Needs Cheese

Portrait Reflections II

2012-02-22T21:54:00.001-08:00

This is a follow-up to a portrait-based post I made back in April of last year. The things I wrote back then stand true today and there's no need to repeat them - seek them out if you will.

Some people are comfortable in front of a camera, some are not. I am not. When a lens is pointed at me I begin to quiver and gurn. It's unfortunate really but there doesn't seem to be much I can do about it. Some of my subjects quiver, thankfully none of them gurn. But my job as a photographer is to make those who don't particularly enjoy being photographed comfortable enough so that their personality, their character can shine through in the end result. I like to think I succeed most, if not all (or perhaps all) of the time. However, this post is not about any sublime human-soothing skills I may or may not have. It's not about the people who need to be calmed before they are shot. It's about the others.

Every now and again I photograph someone who makes my job ridiculously easy. Someone who is totally unfazed by the machine I'm brandishing, or who has simply made up their mind to enjoy the experience whatever it involves and however long it might take. And recently I've had the good fortune to meet several such people. To them I say - 'thank-you'. Here are three of them:

Hoang Hoi is the Head Monk at the Ky Quang Pagoda which runs counselling programmes, supported by UNICEF, for children infected by or with parents infected by HIV. Also housed in the pagoda are a natural health clinic, a shelter for physically and mentally disabled people, an acupuncture clinic, and facilities for blind people to be trained in and practice traditional massage.

Truong Hong Tam - otherwise known as Madame Sida - has been at the forefront of AIDS/HIV awareness and prevention in the south of Vietnam. She also fosters children who are infected with the virus.

Nemat Hajeebhoy is the Country Director of Alive & Thrive - an American NGO - and is in charge of their infant and child nutrition project.

Toning Thailand

2012-02-20T04:04:00.000-08:00

Tis February, the month of my photographic anniversary and therefore when my calendar begins. To celebrate - in a very sensible, sober way - I have been processing some photos (a few of which are from my new Canon 7D, a present to myself) from a recent trip to Thailand using some Lightroom presets that I gifted myself. In the past I think I've used presets a total of three times, preferring instead to adjust each level personally. Today I unwrapped my presents and played with my new toys. Like any good child, I played with them a bit too much and now feel exhausted yet becalmed. Here are some of the results, some processed using presets (some free, some bought), some not, randomly stitched together.

Red

2012-02-14T21:48:00.001-08:00

Recent Tearsheets

2012-02-09T22:51:00.000-08:00

Let There Be Ink

2012-02-09T04:07:00.000-08:00

Tattoos are part of Vietnamese history, but in recent times they have become taboo. They are generally classed here as a 'social evil' (a vaguely nonsensical umbrella term used to describe things ranging from crimes to things that are 'not normal'), and are traditionally seen as the domain of bad people - gangsters, convicts and pimps. But in the past couple of years I've noticed more and more tattoos peeking out from the clothes under which they've been hiding. Gradually, they are losing their tainted image and, especially amongst younger generations, becoming seen as forms of creative expression and identity.

The Hanoi Tattoo Club, run by Tran Chi Hieu, is central to this new atmosphere of acceptance, and is where the following photos were taken:

Enter (the Year of) the Dragon

2012-02-08T22:48:00.000-08:00

Vovinam is a Vietnamese martial art, combining Vietnamese wrestling and various eastern martial arts techniques. Born in wartime out of necessity, it continues these days as a popular pastime. In a courtyard under dim tungsten lights I visited a group of students practising this form of combat. My flash could only mete out a few blows before retreating, bruised and out of breath. I scissor-kicked it aside, and embraced the silhouettes.

Thailand: Koh Samet and Bangkok

2012-02-06T20:57:00.000-08:00

These shots are from a trip to Thailand at the end of last year. Alas I didn't have my camera in my hand luggage on the way there so unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the floods from the air though, take my word for it, it was one of the most visually surreal things these eyes have seen. Water stretching to every horizon and not much poking out of it. Coming in to land over the sea and then over the land which was indistinguishable from the sea. Bangkok was dry but sandbagged in anticipation of the water's arrival. Koh Samet was a small, dry, sun-soaked oasis away from the troubled mainland.

UNICEF: Mekong Delta

2012-01-21T22:49:00.000-08:00

In November of last year I travelled with UNICEF and a Finnish film crew to Dong Thap province, on the Mekong Delta. We visited various project sites in the region including a local clinic - set up to take care of women's and children's health - and a nutrition group.

Spring Clean a Touch More

2012-01-21T06:31:00.000-08:00

Three more from the last page of this lunar calendar. Once again we are in The Realm of Fruit.

Spring Clean

2012-01-21T03:51:00.000-08:00

Just a night time couple from around the mausoleum while cleaning out my hard drives in preparation for the new year.

Proposal Sniper

2012-01-21T03:44:00.000-08:00

At the end of 2010 I had the opportunity to do a job that is still one of the most unique, strangest, and most feel-good I've ever had the fortune to be asked to do. A friend of mine put me in touch with a friend of his who was bringing his girlfriend to Vietnam to propose to her. He wanted photos taken of the proposal, secretly, to surprise her with at their wedding in 2011. He planned to pop the question on The Huc Bridge, which leads across the waters of Hoan Kiem Lake to the Ngoc Son Pagoda. I scouted the area a few days before to work out the best angles and find a good place to conceal myself.

We weren't able to meet in person beforehand so all of the planning took place by email. I seem to have mislaid the blueprints of the mission, but they looked exactly as you'd imagine; photos taken from several angles of the bridge and my hiding place, shaky arrows pointing to circles drawn in red around key points, notes such as this - "stand on this side, facing this way, NOT HERE" and "I will be inside this bush". Exciting it was. The day arrived and I think I was as nervous as the boyfriend. So many things could go wrong. I put on green clothes, drove to the lake and hid in the bush. I crouched. I waited. I got a text telling me they were on their way. I waited. I got another telling me they'd stopped for a coffee. I sweated. Tourists inside the pagoda who could see me from the back stopped and stared at me. Thinking that, envious of my view of the bridge, they might climb over the wall and crouch beside me with their cameras, I looked back at them in the most unhinged way I could manage. I got a text saying "we're on the bridge". I turned and there they were, wearing the clothes they were supposed to be. They stopped in the centre and took photos of each other. The girlfriend started to wander out of the red circle I'd drawn on the plans and towards the temple. The boyfriend skilfully and successfully shepherded her back in place. He distracted her and rummaged slowly behind him in his bag. I started taking photographs.

So, congratulations Michael and Hanna!

A Word In Your Mouth

2012-01-21T02:38:00.000-08:00

As someone who can be something of a glutton, one of the many great things about working for a magazine is all the food I get to eat. Here is a selection of some of the dishes that recently met their doom twixt my jaws in the interests of illustration. Allow me to list the fallen, the lost (in no particular order): oysters, clams, high-class vegetarian offerings, blood, kimchi, spicy chicken, spring rolls, and (not) the nest of a bird. Rest In Peace O Toothsome Fuels.

Christmas Hamper

2012-01-12T18:33:00.000-08:00

This Christmas I flew back West to the land from whence I came - Englande. It was great to catch up with family and friends, and to eat and drink of festive treats with them like an Arctic Pig. These photos are taken in Horsham - my hometown - Brighton - one of the places where England ends and begins, and Dublin, Ireland - somewhere I've never been before, but a place I hope to have the chance to visit much more in the future. I didn't take my DSLR with me so these pictures were taken with the aid of a small device manufactured by a fruit seller, which accounts for the rough, somewhat rustic quality of the shots.

Go Go Japan

2012-01-03T04:22:00.000-08:00

On one of the last weekends of 2011 some Japanese bands came to town. Thanks to Dan for asking me to crawl around the stage and pit, and thanks to him, Steve and Giles from CAMA for putting on another great night of live music. Including...

Electric Eel Shock:

Molice:

Ngu Cung:

and, The Okamotos:

Recent Tearsheets

2012-01-03T04:04:00.000-08:00

Some of the Rest

2011-12-18T08:09:00.000-08:00

It was an interesting, hectic end to the year, but now is not the time to write about it. Now is the time to eat cheese with the family back in England, drink of ye wine, see friends, and rest. Here are some outtakes from the last few weeks:

Squarepusher

2011-12-18T05:53:00.000-08:00

Some images from meanderings around and through a rough square drawn above the ground, in pencil, onto an area of Hanoi's old quarter.

Recent Tearsheets

2011-12-18T05:40:00.000-08:00

Wedding: Melissa & Ou Wen

2011-11-07T22:46:00.000-08:00

Melissa and Ou Wen's wedding took place on a Bhaya Cruises junk in Halong Bay. They had a lovely, intimate ceremony on the top deck at dusk surrounded by their families and closest friends. Many thanks again to Mai from WedinStyle for putting Melissa and Ou Wen in touch with me.

Ooooh-wwAAAH! HAHAHA!

2011-11-07T20:26:00.000-08:00

While you are asleep in the early morning there are some people who are very, very awake - and they are laughing at nothing. Next to Hoan Kiem Lake, beneath the statue of Ly Thai To, a man named Le Anh Son is instructing a group of perhaps 200 people in the art of Laughing Yoga. First comes the warm-up, with moans, lip-smacking, bug-eyed mouth exercises in the key of 'ooh' and 'waaah', and a snaking chain of back massaging.

Then, all at once, everybody laughs like maniacs. They stick their tongues out at each other and pull faces. It's quite quite quite strange. Half beautiful and half disturbing, sort of like the child of a Balinese Kecak dance and a Haka. It's infectious too, and as I leave these cackling exercisers, all of them high as kites, and with the air soaked in giggling endorphins, I could swear I see Ly Thai To crack a smile too - just a little one.

Recent Tearsheets

2011-11-07T19:47:00.000-08:00

The Last Blacksmith

2011-11-06T03:29:00.000-08:00

On the corner of Lo Ren Street in Hanoi's Old Quarter is the workshop of Mr Nguyen Phuong Hung. Lo Ren, in Vietnamese, means 'blacksmith', and although many years ago this would have meant that the entire street was used for the trade, now Hung is the only one left. On a coal fire, his irons grow red hot. Once they are ready, Hung places them on an anvil and sets about them with a sledgehammer. His forearms are massive, coal-streaked hams.

Through the Dreamcloth

2011-11-04T22:44:00.000-07:00

These shots were taken for my brother's side project tiNhearT. Some of them look as if they were taken through cheesecloth. They weren't. I don't own a cheesecloth, although perhaps I should. Others look as if I took them in my sleep, while dreaming, and I have no way of verifying whether that's true or not. In any case, there are several photographs here I have no memory of taking.

While The Artist Sleeps His Art Gets Older

2011-10-21T21:00:00.000-07:00

I met Radek a number of times over the past few years. He would come to Vietnam for a few months at a time, usually with his girlfriend Ylva, to work on his art and the film they were making about the H’Mong community in Sapa - people who for them had become like another family. We would see one another every now and again out with friends, share a drink, share a meal, a game of poker, and then he would be off again. It felt like I got to know him gradually, in installments.
Although we’d talked about his art before it wasn’t until the beginning of 2011, when he returned to Hanoi again, that I saw what he was working on. On his previous visits to Vietnam he’d told me of his frustrations when trying to find someone to collaborate with properly. He’d come close but it had never quite worked out. This time though, he found an artist and friend – Loi - who understood him and his ideas intuitively enough for them to be able to work together. He was clearly excited about this.
Normally, an artist uses tape to mask areas he doesn’t want painted. Radek’s idea was to make the masking tape itself the focal point of his art, and to use it to create scenes inspired by a combination of the higgledy-piggledy urban landscape of present day Vietnam and the pixilated scenery from the old computer games he played as a boy. The results were beautiful, jammed with detail and bordering on chaotic – just like the country that he loved. I saw more of him this time around and he was happy in his work, focused and driven to complete it.

On the night I left for Japan in April I saw Radek and we made plans to catch up when I returned, before he went back to Sweden. While I was away I heard that he’d decided to extend his stay again and would be in Hanoi for the summer. Although I knew the difficult personal sacrifices he’d made to remain here I was personally, selfishly, happy. I’d be able to see more of him. But one morning during my last days in Tokyo, staying with a friend, we got the news that Radek had died in his sleep. He was young, just 35 years old.
When I returned to Hanoi there was no Radek to see, only shocked, grieving friends, embassy staff, insurance workers, personal belongings to be packed up, and clothes to choose for him to wear in the coffin home.

Radek was one of the gentlest, most warmhearted people you could hope to meet. He was great fun and had an infectious giggle, but there was also a stillness about him, he listened, he was respectful and kind to everyone he met. Also, that rare thing: he knew what made him happy; he knew what he wanted to do and how to do it. And this: he said yes to most things, if not to everything. He didn’t have a mean word for anyone. He said strange, outdated things like ‘oh fudge!’ when he lost poker hands. He taught me an obscure, dirty word in Polish. He had a cool moustache. And I didn’t spend nearly enough time with him: something I felt each time he left and which is something I feel even more now he’s gone.
Ylva is here now and I’m getting to know her gradually too. She asked me to take photos of Radek’s art before the pieces get scattered, shared out to the people who loved him. I’d like to thank her for asking me to do that and also for surprising me by making me a gift of one of his paintings. Like everyone who knew Radek, if I had a choice between him being here and his art being here, I’d burn the pieces myself. But since we don’t get given these options I’m happy that he left something beautiful behind for us to have, along with our memories. Something that, if we look after it, will be here once we are gone too.

Body of Water, Toxic and Timeless

2011-10-13T21:04:00.000-07:00

Recent Tearsheets

2011-10-07T03:01:00.000-07:00

Medicine, Heal Thyself

2011-10-02T03:01:00.000-07:00

Here are some traditional medicines commonly (or uncommonly) used in Vietnam. I particularly like the ore of mercury (whose life's work is to cure sadness) which was a crumbly, sparkling pile of cherry red, that also happened to smell of cherries though not taste of them. I smelt the others but can't really describe their scents without using words from a language either long forgotten or yet to be invented, that neither you, nor I, nor the medicines would understand. All I can say is that I smoked, snorted and swallowed everything you see here (and more), and that, as a result, I feel pretty damn chipper right now.

Skateboarding Hanoi

2011-10-02T01:57:00.000-07:00

It's evening, and under the unseeing eyes of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, skateboarders practice their tricks.

Mi Tom Ca Hoanh Thanh

2011-09-29T04:07:00.000-07:00

Best noodles in the world. Cholon My Gia, 71 Kim Ma, Ba Dinh, Hanoi, Vietnam, The World.

Japan, Finally

2011-09-26T02:16:00.000-07:00

Japan. What can I say about Japan? There's too much, so I'll say nothing except these few things: Out of all the countries I've been to so far (not enough) it's my favourite. The Japanese are the nicest people in the world. It met and exceeded my expectations, and I want to return there many many times. Also, that up there is my favourite photo from Japan, you can see my new travel gallery here, and those down there are the castaways which didn't make the cut.

Gap Year

2011-09-20T20:58:00.000-07:00

A gap into which the film lying in my Zenit 122 fell. Or maybe it's even longer than a year as there are some old photos of Hoi An in there and I don't remember exactly when I was there last. In any case, the film didn't rot and I recently finished it up on a short bike trip to Mai Chau.

Webite Redesigned

2011-09-19T03:50:00.000-07:00

The moment it hath arrived - my newly designed website is up and running. It is more handsome, lighter and sleeker than the last effort, probably...definitely because I didn't build it this time. Many many thanks to my friend Shane Fleming at Web Wunderland who put in a lot of time making sure it looked exactly as I wanted. Check it oot here.

Reflections: Tokyo, Japan

2011-09-06T01:00:00.000-07:00

On March the 11th of this year, in the middle of the afternoon, an earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter Scale struck off the east coast of Japan. It was one of the five most powerful earthquakes ever to occur globally since record-keeping began at the beginning of the last century. Such was its force, it is estimated to have shifted the Earth by up to ten inches on its axis. The resulting tsunamis pulverised the coastline, sweeping away entire towns and killing nearly 16,000 people; almost 5,000 are still missing. Further down the coast, in Fukushima, a tsunami knocked out the generators of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, and the reactors overheated, releasing radioactive material into the surrounding air and water.
Like many, I watched with horror as the tsunamis ate their way across the coastal plains, and then with disbelief as TEPCO tried to prevent nuclear meltdown with hoses and buckets of water dropped from helicopters. I saw the pictures of lines of people queueing for food in Tokyo, the empty supermarket shelves and blackouts. I read about the radiation found in vegetables, in Tokyo's drinking water. Friends of mine living in central areas of Honshu travelled southeast to escape any potential nuclear fallout, and some were even evacuated from Japan and returned to Europe by the military.
I had bought a ticket to travel to Japan six months earlier but despite the risk, or lack of risk depending on who you believed, there was no way, barring a full-scale nuclear disaster, that I wasn't going to use it. So at the beginning of April, in a virtually empty plane, I landed in Tokyo for the first time.
Having never been there before I can't say that the city had changed, but there was a pretty subdued atmosphere. Many foreigners had left and no-one was sure if they would return. There were still regular aftershocks, some of which hit during the day, some of which shook you awake at night. In fact, it wasn't even certain that these were aftershocks. There was talk of a new faultline, of a massive earthquake soon to come, closer to or even directly under Tokyo. The radiation leaking from the nuclear power plant 230 kilometres from the capital hadn't yet been brought under control and total meltdown was still a possibility. But for every person who would tell you that the government was concealing the truth and that worse was to come, another would say that the news coverage was hysterical and that nothing was as bad as it seemed. In these strange and uncertain circumstances it seemed that the city and its population were tensed, crouched and waiting. That the buildings and the ground they're built upon were insubstantial, ephemeral. Yet also at this time, blanketing and gradually weaving its threads into the pervading tension was a hushed sense of peace, of a slowly restored calm. Spring had arrived. And the flowers of that Japanese symbol of hope and renewal, the sakura, were blooming on the trees - unfolding their petals and opening themselves once more to Tokyo's quiet, trembling air.

Slowly We Unfurl

2011-09-05T06:34:00.000-07:00

In the purple morning. At 4.30. Which is when the men who pick lotus flowers on the shores of West Lake rise, rub their eyes, and punt their rafts out into the leafy water where the flowers grow. And the morning really is purple. Purple, veiled in mist with only a few lights twinkling through from the opposite shore, and silent except for distant boats gliding across the water, the hum of dragonflies and the soft footsteps of the morning's first exercisers.

Salsa

2011-09-01T04:29:00.000-07:00

Over the last few weeks I spent a few evenings with Hanoi's Salsa lovers. First at a dancing class, and then at nights for more experienced dancers. Most of the dancers taking lessons are women and, due to the lack of men, often end up dancing with each other or with the air. Under a ceiling of balloons and in front of a mirrored wall they practice their steps and wait for the day they're ready for....the Melia...which is something else entirely. The dancefloor is packed with couples hurling each other around and grinding their bodies into one another while seemingly using telepathy to follow intricate, matched dance steps and movements. And at the same time they somehow manage to avoid clattering into the other couples dancing millimetres away and smashing them into a sudden wet spray of chopped tomato and onion; not one Salsa crash did I see, not a single one.
Spicy, skilful, sensual stuff.

Fixer of Songs

2011-09-01T04:02:00.000-07:00

This is Binh. He repairs old reel-to-reel machines in his workshop/cafe on the shores of West Lake. Go there, sit by the water and let the old music wash over you in the rich tones that can only come from such a machine. Go on. A couple of the photos were taken with my Holga as I wanted to try out matching my material, i.e. film, with his, tape.

Recent Tearsheets

2011-09-01T03:22:00.000-07:00

Commercial: Ola de Tapas

2011-08-30T08:13:00.000-07:00

A slinky selection of tapas and a deep red wall from local Spanish restaurant, Ola de Tapas, in Hanoi's old quarter.

Summer Cleaning

2011-08-22T23:01:00.000-07:00

Just dusting off and re-toning some photos taken - with my first ever digital camera - many years ago now on the deserted beaches of Quan Lan Island.

Sea, Saws, Swords, Sashimi

2011-08-17T00:50:00.000-07:00

Walking around the massive Tsukiji Fish Market in the south-east corner of Tokyo it's hard to believe there's anything at all left in the ocean. Men heave huge frozen tuna onto wooden benches, saw them up, thaw them out and carve them into pieces with swords. Everywhere there are polystyrene boxes spilling over with slippery tentacles and glassy-eyed fish. You need to be alert to avoid being mown down by the small trucks whizzing around the paths, and also be aware that, generally speaking, the fishermen are tired of tourists, so ask permission and don't get in their way - they have swords. At the back of the market there are a couple of alleys of small restaurants where you can eat sashimi and sushi from the morning's catch: reward for resisting the temptation to sink your teeth into one of those succulent fish as you slithered your way through the market.

Recent Tearsheets

2011-08-08T23:19:00.000-07:00

Tentacle in the Sky

2011-08-01T08:57:00.000-07:00

Today I played with a new lens - that strange looking device up there. It's not my lens but, even though it's not my place to do so, I'm tentatively christening it either 'The Odd Child', or 'The Ozeck (Ozric) Tentacle'. It's kind of like a Lensbaby although, unlike that lens, it's spring-loaded. Focusing is achieved by pulling the end in and out, and you can choose the area to focus on by swivelling. It. Around. The spring is quite strong, relative to me, so each frame is like a miniature wrestling match; you have to be quick. It's also pretty easy to swivel too far and then you end up with some of the plastic casing dipping into view and looming over the shot like a big, black looming thing; too much and it looks like a horrifying fog of fear, but a little bit can look quite alright. Below are some shots from this afternoon's jaunt up to the Summit Lounge of the Sofitel Plaza. Also, on my return home, I inadvertently discovered my oven top is perfect for shooting small black objects on. Praise be.

Slow Japan - Part Eight

2011-07-30T05:00:00.000-07:00

I was only in Kyoto for a night, but it was enough to fall in love with its mix of the traditional and the modern, the beautiful and the seedy. Zen rock gardens, temples and, of course, the old teahouse-lined pleasure district of Gion where you can come face to face with ancient Japan. To which I say - "Great! Really 'sugoi' and just the sort of thing I want to see."

But then I also feel like I should say this:

Yes, Geishas are beautiful. Yes, Geishas are an endangered species. But they're also people like you and I. There's no need to hunt them as if they were wild animals There's no need to scuttle backwards in front of them, blocking their way, almost tripping them over, virtually leaving an imprint of your lens in their make-up. Please remember that any subject, whether or not they notice you personally, are allowing you to photograph them. You are not somehow entitled to your shots. Even if you do get that picture you were looking for it'll be forever marked with the memory that you acted like a twat to get it. So, in this case, position yourself well, use a zoom lens, or if you don't want to do that and really really can't be respectful, go home, or be imaginative and get your 'geisha shot' some other way that doesn't involve upsetting anyone. Seriously maan, all of you, and you know who you are, get a grip.

Slow Japan - Part Seven

2011-07-30T00:19:00.000-07:00

This picture both is and isn't of Kyoto's Golden Temple. Well, really it is.

Commercial: Piaggio Factory

2011-07-26T22:39:00.000-07:00

Who is this intrepid man?

It is I, in a bucket, having been raised by forklift into the upper reaches of the atmosphere to get some of the shots you see below. I was there to demonstrate pluck and also to photograph the Vespa assembly line at the Piaggio Factory in the Binh Xuyen Industrial Zone outside Hanoi.

Rock Hard

2011-07-25T03:00:00.000-07:00

More shots from my recent trips to climbing areas in and around Hanoi. These visits have confirmed two things: 1) These people are strong, 2) I am very weak. But I went back to the Vietclimb gym a week after I took the photos, and swarmed and sweated my way around small sections of the wall like an ill, muscle-free spider and I now know two more things: 1) After 6 months of such stuff I'll need to walk through doorways sideways, and 2) At that time you would be ill-advised to ask me to hold your watermelon - I'll crush it in one hand like a quail egg. Truth.

It Is Hot

2011-07-25T02:43:00.000-07:00

Like this:

Slow Japan - Part Six

2011-07-16T04:36:00.001-07:00

Suzaka nestles in the Kiso Mountains a short train ride from Nagano. I worked in an apple orchard and it felt good to work outside in the fresh air, with good company and surrounded by snowy peaks. Each day at midday a loudspeaker bleeped lunchtime and later on, in the afternoon, a male voice floated slowly over the fields saying something, I don't know what. Both these sounds went bouncing through the clear air, echoing down the valley and I wish I'd had something to record them with; though the noises had officious roots they were calming and strangely beautiful. Anyway, I have no idea why I'm writing this as clearly there's no way to photograph such things. But what I could photograph was part of a wooden bridge in the sakura-splattered surrounds of Garyu Park.

Halong No

2011-07-15T02:22:00.000-07:00

Further to the post below which fooled no-one, here are a couple of outtakes from a couple of shoots that took place last weekend at a climbing gym, and a rockface in Quoc Oai, outside Hanoi.

Halong Glow

2011-07-12T06:10:00.000-07:00

A Slice of Peace, a Slice of Old

2011-07-10T20:57:00.000-07:00

All Things Will Pass

2011-07-10T00:56:00.000-07:00

As Hanoi develops, the kind of low-rise jumble of houses seen above will be destroyed to make way for bigger, taller, shinier buildings such as those below. At least, that's what I was told while stood on the 46th floor of a high-rise in the suburbs, looking down on the city at a height from which I've previously only seen it from an aeroplane. Urban areas like this, threaded through with countless alleyways and dotted with hundreds of foodstalls engender a great deal of the city's character. So it's odd to think of them being consigned to the past, bulldozed to make way for a landscape of wide boulevards, supermarkets and tower-blocks; a landscape that each day looks a little bit more like China.

Engagement: Helena & Ade

2011-07-06T23:29:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of June I photographed Helena and Ade, a lovely young couple from Jakarta, in Saigon. The two of them were great subjects, had lots of ideas for style - from classic to street to traditional - and had chosen some beautiful locations. We started early one morning at Notre Dame Cathedral, visited a few more places around the centre, and then finished up in the evening at the Fine Art Museum and Jade Emperor Pagoda. I wish them all the best for their wedding this November and for their future together. Thanks also to Aidan at Eden Images for the assignment, help with location scouting, and good times at the bia hoi.

Recent Tearsheets

2011-07-05T01:25:00.000-07:00

From the July issue of The Word. Che, sticky rice, various street foods - this month involved a lot of eating.

Double Exposure

2011-07-05T00:21:00.000-07:00

I've been shooting with my Holga quite a lot recently and experimenting with double exposures. Tricky. Trickier than I expected; for every one I like I get around nine or ten that are a total mess. So here's a shot that I do like - hopefully it'll be joined by others soon.

A Ghost in the Machine

2011-07-03T06:01:00.000-07:00

Consisting of memories and an eerie red and blue-rimmed light which is creeping into some of my shots. Either that or it's the foam inside wiping its fingers over the film again. Actually I don't mind, yet.

Slow Japan - Part Five

2011-06-29T01:31:00.000-07:00

From Zenkoji temple in Nagano; built in the 7th Century and location of the Key to Paradise (if you can find it).

Slow Japan - Part Four

2011-06-28T03:09:00.000-07:00

I zipped across to Kobe from Osaka on an afternoon visit; not even long enough to swallow a slice of famed, tender beef, though adequate time to have a look around the harbour and find this funky little girl looking at a mechanical installation in a dockside shopping centre.

KTT

2011-06-26T03:03:00.000-07:00

As the city modernizes old buildings such as this one, in which residents live communally, will make way for modern high-rises.

Che. Che. Che.

2011-06-24T06:18:00.000-07:00

What to say about Che? Well. It can look quite pretty, but the taste....is not great. As for the consistency? Mucine. Yes, I just invented a new word because the right one sounds even worse.

Slow Japan - Part Three

2011-06-23T01:05:00.000-07:00

Osaka is done and this is a shot of the clock atop Tstutenkaku. My friends Shin and Satomi took me there to get some panoramas of the city. The reflections from the glass were messing with my world so Satomi convinced one of the guys who worked in the tower to take us outside; normally this isn't allowed at night so it was a privilege to walk around the perimeter with the city lights spread out below us.

Highway 4: Interior

2011-06-22T04:56:00.000-07:00

Inside the newest Highway 4 Restaurant at 25 Bat Su.

Highway 4: Dining

2011-06-19T03:41:00.000-07:00

Some shots of diners at the newest branch of Highway 4 Restaurants at 25 Bat Su.

House of Son Tinh: Cocktail Classes

2011-06-19T03:12:00.000-07:00

The House of Son Tinh are now offering cocktail classes where you can learn how to make traditional cocktails with a twist plus, if you're up to it, have the opportunity to discover the secrets of the intimidatingly-named yet surprisingly drinkable Devil's Fart.

Hands, Not Hands

2011-06-09T00:47:00.000-07:00

Some recent outtakes from an engagement shoot down south in Saigon. The editing is coming to a close but before I make a final selection I thought I'd post these three.

Cosmopolis Exhibition

2011-06-08T03:35:00.000-07:00

Something I forgot to mention. While I was in Japan I was told that 9 of my photos of Hanoi had been selected to appear in the Cosmopolis Exhibition in Neuchatel, Switzerland. Details of the exhibition can be found here. Many thanks to Francois and Seb from Noi Pictures for supporting me and putting my work forward for selection.

Recent Tearsheets

2011-06-08T03:24:00.000-07:00

From the June issue of The Word Hanoi. Thanks again to Ian for the assignments.

Highway 4...

2011-06-08T02:22:00.000-07:00

...are replacing Dai Viet beer with local favourite, Halida.

Slow Japan - Part Two

2011-06-06T06:14:00.000-07:00

And just to show that I'm the boss of me, that is, the employee of the boss who is myself, I'm going to immediately break that rule and put up this photo from Osaka even though I'm a mere third of the way through the folder. A radical move and one which could end up with me firing me if I'm not careful. Anyway, I saw, remembered, processed and liked this quizzical, pixelated business pixie.

Slow Japan - Part One

2011-06-06T06:03:00.000-07:00

I took so many photos during my month in Japan that I fear I may never finish processing them. So, both to goad myself on and as a small form of celebration I'm going to post one photo from each area I went to (which may or may not make my final travel gallery) once I've completed each folder. First then, a wee detail from the Contemporary Art Museum in Kanazawa.

Highway 4: Market Trip and Cooking Class

2011-05-31T21:42:00.000-07:00

For anyone who wants to learn about Vietnamese food, its ingredients and how to combine them into traditional dishes, Highway 4 are running cooking classes. They'll take you to a local market where you can get your fingers and noses into the fresh produce, and then back to the restaurant by cyclo to cook up some edibles under the wise eyes of their chefs.

Highway 4: Training Manual and Food

2011-05-31T21:21:00.000-07:00

Summer menu coming soon at Highway 4. Spoiler: contains some duck spring rolls which are mighty toothsome.

Le Petit Bruxelles

2011-05-26T23:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday lunchtime I went to meet Pierre and Pascal at their Belgian eatery, Le Petit Bruxelles, to shoot it and some of their dishes for an upcoming magazine article. They looked after me well and fed me a tasty plate of scallops followed by a piece of pork bigger than a human head. Bon appetit!

Random Yellow

2011-05-26T23:32:00.001-07:00

The Men Who Stare At Birds...

2011-05-26T02:22:00.000-07:00

...is a title thieved from Dave Stout, the writer of the forthcoming article, who took me to the staring men and their suspended lines of caged, twittering, fluttering creatures, early one Saturday morning. The men stared at their birds, their birds stared back. The men drank coffee, smoked cigarettes and made remarks to each other about the birds. The birds tweeted, perhaps commenting on the men; it's hard to know.

Random Red/Green

2011-05-24T21:48:00.000-07:00

Guilty Until Proven Innocent

2011-05-24T03:03:00.000-07:00

I took a ton of medium format colour film with me to Japan recently to use with my Holga and returned with almost all of it unused. Each time I put a film into it and take some shots, I'd find the camera later on had shrugged its back casing off, which I assumed would expose the film and destroy the photos. So I punished the machine, stuffed it in the bottom of my bag and took no more pictures with it save for during a night out in Tokyo. Yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised to get the first two films back from the shop to find that all of the photos had come out. Due to my Holga's incarceration, most of the pictures are of sakura and from the same place, but that's ok. I've had a nice surprise and have a pile of unused film which I think gives me one more reason amongst plenty of others to go back to Japan.

Commercial Outtake

2011-05-24T00:00:00.001-07:00

Rust Sometimes Sleeps

2011-05-20T22:59:00.000-07:00

Around 40 kilometres outside of Hanoi, in Son Tay, is Minh Mang's Citadel. The local authorities are in the process of restoring it, with questionable results. Inside the crumbled walls everything has fallen into disrepair, including a fairground which was built there 20 years ago, stopped operating 10 years after, and has since then stood still and rusted.

Random Blue

2011-05-16T06:45:00.001-07:00

Recent Tearsheets

2011-05-15T09:28:00.000-07:00

From the May issue of The Word Hanoi. Thanks to Ian for the assignment.

Back In Hanoi...

2011-05-09T03:43:00.000-07:00

...and it's smoking hot.

In Japan

2011-04-14T04:18:00.000-07:00

I'm travelling in Japan at the moment, but still as ever available for assignments both here and around the region. I have no mobile number here so if you need to get in touch with me please use the email address over there on the right there.

Wedding: Jason & Diane

2011-04-14T03:44:00.000-07:00

Jason and Diane took a 40-strong group of their relatives and friends on a cruise aboard a luxury Bhaya Junk in Halong Bay for their wedding celebrations. After the evening's religious ceremony on the sun deck everyone had dinner and frequently, and very loudly, toasted the bride and groom. Then, lanterns inscribed with wishes for the couple were lit and floated off into the night sky, and everyone danced til the wee hours.

Wedding + Kids + Petals = Highly Recommended.

Holga Bleak

2011-04-13T03:46:00.000-07:00

Trying out double and triple exposures with my Holga - some rather bleak looking pictures coming out.

Van Ho Ba

2011-04-13T03:32:00.000-07:00

The Van Ho Ba streets are bustling, narrow alleys which skirt the edge of Lenin Park. Here are a couple of shots from the area, including one of what could even be the proprietor of what seems to be an abandoned and unbelievably dusty antique shop.

The park, too, is a busy place. By 7am it's already seething with human activity; stretching, ballroom dancing, improvised jigs, experimental exercises, badminton, jumping, lifting, pressing, pulling. Every single part of the park is used in some way to get the blood pumping.

Halong Wedding Preview: Preparations

2011-04-06T03:56:00.000-07:00

I'll be posting some pictures of the wedding in the near future - once the bride and groom have had their dinner and slideshow - but until then here are some shots from the preparations aboard the Bhaya Cruises Junk prior to the ceremony.

Recent Tearsheets

2011-04-06T01:45:00.000-07:00

Tearsheets from the April issue of The Word Hanoi. Thanks again to Julia for the work, and also to Ian for making the layout for the traditional theatre article look extra feisty. And, as she's leaving, a special, extra thank-you to Julia also for all the support and encouragement she's given me over these last months, she will be greatly missed.

Portrait Reflections

2011-04-05T21:59:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in the previous post I've been doing a bit of work for my fried Dieu. Last week we went to visit her grandmother, Ba Nguyen Thi Nhung, at her home on the outskirts of Hanoi. Dieu's grandmother is an inspiration to her and she learnt to cook by watching her grandmother in the kitchen. She's 88 years old now, although she looks much younger, and I'm told that if you were to give her a whole cow, she could cook every last bit of it.

I've been taking more and more portraits recently and, considering how much I hate having my own photo taken, I'm always struck by how patient people are with me and how obliging they are in what is, for many of them, perhaps a slightly awkward situation. Dieu's grandmother was no different; she waited patiently behind a window that I was a little obsessed with while I fiddled with my camera settings, shot, fiddled again, tested, fiddled some more, and then she strolled from background to background to help me get a variety of shots for her granddaughter to choose from. And backgrounds are important. As are foregrounds, or foregrounds that look like backgrounds, or vice versa. Or having no background at all. In fact physical backgrounds are as important as the subject, and as the background or personal story of the subject. Anyway, on that subject - the background - I post some photos. The first, above, is from the window I mentioned, and the rest are simple backgrounds from around the family home or, in the case of the last picture, a background that has disappeared.

Dieu's Cuisine

2011-04-05T21:47:00.000-07:00

My friend Dieu is expanding her delivery service and opening a restaurant on the shores of West Lake, and I've been taking photos of fresh produce to decorate the walls. Normally when I go to the market I concentrate on shooting the people, or the people with their produce, not often do I focus on the produce itself. But looking over my pictures of various fruits, vegetables and spices taking centre stage I think this may change. Here are three of my favourites; chilli pepper, red cabbage and tamarind.

The Little Stage At The End Of The Universe

2011-03-27T03:37:00.000-07:00

Most tourists to Hanoi visit the water puppets; and so they should, given that it's a cultural, theatrical gem sustained and protected by their patronage. But they should also go to the traditional theatre performances held bi-weekly (Thursdays and Sundays) at the Hong Ha theatre on Duong Thanh. Enactions of three folk tales are threaded through with traditional music, and the actors pour their hearts and souls into each. The final, intense scene, depicts a woman who has had a spell cast upon her, turning into a fox. It's disheartening to see that this small and comitted troupe play to a virtually empty theatre, so please change that by going there.

Recent Tearsheets

2011-03-27T03:31:00.000-07:00

From the nightlife shoot for Nam Magazine. Thanks again to Ly for the assignment.

The Hanoi Triangle

2011-03-23T09:21:00.000-07:00

There's a classy triangle of town near to the Opera House. Pretty much every door is manned by one or two black-suited figures either ensuring their patrons don't strain a muscle on their way in or perhaps bracing themselves against the handles to keep the scruffs out. Bentleys line the kerb, the pavements are clear and clean, and Hanoi's wealthy elite stroll or totter past and through the doors to throw their dong away.

A New Ideology

2011-03-23T09:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I began the day by looking through some of my old photos for a local stock agency, and in the afternoon I went into the centre of town to photograph an area populated by Gucci and Moschino shops, the Sofitel Metropole. While I was photographing stuff like this:

...a nearby speaker started blaring out old revolutionary songs - which made me think of this:

I had to sit on a park bench for a while after that.

Mixed Drinks / Mixed Feelings

2011-03-23T08:18:00.000-07:00

Cocktails: after recently tasting most known to humanity I have decided that I like only very few of them. Bloody Mary, yes. Manhattan, yes. Wasabi Martini, yes. Long Island, yes. The rest, nein danke. But I like watching them made, and I enjoy looking briefly at the finished product before its consumption by a wide-eyed cocktail-drinker. So, a shot from one of The Word tasting nights and a selection of the best-looking cocktails which weren't chosen by the tasters as the kindest to the palette.

Install A Beak In The Heart That Clucks Time In Hokkien

2011-03-21T08:14:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I went with mine olde friend Debbie to Singapore to see one of my favourite bands, 65daysofstatic. Debbie is also their booking agent so she secured me a photo pass and we hung out with the band and their crew before and after their gigs; and not only do they make incredibly beautiful, complex music, but they're also all really lovely people. So that's the cherry on top of that particular cake. Musical cake.
And after waiting for years to see them they didn't disappoint, playing two intense, storming sets back to back, carpeting the capacity crowd (none of whom spilt their drinks, though I think they wanted to) with fractured beats, loops and melting globules of distorted feedback. Carpeting? Globules? Hang on...I'm not a music critic...best you go and listen to their music here, or better yet go to one or some of their shows, or do both. Yes, do both. Highly recommended. So far they're the hardest band I've photographed; no-one stays still for long and they have a magical ability to duck and dodge around the spotlights.

See You, Singapore

2011-03-16T01:27:00.000-07:00

One of my favourite bands, 65daysofstatic, played the Mosaic Festival in Singapore so for the last few days that's where I've been. Singapore is as clean, as modern as I expected it to be. The people are friendly, the food delicious, and I had a great time. If another band I love were to play there, or I could afford tickets to the Grand Prix, a night at the Marina Bay Sands and a dip in their infinity pool, then I'll be back. I'll be posting some pictures of the 65days shows here in the near future, but until then here are some shots from a rainy outing to the Sands Skypark.

Recent Tearsheets

2011-03-16T00:57:00.000-07:00

From March edition of the magazine. Thanks as always to all at The Word for the assignments.

Nam Magazine

2011-03-14T09:43:00.000-07:00

Young Jenga-loving Vietnamese smoke shisha in Dragonfly - from a recent shoot at for Nam Magazine. Thanks to Ly for the assignment.

Sound Related

2011-03-08T23:42:00.000-08:00

Last week saw the debut screening of my videographer friends Isaak Le and Vincent Baumont's new film at the Goethe Institut. The film is about the work that a German NGO, DED, is doing to help young people with disabilities in Hue. I made the soundtrack for the film, and you can see it here or here.