As the only Vietnamese photographer to work with National Geographic since 2019, Tran Tuan Viet calls photography passion, not work.
In June 2017, photographer Tran Tuan Viet (38 years old) suddenly emerged as a phenomenon after his work “Making incense” appeared in Visions of Earth, in global edition and in more than 40 languages. Language of the prestigious National Geographic magazine (NatGeo).
In December 2017, he once again made a name for himself, when he was one of four Vietnamese authors who won a Gold medal at the 9th international art photography competition, with the work “Thien Nga”. The same year, he owned 20 photos in the top Best Picture of the day voted by NatGeo.
Following the success, in 2018, the work “Buddhist Prayer” surpassed 1.2 million photos on NatGeo photography community, into the top 70 most beautiful photos of the year. This is also the only representative of Vietnam present in the list. The work was later published in the magazine’s 2020 yearbook. The same year, the work “Making incense” won the tourism photo category, the prestigious Smithsonian Annual Photo Contest of America.
Most recently, he has contributed more than 1,000 photos in the Google Arts & Culture project – Vietnam Wonders. This is part of Google’s support program with the Vietnamese tourism industry in Covid-19, helping to promote the beauty of the country and its people to international tourists.
14 YEARS OF ATTACHING WITH PHOTOGRAPHY
Sharing about his reasons for photography, he said it was partly due to “charm”. The first years of the 21st century were the Internet boom in Vietnam, Tuan Viet at that time was a student of the Faculty of Architecture, Hanoi University of Civil Engineering, who had a chance to love Information Technology. Officially in 2007, he became acquainted with photography for the first time, a subject that helped him combine his passion for painting and technology work.
Tuan Viet took more than 7 years to shape his personal style. Before that, he tried many types such as portraits, landscapes, streets … Until 2015, when he had fully achieved the basic aspects of life, he began to seriously pursue his passion. love photography. He was attached to the Storytelling style, story-conveying photography, and was new in Vietnam at that time. This is also the year he started to “fall in love” with NatGeo, when he joined the community with more than 1 million photographers of NatGeo Your Shot.
“Perhaps since I was a child, I lived in the countryside, so I photographed things associated with Vietnamese culture and traditions and unintentionally these are things that appeal to foreign photographers and editors. So they are very welcome to pictures. my photo, “he said. In addition, he thinks that his neatness and concise in expressing photo stories is the reason why his works “caught the eye” of NatGeo.
After the NatGeo Your Shot community closed in 2019 and switched to InstaGram, he was one of the first 40 photographers invited to contribute on their new platform, which has now attracted more than 5 million followers. The works submitted to NatGeo require adding appropriate captions, not duplicating and having to show the story behind it, which is also something he finds interesting and suitable for the style he is pursuing. During his years in the community, he had a series of pictures of beautiful scenes, Vietnamese people posted, voted the best of the day.
“When my work was first published in such a famous magazine, and even printed 2 pages, I felt extremely honored to have recognized my dedication. More than that, I felt proud when saying this sentence. Vietnam’s story is well received internationally, “he said.
He shared, photography career is always flat but not easy. At the end of 2018, the pressure after some events caused him to fall into severe depression, with many sleepless nights and obsession with negative thoughts. In early 2019, he started on drug treatment and after a few months he received an offer from Google Arts and Culture. In order not to lose emotion while composing, he made a daring decision to stop the treatment. “I fell into depression because of photography, I got rid of it also thanks to photography. As soon as I was able to do what I liked, my negative emotions were somewhat lessened”, he shared.
PHOTOGRAPHY IS PASSIONAL, NOT WORK
Continuously laughing when he admitted that he was “crazy” when doing art, he shared how many times to Vietnam and to other regions to record 4-5 “even though no one pays” photos. Working time in 5 provinces of Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Hue, Quang Nam, Da Nang on hot days to 40 degrees Celsius of the summer of 2019, he was so eager to take pictures “that he just went and defied the pain. First half tortured “.
During his working times, he most missed the photo of 6 workers fixing screws fixed on electric wires. To capture that moment, this photographer took 6 trips, back between Hanoi and Bac Ninh. Or the time of making the picture “Buddhist Prayer”, when the photographers have gone for a drink, only you stay, asking the monks’ permission to let you stand behind the Buddha statue. “I wait until the end not only to capture a beautiful moment but actually want to see it from start to finish, to understand deeply and understand a ceremony. That way the photo has soul”, he shared.
Most recently, when he went to Son Doong, on the road with many terrains, it is very difficult to have a beautiful photo. Besides the technical factor, he claimed to be lucky when he caught the moment of sunshine and rain. “I see most of Son Doong’s beautiful photos taken by international photographers and I want to prove that the Vietnamese photographer captured the beauty of my homeland as well, so I will keep going. This cave many more times, “he laughed and said.
“Photos that deserve to be honored are photos that are creative and convey real value”
For him, the award does not determine the success of a photographer. Therefore, the photos that are staged and copied for examination will not spread the image of Vietnamese beauty to the world, but also easily detract from the photographer’s creativity.
“In the past, I have also taken pictures of such nature, but I realize when I am honest with myself and respect the truth, my work can be valuable and recognized,” he shared. This is also one of the top ethical standards that NatGeo demands of collaborative photographers. So to capture expensive moments, the only way he chooses is to learn carefully about the destination he will capture.
After years of working with photography, Tran Tuan Viet finds himself best suited to photos that spread beauty, positivity and inspiration. “Many people comment that my photos have a sad but peaceful feeling, I think this is true with my sentiment, my negative personality,” he said. All the pictures he took are about Vietnamese traditions, culture, history, scenery and people. In which, people will be the main factor.
He shared that comments and praise messages from those who love photography and traveling around the world will be the driving force for him to continue pursuing his passion, continue to contribute to bringing out the beautiful image of Vietnam. world. In 2021, he plans to make a selection photo book with the best photos and take part in the Xposure Congress in the UAE, which brings together internationally renowned photographers and photojournalists. In addition, he said he will continue to roam all over the country, to compose more beautiful pictures, especially in “Cave of the Kingdom” Quang Binh.
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