The Prime Minister and the General
This morning the 6th session of the National Assembly XII opened at the Ministry of Defence in Hanoi. Nothing particular titillating to photograph, mostly just a few hundred delegates sitting down listening to a few opening remarks by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. However, before the start of the session, I caught up with the [...]
Lens Blog Pictures of the Day
An image of mine popped up last week on the extremely tasty NYTimes LENS Blog. The New York Philharmonic was in Hanoi for a pair of shows at the historic opera house (whose doors first opened in French colonial Indochina in 1911), but instead of focusing on the performance, I concentrated on the reactions of [...]
Do Son Buffalo Fighting Festival 2009
A little slow getting this set up here. Had to drive down to central Vietnam earlier this week to cover Typhoon Ketsana. There are a few images of the buffalo being butchered, so be warned. Check out some of Aaron’s images from the same festival here. Enjoy! Do Son Buffalo Fighting Festival 2009 – Images [...]
Reflections of a new father visiting an Agent Orange orphanage
Yesterday I went to an orphanage outside Hanoi, to work on a story about Agent Orange. There’s a new report out from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, saying the chemical defoliant could be causing heart disease and Parkinson’s in US Vietnam veterans. Of course this means it would be having the same effect on [...]
50th anniversary of the Ho Chi Minh Trail
50th Anniversary of the Ho Chi Minh Trail – Images by Julian Wainwright 2009 marks the 50th anniversary of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, a supply line of roads, paths and jungle tracks largely responsible for defeating American forces during the Vietnam War. With much of the trail now disappearing into overgrown jungle, and large [...]
Robert McNamara, US Secretary of Defense during Vietnam War, dies aged 93
McNamara was famously remourseful about his role in the Vietnam War in his later years, as recorded by Errol Morris in “The Fog of War“. His critics said that was much too little, too late. Though unlike Donald Rumsfeld, he did seem to genuinely carry the burden of his role in the deaths of thousands [...]
The lawyers and the law
Last week, Hanoi lawyer Cu Huy Ha Vu launched a lawsuit against the Prime Minister of Vietnam, Nguyen Tan Dung. It’s not every day a citizen sues the leader of his country. In fact, according to Vu, it’s never been done before in Vietnam. Go figure. The lawsuit is over controversial bauxite mining projects in [...]
103-year old Vietnamese photographer Vo An Ninh dies
“Vietnam’s most senior photographer Vo An Ninh passed away at his home in HCM City on June 4 at the age of 103.” <a href=”http://technorati.com/claim/67c3etgpsr” rel=”me”>Technorati Profile</a>
Haiphong Cement: just not the same without Denilson
Went out to Haiphong today to shoot former global footbal top dog Denilson make his debut for Haiphong Cement. In the end, he didn’t dress, but watched the game from the stands. Understandably, the paying public were rather upset, as scalpers had charged a premium for the rare chance to watch some Brazilian magic on [...]
Yin / Yang
Last week I flew down to Phu Quoc, a lovely island off the southwest coast of Vietnam, for a luxury resort shoot. The manager, being a warm, generous soul, said it would be fine for my family to come along and stay in one of their swank villas for the week while I toiled (er, [...]
Fotorim magazine interview, HIV/AIDS project
Berna and the good people at Fotorim magazine must have been a bit starved for content for their April issue, as they kindly produced an interview with me, discussing a project covering HIV/AIDS in Vietnam and thoughts on photography in general. You can read the whole thing in both Turkish and English over here on [...]
Urban panoramas
I’ve been working with a real estate consulting firm the past few months, photographing some of their projects in Hanoi and Danang. Most of the shoots were at construction sites, in varying stages of development. Here’s an image shot from the roof of a hotel in Hanoi, overlooking the southern edge of Hai Ba Trung [...]
Flood coverage : the bigger picture and a self-critique
I received some very nice emails and phone calls from concerned family and friends the past few days, as they watched TV and Internet coverage of the Hanoi floods from afar. I was surprised when they asked after my safety and well-being. After all, the flooding, although fairly serious in pockets of the city, had [...]
Hanoi’s blue notes
Last week I was shooting an assignment on the jazz scene in Hanoi. I’m not sure if Hanoi’s reputation for having an actual jazz “scene” is warranted, but if there is a scene, its focal point has always been – and continues to be – Minh’s Jazz Club, in the heart of the old quarter. [...]
TIME Magazine Hero of the Environment 2008: Vo Quy
I had a really fun portrait assignment with TIME Magazine last week. They were doing their environmental heroes issue, and Hannah Beech had written about Vo Quy, a gentle, good-humoured 79 year-old ornithologist and a strong voice for environmental awareness in a country that has seen incredible urban and industrial growth in the past two [...]
Solid gold
Last month I shot an assignment for the World Gold Council. With Vietnam’s previously robust economy now suffering from massive inflation, people are turning to gold as a safe investment. I was able to take a brief look into the phenomena of banks and trading companies branding their own gold to sell on the market. [...]
John McCain’s host at the Hanoi Hilton
Meet Tran Trong Duyet, a former guard at the Hoa Lo prison (Hanoi Hilton) in Hanoi where Republican presidential hopeful John McCain spent over five years as a POW after being shot down over Hanoi during the Vietnam War. The image on the Left is Duyet today, the image on the Right is a portrait [...]
How to spend a quiet Sunday afternoon….
Yesterday a did a shoot with my friend Thao, who is finishing up her studies at the London School of Fashion here in Hanoi. Most of the fashion work I do is documentary or behind-the-scenes, but I’ve worked with Thao before and had a blast. So when she called me and asked if I was [...]
HIV/AIDS in Vietnam
I recently completed an assignment with UNAIDS in northern Vietnam. We tried to show some of the projects that they’re involved in here, from an MSM (Men who have Sex with Men) cabaret night in Hanoi, to HIV/AIDS clinics, support groups and rehabilitation centres in the surrounding countryside. Its a tricky topic to cover here, [...]
Kite flyers
I’m in the southern coastal city of Nha Trang, covering the Miss Universe pageant. Not much pageantry to shoot until the live telecast on Monday, so spending most of my time arranging our coverage at the media centre. Snapped a few images yesterday evening at the main beachside esplanade, as people flew kites in the [...]
In transit….
(12:36am) In the Vancouver airport. So clean, so quiet. The opposite of the Saigon street-scene below. My flight leaves at 2:55am. Rather painful…. ((12:51am) My thoughts turn to food. Selection at the Vancouver airport around 1am is limited to vending machines. I’d love a bowl of pho right about now….
Vietnam Wedding Photography: not just a catchy name
A little self-promotion here: Vietnam Wedding Photography, a joint-venture with fellow Hanoi-based snapper Aidan Dockery, is now in full swing. The new website is scheduled to be up and running in a few weeks, and in the meantime there’s a little blog we’re posting with photos from wedding shoots around the country. Its an interesting [...]
TIME magazine’s Best of Asia, 2008
A few days ago I wrote about a magazine client calling up and asking if I had any stock images of the Reunification Palace in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon). I did, and quickly supplied them with an online lightbox to select from on my Digital Railroad archive. Incredibly easy and efficient. That client [...]