travel | Without an H

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I don’t normally take pictures of people from the other side of the street, as I don’t like feeling like a sniper. But I’ll make exceptions now and then; in this case, I wanted to catch the stillness of the chatting women and the movement of the passing traffic.

Spice up your life

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For the last couple of weeks – and my last couple of blog posts – I’ve been concentrating on shooting details, photographing the colours, textures and patterns that have caught my eye around the city. As well as looking for different subject matter, I’ve also been wandering in areas that I haven’t been to much lately, and using a lens, my 50mm, that I haven’t used for ages. It’s good sometimes to make yourself shoot in a different way, to break out of your usual habits. Having said that, I still couldn’t resist making a few portraits, which is what this post is all about. The last picture in this set is, I suppose, a portrait, but one that I probably wouldn’t have taken if I hadn’t been thinking about details.

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Hats, locks, ducks and other things

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Some more details from the streets and markets of Hanoi.

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A birdcage, a kettle and some other things

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You know that you’ve been living in Hanoi for a long time when you don’t notice that there’s a severed pig’s head in a bowl of water by your feet. Wherever you live, it’s easy to take the details for granted, which is partly why I set myself the task this week of photographing some of the colours, shapes, patterns and objects I see all the time in Hanoi. I didn’t get a picture of the pig’s head – it was moving too fast – but the city had plenty of other things to offer.

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In the eyes

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I was making a concerted effort today to not shoot any portraits. I just about managed it.

Every day is market day

150621-242-edited These pictures were all taken about a month ago, on one of those days when everything just worked and pictures seemed to flow into my camera of their own accord. I love it when that happens, and I wish there was a switch I could click to make it happen at my command.

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Three tired men

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It had been a long day for these three guys.

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Grilled

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Hanoi street food.

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End of the day (II)

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Another view over West Lake, Hanoi

Yellow is the colour

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If a city can have a favourite colour, then Hanoi’s must be yellow.

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