Hội An | Tewfic El-Sawy

I'm on a roll and featuring another photo essay on Exposure; Hội An: Port of the Cham Kingdom;

This time it's of photographs made in the lovely town of Hội An during my two photo expeditions-worskhops to Vietnam in 2012 and 2014.

Departing from my usual "no frills" documentary style of travel photography, I used Color Efex Pro 4 (Nik Collection) to give the photographs a sort of glamour glow, and enhanced the mustard-yellow color of Hội An's famous walls. 

Most of the photographs were made in 2014, and made with the Fuji X-T1 camera. I generally used the Zeiss Touit 12mm (effective 18mm) lens, and the XF 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 on specific photo shoots such as that with the traditional fisherman. For the photographs made in 2012, I used a Canon 5D Mark II.

I shared my experience using the Fuji X-T1 and the couple of lenses mentioned above on a separate post on this blog, and explain how it impressed me to the point that I didn't miss my Canon cameras during the 2+ weeks of my 2014 Vietnam adventure.

In this Hội An photo essay, I chose photographs that reflect a number of styles; street photography, fashion and model photography and pure travel.

The ancient town Hội An is a well-preserved example of a South-East Asian trading port dating from the 15th to the 19th century. Its buildings, though many have recently been converted to shops and restaurants, still have an ancient ambiance to them...despite the ever increasing influx of tourists who come to enjoy this small corner of Vietnam.

In the 18th century, Hội An was considered by Chinese and Japanese merchants to be the best destination for trading in all of Southeast Asia, but its importance dropped significantly with the development of neighboring Đà Nẵng as a main trade center.