Viet Ha Tran | The Soul of Vietnam

Photo © Viet Ha Tran-All Rights Reserved

My previous blog post dealt with the question as to whether the Fujifilm X-Pro 2's capabilities mitigates my "need" for acquiring its medium format GFX 50S to seriously indulge in my interest in "fashion-lifestyle-travel" photography. I concluded the jury was still out, and that most probably the X-Pro 2 was more than capable of producing exquisite images without the weight and cost associated with its medium format cousin.

As I was checking Google News for recent updates on my photo book Hầu Đồng: The Spirit Mediums of Viet Nam in the Vietnamese newspapers, I chanced on an article lauding the work of a Vietnamese photographer, whose name I was not familiar with, and who wasn't in my extensive Facebook network. Some of the work I viewed exemplified what I am interested in pursuing (to a certain extent).

I chose the lovely photograph above, which is one of many in Ms Viet Ha Tran's The Soul of Vietnam gallery, as an example of what I regard as "fashion-lifestyle-travel" imagery. The ethnicity of the model, the historical and cultural influences of her costume, and the "scenery"...the typical Sino-Vietnamese furniture et al. 

I am also impressed by the photographer's delicate The Lotus Lake gallery, which was photographed in Hanoi's West Lake. In summer when lotus flowers bloom, the lake is popular with Vietnamese women along with photographers. The Vietnamese have so much affection for the lotus flowers that it is the country’s national flower.

Viet Ha Tran is a Vietnam-born fine art photographer, and is based in Spain. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University in Japan and a Master in Marketing Management from IE Business School, Spain. She studied a photography course at  EFTI (Centro Internacional de Fotografía y Cine). 

Having started her photography in 2013, her images have been published in over 90 different magazines and newspapers around the world. Semi-finalist in the Spanish National Digital Photography Contest in that year, she also won Honorable Mentions in Fine Art Categories of the International Photography Awards, Los Angeles. She was invited by Vogue Italia to photograph for Vogue Talents Shooting in early 2014. Later in 2014, her works appeared at Brighton Photo Biennial, on of the UK’s largest photography festival.