photography | Without an H

Posts from the ‘photography’ category

Postcard from Hong Kong

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This isn’t really a postcard from Hong Kong, since I’m back in Saigon as I write this, but I always send postcards late, if I send them at all, so let’s call it a postcard from Hong Kong.

Anyway, I spent last week in Hong Kong, where I met up with some friends from home. Nobody told me how much like London it would feel. Hardly a motorbike in sight, traffic that stays in its lane, people waiting patiently at the lights to cross the street, unapologetically expensive bars, ostentatious displays of wealth, identikit shopping malls, and double decker buses. There are differences, of course – Hong Kong has better weather, street food that won’t give you botulism, and an underground that doesn’t make you wish you’d stayed at home – but it certainly felt more similar to London than to Saigon. So I suppose that, in some way, it was good preparation for going home for Christmas.

Unusually for me, I was visiting a new place in the company of other people. Of course, I like people – some of my best friends are people – but I don’t normally travel with them. A lot of time was spent was spent catching up, deciding where our next fix of dim sum was coming from, and drinking in those unapologetically expensive bars. All this human interaction is all very well, but it’s not really conducive to taking pictures, which for me tends to be a solitary activity. I take my best pictures when I’m on my own and I have the time and space to move about, or stay still, and think, or not. But I did take some, and here they are: obligatory city skyline, skyscraper detail, bird houses, human houses, tiny tombs, reflections, a mini Mao, masks, many small buddhas, and one big buddha.

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Another monk portrait

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Here’s another from the archive, taken in Phnom Penh in January of this year. I should really have included it in this post, as I think they make quite a nice double act.

Outtakes

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This is a collection of Saigon street portraits from the last year or so, which I had previously overlooked, or which didn’t fit into earlier posts.

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Over and under the bridge

On Long Bien bridge, you see urban Vietnam: motorbikes, tired colonial architecture, views of narrow houses and tower blocks fading into the smog. Under the bridge, the island, where you find a slither of rural Vietnam: fishing villages, farmland, brave Red River swimmers.

When I lived in Hanoi, it was one of my favourite areas to go and take photographs in. These pictures are from a brief visit in October, when I stopped over in Hanoi for a few days on my way further north.

Travels with my sister

It’s easy to become jaded and cynical about a place after you’ve lived there for a while. One of the great things about visits from friends and family is that you get to look at familiar sights with some fresh perspective. Things that you might have started to take for granted become interesting again. So nine days in Vietnam with my sister, as well as being an opportunity to spend some time with one of my favourite people, was a chance to remind myself about what drew me to Vietnam in the first place.

These pictures are from the few days that Kate and I spent in Dalat and Hanoi.

Green (potw #41)

I’ve spent the last week and a bit on holiday with my sister, Kate, who came over from the UK to visit her little brother. We had a great time in Saigon, Dalat and Hanoi before Kate had to head home last night. I have a few pictures to add, but I thought I’d start with Mr Green here, seen this morning in Hanoi.

Colours and details

Every now and then, I like to publish a post without any people pictures. Like comedians sometimes make films without any jokes in. This is one of those. These pictures are all about the colours, patterns, textures and details that I saw in northern Vietnam last month.

My last post was featured on Freshly Pressed last week, so this site has gained quite a few new readers – hello. And to all those who have been following, commenting on and liking my posts over the last year – thank you. Here are some more pictures.

Around Sapa

My trip to Sapa seems like a long time ago now, though I’ve only been back for two and a half weeks. The cool temperatures, clean air and mist were a world away from Saigon’s humidity and smog. When the sun came out for the last few days, I was even a bit disappointed. These pictures were all taken in the countryside and villages around the town over the course of a few long-ish walks.

In the kitchen

I took this picture in Bac Ha, but it didn’t seem to fit in my earlier post, as it was taken on one of the side streets, rather than in the market. It’s not the sharpest picture I’ve ever taken, but I like it, so I’m posting it on its own here.

She was making rice noodles in a tiny street-side kitchen in the late afternoon. I liked the way she was lit by the fading sunlight outside, and I liked her style. Her slightly incongruous black suit jacket made a great contrast to the bright colours worn by the Flower Hmong market traders elsewhere in town.

Red II

I paid a couple of visits to Ta Phin village while I was staying in Sapa. There’s something very compelling about the Red Dao women and their red head scarves.