I had the fortune of spending my first Christmas abroad in Thailand and Vietnam recently. It was an amazing experience, but the change in climate from the year-long heat and humidity of Phuket to the comparatively cold of Vietnam did nothing for my constitution. Highlight of the trip (excluding the main reason for my being abroad – my sister’s wedding) was Sa Pa.
Sa Pa lies in the northern region of Vietnam, high up in the mountains, near to the border with China. Being so high above sea level the entire area is susceptible to enshrouding you in a thick blanket of fog in the winter time. Literally like nothing I’ve exeperienced. You can go from seeing nothing but grey, to having the mist pass revealing an awe inspiring mountain backdrop, only for the mist to roll over again seconds later. Truly surreal.
Alongside the scenery, of note were the people. Known as the Hmong, they don unique traditional clothing and come down the mountain to trade. They also come in different varieties, from Black Hmong, to Flower Hmong, to Red Hmong. Yet all the villages co-exist peacefully.
Now this was one of my favourite portrait captures of my travels. The people didn’t seem to mind me venturing around, camera in hand, taking candid photos of the locals. In fact, it’s the eye contact in this image which I feel is key. The flashes of colour in her clothing stand out nicely against the darkness. The photo was taken during a time when the mist was prevalent, as such it robbed a lot of contrast in the original image, which had to be rescued in post-processing. Fortunately I’ve long made a habit of shooting in RAW so it wasn’t an arduous process. I’ll return with a photo of Sa Pa’s famous scenery in my next post.
