Photographing the Visions of Vietnam

Kevin Gilligan brought his Tamron SP 24-70mm VC and SP 70-200mm VC lenses to capture this Southeast Asian gem.

Article by Jenn Gidman

Images by Kevin Gilligan

Before he set off halfway around the world to visit Vietnam, Kevin Gilligan went to every website he could to research Hanoi and other parts of the tropical Southeast Asian country. "I knew what I wanted to see there and what I wanted to photograph—the people, Hanoi's Old Corridor, the ancient temples," he says. "So I prepared by studying how other people had photographed these places so I could start planning my own way to take pictures there."

The trip proved even more fruitful than Kevin expected. "It's an amazing country," he says. "Hanoi is a photographer's dream, and then you head north into the Vietnamese countryside and it's gorgeous. I brought my Tamron SP 24-70mm VC and SP 70-200mm VC lenses so I could capture a wide range of images, from the beautiful landscapes to the tight spaces in the city."

The people in Vietnam were very friendly and receptive to photographers, Kevin discovered. "They're so genuine, and more than willing to have a picture taken in most cases—they don't have the same paparazzi-style weariness we do here," he says. "Still, it's important to remember to be polite and respectful when taking photos."

During a bike ride through the countryside about three hours north of Hanoi, Kevin encountered a young boy and his grandmother, who invited him into their home (he was with too many other people to accept). "The grandmother was more than happy to let me photograph her," he says. "They were really excited to see their pictures on the back of my camera. I took this picture of her with the 70-200 at 70mm, 1/500th of a second at F/3.2, ISO 100."

Showcasing the people of Vietnam can also show the spirit of the country's more urban areas. In Hanoi, Kevin witnessed a slew of scooters chugging through the streets, and he couldn't believe what some of the drivers were carrying as they cruised. Kevin got lots of practice honing his panning technique. "They'll take almost anything on those scooters," he says. "We saw one scooter with a family of five on it. One man I managed to photograph had 13 tires stacked on there—he was driving with one hand because he was holding a package or something on his left side. I took his picture with the 70-200 at 1/800th of a second at F/7.1, ISO 800."

The 24-70 was ideal for the tight, cramped spaces scattered throughout Hanoi. "We were walking at night in the Old Corridor, a district in Hanoi where every street historically has a different trade," Kevin explains. "So one street will have metalworks, one street will have silks, one will have pharmaceuticals. We passed this shop and the colors caught my eye—I did a double-take and went back to it. The shopkeeper was very friendly and let me take her picture after I asked. I don't know that I could've gotten the picture without the 24-70 and the F/2.8 aperture, which came in really handy."

Real estate in Hanoi is extremely expensive—"a guide told us it was $50,000 a square meter, which explains why so many buildings there are narrow and tall," Kevin explains—and this shop was no exception. "It was so narrow I had to turn sideways to go in," he says. "I had a large backpack on and didn't want to knock anything over. I took this at 24mm, 1/100th of a second at F/2.8, ISO 640."

Because of limited interior space, there are also plenty of outdoor markets to be found on the streets of Hanoi. "Food is typically prepared and consumed outdoors," Kevin says. "Fruit stands are everywhere. I wanted to blur the background of this one and get a nice angle. I took this image also with the 24-70, this time at 24mm at 1/60th of a second, F/2.8, with an 800 ISO."

Kevin was also able to capture some of the more historic landmarks and architecture, including the courtyard of the temple of Dinh Tien Hoang, located on the grounds of the Hoa Lu Palace, where the Vietnamese capital was formerly based. "Vietnam is filled with temples like these that are begging to be explored," he says. "I took this picture with the 24-70 at 1/320th of a second at F/5.0, ISO 100. It was a really bright day and I wanted to capture some of the grit on the walls, so I did a little bit of processing afterward to bring that out."

The Huc bridge traverses Hoan Kiem Lake ("Lake of the Returned Sword"), located in the historic center of Hanoi. According to legend, the emperor Le Loi was boating on the lake when a golden turtle god surfaced and asked for his magic sword, which was said to give superhuman strength; the lake was renamed to commemorate this event. "It's a magical place with a magical story behind it, and I was lucky enough to get this night shot of it," Kevin says. "I took this with the 24-70, at F/8.0 and 0.3 seconds and an ISO of 500. A tripod was critical here for the longer exposure."

Kevin and his wife took a break from city life by taking an all-day bus tour where they got to disembark and ride their bikes through the countryside on dirt and gravel roads. "It was so hot the day we did this—probably about 95 degrees with 90 percent humidity," he says. "We were drenched in sweat. That's when we spotted these ox-like animals cooling off in a pond on the side of the road. I wanted to capture the details of their horns and eyes; that one animal on the left side looks almost human. I took this with the 24-70 at 1/640th of a second at F/5.0, ISO 100."

In the Tam Coc ("Three Caves") area, the Ngo Dong River flows through rice paddies and karst towers created by the dissolution of limestone. Visitors can take a boat ride along the river, with the boat drivers powering the vessel craft using their feet. "The guy rowing our boat must have been about 70 years old," Kevin says. "He went out of his way to row really fast and get ahead of most of the other boats so I could get some nice pictures. I took this one photo with the 24-70 at 1/500th of a second at F/6.3, with a 160 ISO. The mountains and the water are really beautiful here, but what was important to me in this image was including one of the other boats in the lower left for a sense of scale so you could see the majesty of the surrounding landscape."

To see more of Kevin Gilligan's work, go to www.photosbykag.com.