The Autumnal Nymph Gallery

The Autumnal Nymph by Tewfic El-Sawy on Exposure

(scroll down on cover image to view the gallery) 

Yes, I've been absent from updating my blog for almost a month...but as I've explained in my earlier post, I've been extraordinarily busy setting up three photo talks in Hanoi. These took place for November 5, 11, and 12 at well known and popular venues in the capital's art scene, and were attended by Vietnamese TV stations and its newspaper media. More about that later.

I used the little downtime I had to try my hand at street fashion photography. I accidentally met Zhang Mansi near Hanoi's Hoan Kiem Lake, and asked her to pose for me during the few free hours I had.

Mansi is a native of Dali, one of Yunnan's most popular tourist destinations in China. She is a third year student in Hanoi University. She reminded me of Luo Shen, a mythical figure of ancient China, who became popularly known because of a poem, Ode to the Nymph of the River Luo (Luo Shen Fu), composed by Cao Zhi of the Three Kingdom period.

This is certainly not the first time that I dip my toe in the so-called "street fashion photography". I find it to be quite a break from my travel photography, and it -this time- also provided me with a welcome change of pace from the photo talks' grueling schedule.

My travel photography is infrequently posed, and relies mostly on candid images...unposed and not set up; a kind of travel photography meets photojournalism. So finding suitable spots in Hanoi's Old Quarter and directing the lovely Mansi as to how to face the light was a welcome change, and distracted me.