Actor Nigel Huckle visits Saigon.

I was pleased and surprised to be contacted recently by a super talented young American actor, Nigel Huckle. Nigel is on tour with the Asian production of Les Miserables which was about to finish its season in Manila in the Philippines before moving on to Singapore. As well as acting and singing, Nigel is also an up and coming model. He had seen and enjoyed my work on Instagram and wondered if we could arrange a photoshoot for his model portfolio while he was visiting Saigon en route to Singapore to rejoin Le Miserables. Emails were exchanged and we met for an afternoon last week for the shoot. We visited an off the beaten path pagoda and a local market to make photographs that were not cliched or cookie cutter shots.

A few frames from the shoot are below. Nigel was a pleasure to work with. He really is a young man going places. Watch this space!

Always remember, when you post things on the internet, you NEVER know who is watching!

Don't try this at home!

A week ago I was making a quick lens change at home before going on location. As I was putting my nifty fifty (Canon 50MM f1.4) lens onto the camera body I accidentally dropped it. Luckily this is neither a heavy nor an expensive lens so I expected it to hit the floor and shatter. Unfortunately, as my luck would have it, it landed on my bare foot and then gracefully rolled across the tiled floor of the living room. I snatched it up and shook it, and amazingly it was not broken. I felt a quick pang of relief and then noticed that my foot was throbbing. The good news, the lens was not broken, the bad news, my third toe was! One week on and I'm still limping around like an old man :( Such is life I guess.

The rise and rise of Le Minh Chau Part 2

Below are a few higher resolution images from my editorial shoot with Le Minh Chau. The formal part of the shoot went quickly as I knew that Chau was busy and I did not want to impact too much on his workflow. We shot the images in his 1st floor studio. The shoot took maybe 20 minutes. I thanked Chau and said goodbye and went downstairs to the coffee shop where my girlfriend had been having a coffee. I had no sooner arrived at her table when I felt a tap on my back. I spun around to see Chau beaming behind me, he had somehow descended the stairs as quickly as I had and had come to say goodbye to my girlfriend. Coffee's were ordered and we sat and talked for maybe 45 minutes.

As is so often the case, with the formal shoot over and the subject relaxed I made a number of my favorite portraits as we talked and laughed over coffee. A wonderful encounter with a truly inspiring human being. 

The rise and rise of Le Minh Chau

It was a great thrill to have the chance to meet and photograph the inspirational Vietnamese artist Le Minh Chau recently for a feature article for Oi Vietnam Magazine. Chau is a 26 year old artist who is an Agent Orange victim. The subject of the 2016 Oscar Award nominated documentary Chau, Beyond the Lines it was both amazing and inspiring to watch Chau creating his art and to see how he has risen above adversity to live his dream. Tear sheets of the article are below, apologies for the poor resolution. You can read the article by viewing the April issue of Oi Magazine at oivietnam.com/download-oi-magazine/

You can learn more about Chau, his art and watch the documentary at www.beyond the lines film.com

I will post some high resolution images from the shoot in the next day or so.

Canon f1.4. The nifty fifty.

I don't often shoot with my "nifty fifty" preferring the versatility of my usual walkabout lens, the Canon 27-70mm f2.8, but the "nifties" faster maximum aperture of f1.4 came in handy in isolating the subject from a busy background in this quick street shot recently. Great value for the nominal price of this glass.

A quick street portrait on busy Nguyen Hue Street in Saigon during Tet. The nifty fifty, shot wide open, even makes people disappear!

Tet 2016 in Vietnam

This was my first Tet in the province. It's funny being a minority literally of ONE, the only foreigner in a reasonably large town of around 160,000 Vietnamese. The locals were shocked to see a white man on the street, usually doing a double take on their bikes and then bursting into a huge grin and waving or singing out hello as they almost fell off or ran into the bike in front. I felt like I imagine Brad Pitt or George Clooney or even maybe Obama must feel when they go out in public, minus the good looks and money of course. But, I digress.

The streets of the usually very sleepy Eakar, in Dak Lak Province were transformed into a see of Tet flowers and Kumquat trees in huge pots lining both sides of the main street. Business was brisk from sun up until late at night every day in the lead up to Tet with everything vanishing as if by magic on the first morning of Tet. 

In any event, spending Tet with a loving and fun Vietnamese family gave me a new understanding and appreciation of this annual celebration that is so ingrained in the psyche of a nation and so much about family, connection to home and rememberance and respect for the departed.

Tet selfies were a popular pastime in Dakar, Dak Lak province.

The flower sellers were going nuts from sun up until late at night. These yellow flowers in huge pots are a symbol of Tet. Large potted Kumquat tree's symbolise wealth.

Brother and sister in traditional dress out for a new year photoshoot.

A three person job to manhandle these flower pots to the kerb they are then transported home on the back of a motorbike.

Like Christmas in the West, Tet involves people spending money on new stuff that they neither need nor can afford.

Kumquat Trees, a symbol of wealth for the new year.

Putting things in perspective a woman is dwarfed by her Tet flower pots.

On the eve of Tet a man prayer for his departed relatives at an ancestral alter temporarily set up at the front of his house, facing the street for good luck.