The beauty of the galaxy across Vietnam

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Tuy An Lamp Ganh, En cave or Moc Chau tea hill shimmering under the night sky through photos of Vietnamese authors participating in the 35AWARDS international photo contest.

The 35AWARDS annual international photo contest is organized by a team of professional photographers around the world for the first time in 2015. 35AWARDS in 2021 includes many categories, including the Milky Way. This photo category attracts 1,622 authors with 3,623 participating photos that have just announced the results, of which Vietnam has one photo in the top 10 and 15 photos in the top 200. The top images will be accumulated to judge the winning photos. overall of the year.

On the picture is the night of Ganh Den in Tuy An, Phu Yen by Bui Xuan Viet (Dong Nai), the only photo of Vietnam in the top 10 photos in the Milky Way category of 35AWARDS. The author said that he brought a blanket from the hotel outside the Ganh Den lighthouse area, chose a dry rocky beach, then took pictures while looking at the stars.

Anh Viet had a hobby of watching the stars since he was a child with a faint strip of light crossing the middle of the sky, at that time there was no light pollution like now. Later, he learned that the faint band of light was the Milky Way. He spent more than a year researching and taking the first photos, standing in the middle of the night outside at -10 degrees Celsius on the Everest Base Camp route in 2019 for more than an hour just to get a perfect photo.

The idea of ​​​​the photo “Touching Jupiter” by Bui Xuan Viet also came by chance. During a shooting trip in Da Lat in March 2020, he discovered two objects and Jupiter would be right at his fingertips in the area of ​​​​the pink grass hill, near Bald Hill. However, when the galaxy and stars are high enough, the sky is close to dawn, around 4:30 am, so shooting will not be satisfactory. He returned a month later to shoot, at the ideal moment the two appeared within reach at 3 am. This photo is in the top 200 impressive galaxy photos of 35AWARDS.

Vietnam captures the Milky Way from about February to November of the solar calendar, on clear days without moon, or when the moon sets, and must avoid cloudy and rainy days. Move away from light pollution, if possible to the outskirts of Da Lat or further in the northern mountains. Shooting technique requires a long exposure of 15-30 seconds to get a good picture. Also, remember to prepare everything from tents, flashlights to mosquito repellent as the shoot can last all night.

Tan Thanh Beach, Go Cong Dong, Tien Giang, about 65 km from Ho Chi Minh City, is a favorite place to capture the Milky Way, with relatively low light noise and a variety of foregrounds.

Mr. Phan Nhat Dang Thu (HCMC) said that taking the photo above has many memories, when he arrived at 4:30 am, he had to hurry to move to the shooting location because it was too late, the dawn light would be heavy. He had to cross quickly through a mudflat at low tide, sinking to his knees and surrounded by mosquitoes. Less time and difficult travel, but in time to capture three quality photos, the foreground is the boat and the beautiful moment when the dawn is near.

Meanwhile, Mr. Chu Thien Son (HCMC) said that the first time he went to capture the Milky Way with friends was at Tan Thanh beach, Tien Giang with the foreground being a fisherman’s hut. Tan Thanh owns black sand slopes stretching about 7 km. Coming here, visitors should not miss fresh seafood such as clams, crabs, or nail snails.

“I was quite surprised and excited about this type of photography, and was helped by the brothers to guide me on how to take a lot of pictures,” said Mr. Son.

Ke Ga, Ham Thuan Nam, Binh Thuan bring the wild beauty of the blue sea, white sand, golden sunshine, and strangely shaped rocks, undulating like a chicken’s head reaching towards the sea. There is Ke Ga lighthouse on Ba island – the most beautiful island in Binh Thuan. Ke Ga is not only “the most beautiful sunrise viewing spot in Vietnam” but also an ideal place to take pictures of the Milky Way.

Mr. Son said that he took a clear picture because he arrived at Ke Ga on the right day, there were very few ships and no light interference from the surrounding dragon fruit gardens.

The “lonely brooch” in Go Duoi village, Long Thanh Nam commune, Hoa Thanh, Tay Ninh is a favorite check-in point for tourists.

Photographer Nguyen Tan Tuan (HCMC) shared that on an occasion when he took his son to his hometown in Tay Ninh, he set up a tent and watched the galaxy with his son by the lonely brooch with the hope that the child could experience the scenery. nature under the stars.

Young photographer Truong Hoai Vu (Phu Yen), a student of Ho Chi Minh City University of Science and Technology, chose the location as a hydroelectric lake, which is not affected by artificial light sources, far from Tuy Hoa city to take pictures. Galaxy. Vu used the panoramic technique to cover the scene, with the composition of the tree trunks curving in the direction of the galaxy, the highlight of the tents contrasting with the cold night sky. . Vu also has another photo, Ganh Den Lighthouse Night, Phu Yen is also in the top 200 of 35AWARDS.

En cave waterfall (or K50 waterfall) in Kon Chu Rang Nature Reserve, K’Bang district, Gia Lai is one of the famous tourist experiences in Vietnam and a great place to hunt for photographers. family.

Nguyen Trong Doi, lecturer at Quy Nhon University, Binh Dinh is also a photography enthusiast. He said that in order to take a photo of the Milky Way seen from En cave, in addition to conquering the waterfall, you also have to understand the moon phase, monitor the weather, choose a camera placement and image composition. When night falls, determine the time when the Milky Way appears, then go inside the “waterfall” to take pictures. It’s dark, moving is difficult, slippery, the steam of the waterfall is a big obstacle, so you should have teammates to accompany you to support.

“It is only when leaving the cave and reviewing the results of the work that the emotions are indescribable, the words of encouragement mixed with the noisy flow of the waterfall. A memorable journey with his teammates in conquering the Milky Way from En cave, “Doi said.

Meanwhile, young photographer Tran Van Linh (Hanoi) is a travel enthusiast who wants to enjoy a peaceful feeling away from the city. In recent times, he has chosen Long Coc tea hill, Phu Tho (pictured), and heart tea hill Moc Chau, Son La to camp overnight and photograph the night sky.

Tran Van Linh said that both Long Coc and Moc Chau locations (pictured) are quite familiar tourist places, but most people only watch the sunrise and sunset and forget the beauty of the night.

“In the afternoon after photographing the sunset, I pre-searched for a location to capture the Milky Way. In the cold night mist, watching them cross the tea hill makes me feel like I’m in the middle of space,” he said.

“My brothers and I traveled nearly 200 km from Hanoi to Dong Chau beach, Thai Binh. This is one of the few pristine beaches in the North. We stayed up all night by the cold beach, in the middle of the night sky as dark as a button, once even fell into the sand pits under the water because in the night it was difficult to control, almost fell into the sandy beach. In return for those times is the feeling of joy when capturing the night sky, “said Tran Anh Tuan.

The photo of Sang Nhu terraced fields shimmering under the night sky was taken by young photographer Hoang Minh Hieu (Hanoi). Morning Nhu in Mu Cang Chai, Yen Bai is one of the places with the most beautiful terraced fields in the Northwest.

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