Nhat Minh went to many places, accepted many sleepless nights, and sometimes had to stand for hours to hunt galaxies squeezed between the sea and sky.
Nguyen Nhat Minh, 31 years old, from Tien Giang, has a hobby of photography and travel, especially passionate about the galaxy. He fell in love with photography from a young age, when there was only one film camera using the Eagle’s battery. By the time he could afford to own a professional machine, Nhat Minh began to rekindle the intention of making more difficult trips. He wants to conquer himself by owning pictures of the galaxy.
Talking about her son’s passion, Ms. Pham Thi Bich Lien, Nhat Minh’s mother, said: “Minh is very passionate about photography, ready to invest a large amount of money to buy hundreds of millions of dongs of high-quality cameras and equipment. If you have free time, you can go anywhere, as long as the place has beautiful scenery.”
Tien Giang boy remembers the first time he practiced hunting the galaxy in Con Dao in March 2019. On the day of going to the sea, Minh suffered from seasickness, but when he arrived, he immediately recovered thanks to the fresh air. The weather is favorable, the luckiest is the clear blue sky. Minh started working at about 2 o’clock at Sao beach.
“The moment you look up at the sky and admire the light trail of the Milky Way with the naked eye is really magical. Going to photograph the Milky Way must prepare to stay up late, sometimes white at night. Shooting and afraid of ghosts, but when it succeeds, passionately forgot all about time and space,” Minh said.
Minh’s “hunting” trips usually fall between February and September. Up to now, he has set foot in Con Dao (Ba Ria – Vung Tau), Ly Son (Quang Ngai), Bao Loc (Lam Dong), An Giang, Tan Thanh beach (Tien Giang), Cu Lao Cau, Mui Ke Ga and Phu Quy island (Binh Thuan), Hang Rai and Hon Do (Ninh Thuan), Doi Troc (Da Lat)…
Nhat Minh shared, photographing the Milky Way is very different from taking pictures of landscapes and people. Experience is to choose clear days, avoid areas with urban light that cause glare, calculate which direction the galaxy is located, what date and time appear, avoid full moon days because there will be light interference. . The camera should be of a new type, with a lens (lens) with a large aperture, wide or super wide angle, a soft strap and indispensable tripod, flashlight. Photographers also need to know the basic specifications in photography such as ISO, aperture, speed.
“On clear nights, the Milky Way appears like a silver-white river made up of many stars, magically floating in the sky. That beauty seems to contain a strange charm,” Minh said.
Minh’s companions come from all over the country. “The feeling of happiness when capturing images of light strips that are difficult to see with the naked eye. If you are lucky enough, when you sit down to take pictures, you will meet the stars crossing the sky, very interesting,” Minh said.
Nguyen Khanh, a freelance photographer in Ho Chi Minh City, who is also Minh’s companion on galactic hunting trips, said working with Minh was fun. Minh is a positive, energetic and very responsible person for his “brainchild”, always wanting his photos to be as neat as possible, both in terms of light, color and composition.
There is also no shortage of times when Minh failed to take pictures due to the weather. Minh still regrets the trip to Tan Thanh beach, where there is a “lonely” mam tree as the foreground to capture the beautiful galaxy, but even though he stayed up all night, he still couldn’t get any pictures as he wanted. When he went to Ly Son or An Giang around May-June, due to unfavorable weather, clouds were covered, so he had to camp and sleep and then return. After that time, Minh learned from experience, watching the direction of the wind and clouds to choose a place to shoot, and at the same time choosing a place with the foreground to create a highlight for the picture.
Ninh Thuan is the most fun trip. The trip is in the windy season in March. At 2am, everyone climbs up the big rocks to reach the location of Thach Ban in Hang Rai, the perfect place to capture the beauty of the starry sky. Minh stood for 5 hours continuously, from 3am to 8am to photograph the galaxy and dawn. “Standing to take pictures, the waves splashed up and wet both the body and the camera. There was a brother in the group who got both the lens and camera damaged by sea water. Big waves and strong winds, it would be dangerous to go alone”, Minh recalled the journey. literally “wind and storm”, but in return are precious memories.
Cu Lao Cau is also a place for camping, sightseeing, and hunting the galaxy that should not be missed with its pristine beauty. But Minh said that you need to pay attention to the weather because there are no houses there. If you want to go, you have to hire a food service.
The galactic hunting season will begin in about 3 months. This time, Nhat Minh wishes to return to Tan Thanh beach to hunt down “the Ngan river” because there are still no good photos there.
Photo: Internet (vinlove.net)