Northern Vietnam is among the country’s best regions for landscape & people photography in particular. It’s home to spectacular mountain scenery, with winding roads hanging on to rock cliffs overlooking valleys and roaring rivers. It’s where, apart from main cities, life remains the same way as it has been for decades. And the local minority people are still in their traditional clothes while farming in the field. North Vietnam photo tour brings you there on our special photographic journey “The mountain beauties”. On this photo tour, we will be shooting some of the most spectacular mountain landscapes. Besides, we will be exploring some pretty little hamlets of the minorities living in the mountain. Be sure that you will fill up your memory cards with amazing photos depicting North Vietnam landscapes and people.
Firstly, on our North Vietnam Photo tour “the mountain beauties” we will photograph the rice terraces. The location of our rice terrace shooting is Mu Cang Chai, a beauty appeared on both CNN and CNBC. For many hundreds of years, the local rice growers have shaped the mountain and hillsides into terraces to keep the rain water for their crops. Twice a year, Northern Vietnam changes color completely. In May, the water flows along downwards the terraces, creating gigantic mirrors reflecting the sky above. In September the rice ripens, marking the harvest time. And these terraces turn to be huge golden lines patching the hillsides. On this September photographic journey, we will capture this incredible scenery.
Another photography beauty is capturing the tea farmers at work. In cooler mountainous climate, tea grows along hillsides and on plateaus. The farmers, in their conical hats, form different shape while doing their work. The green tea leaves make a wispy green foreground and background. With the blue, misty backdrop of mountains, the tea leave farmers photogenically stand out. Especially, their conical hats above the tea leaves make the shots iconic.
The mountain markets, or hill-tribes markets as some would refer to, is another beauty of life in the mountains. Each market meets on a fixed date and usually one market is for several local communes. This is the biggest day of the locals, as they would bring along their domestic products for sale. And of course, the market is a hub for social activities. This is where you can photograph a variety of traditional costumes.
The authenticity of a mountain market is alluring to photography itself. Unlike a city’s market, the range of products here is much more simple. Minority women would bring along their hand-made products like scarves or skirts. Some other walk their buffaloes or pigs to sell. In food stalls, people sit next to their steamy bowl of soup while sipping a cup of rice liquor. Sunlight accentuates the rising smoke, making this ideal for our photography.
Our North Vietnam photo tour will take you through some of the remote areas in the northern part of the country on lesser known routes. Expect to capture the imposing scenery and the colorful Vietnamese culture with your camera!
Of course, the market as mentioned above is a great place for candid shots, or people photography. But apart from there, we will also be venturing out into villages for people photography. This time, our North Vietnam photo tour will do some walks in several communities of the Ha Nhi people. This is where you will behold their daily life, learn about their culture and of course, get to take the photos of the day.
The Ha Nhi is one of the 54 peoples living in Vietnam, with their own distinctive culture. Their population is around 22,000, concentrate mostly in the North West of Vietnam. In daily life, they’re dressed in clothes woven from hemp bark. They usually wear a turban on their head to cover from the sun. There are usually colorful decorative stripes on the clothes depending on each particular group among themselves.
What enrich our people photography in this community is that the Ha Nhi live in a special house: Trinh Tuong. This photogenic structure shapes like a mushroom, especially when viewing from a distance. Each Trinh Tuong house has walls made up of hardened earth. Traditionally there’s a grass roof on top. However, these days the grass roofs are gradually replaced by the metal ones. Though on the inside, life remains pretty unchanged.
So join Momentlives on this North Vietnam photo tour “The mountain beauties”. And together, we will be capturing the most iconic beauties that the mountain of northern Vietnam has to offer.