already have been doing that in all my posts).
Much can be learned from failure now off to the next town!
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- True Mekong Delta Experience In Chau Doc, Vietnam
- Happily The Only Tourist And Photographer In Soc Trang, Vietnam
- Colorful Life On The Mekong River In Chau Doc, Vietnam
- Enjoyable And Meaningful Photography In Ha Tien, Vietnam
- Photography In Easy Breezy Gender Confused Kampot, Cambodia
- 12mm Wide Angle Lens Advantage And Elephant Dung
- Boat Tour On The Mekong River In Can Tho, Vietnam
- All In Ruins At Ayutthaya Sukhothai Phrae Nan and Bangkok, Thailand
- Candid Communist Street Photographer in Hanoi, Vietnam
“The photo fails just like Communism did.” LOL!
:)