HO CHI MINH CITY – 80,000 doors from high-rise buildings appear multi-angle through the camera angle of young photographer Nguyen Thanh Nam.
Nguyen Thanh Nam, 26 years old, was born and raised in Hanoi, is now a freelancer. In 2012, Nam went to Sài Gòn to study at university, and then stayed and work until now because “suitable for land, suitable for people”.
Meeting me in a khaki suit, dusty beret hat and artist, Nam has a shy smile. The young man confessed that he was better at conveying stories through images than words.
Nam happened to be in photography since 2013. Once he happened to see his acquaintance taking picturesque pictures of Saigon on his phone. Nam began to enjoy and enjoy photography. At first, he mainly practiced on social networks, foreign videos and documents.
But the budget for a camera was very high at that time, the phone could be carried anywhere, so Nam decided to exchange his Nokia phone twice as expensive for his Sony Ericsson C901. This machine is good in that it has been reprogrammed so that the user can adjust all the parameters on the camera like the camera but must understand carefully the parameters in the photography to play.
It took more than 3 months to get acquainted, Nam took all kinds of things from nature to people and architecture. Gradually, the investment equipment becomes better, the photo is “on hand”, the guy starts to love the job when it is not good. In 2015, when defining his personal style as an architectural photo, Nam rekindled the idea of a separate set of photos. By chance looking at the sliced catalog of interior materials, Nam thought of the windows in Saigon buildings and thought: “If you blow to that dry edge, your ideas and personal perspectives will be interesting. very “.
Thinking to do it, Nam started to shoot. In 5 years, he spent a lot of time traveling around the alleys of Saigon. Coming to the old apartment buildings that are in the area of clearance, people do not agree to take photos, Nam has to come back 2 or 3 times to persuade. There are also times by chance on the way to work or out, Nam captured a beautiful picture the first time he shot the camera.
As a photo of Bitexco Tower in District 1, he shoots over from the corner of a cafe’s terrace. The picture is like a “honeycomb” with different slices. In the midst of the cold color that shows the tense working atmosphere, there are still warm windows that record the moment the woman is preparing dinner.
Making use of the available materials, each photo has the concept of showing that each door is like the “eyes of the soul” of Saigon – a dynamic city, constantly changing.
The set of photos includes more than 1,200 pictures, divided into 3 parts, taken from 2015 to present and continues to add. Saigon of the South shows up in a variety of colors through light – dark, between old and new, modern and ancient. Not only capturing the moment of time, he shared his personal vibes with the land of Saigon under the eyes of a Hanoian. A dynamic Saigon, interwoven modern high-rise architecture with old, dilapidated buildings, tinged with time, makes this place always have its own characteristics that do not mix.
Nam shared: “I hope everyone will have their own ideas and feelings when viewing each photo. For Saigonese children, the photo becomes what they remember about their place of birth, look at the works. As for tourists, this can be a suggestion for them to know more about architecture, to realize the uniqueness of the city where they come.
After posting on social networks, the set of photos received many positive feedback. Nguyen Huong Giang, a 20-year-old student of the University of Economics, Ho Chi Minh City, shared that she was impressed with how to take a face-to-face shot, and to arrange the scene not boring of Nam. “There are times when you pass but never stop to notice, but when you look at the photos, you startled to see where you live so beautiful,” she said.
vnexpress