Author: Mads Monsen
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Ride, drink and shoot (Part II)
That’s what we did. Like a British fox hunting party we set out and chased something. That something cannot be easily explained. We had no dogs to help us. They were all at home, barking at any creature that entered the grounds. No use to us. Not that we were fox hunting anyway. We were…
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Break of dawn and barking dogs (Part I)
Road trip. Those are the magic words. Bringing a smile to my face as I splash water in my face. Been up since 4 am. SMS’ed James to see if he really would make it at 5 am. “Yes”, he texted back. That’s what a road trip will do for you. Even more so when…
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Yes, the day I pulled it off. Twice.
failing health chewing dried seaweed my teeth grate on sand Matsuo Basho’s Haiku sums up my feeling of July. What was supposed to be a month where the long planned road trip would take place, became a month full of surprises. As any photographer knows, clients can suddenly change their minds and shooting dates…
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The day Norway lost its innocence (A personal reflection)
Norway, the model country. One of the best to live in according to statistics, despite high taxes to fund the welfare state in order to maintain equality: U.N.: Norway Has Best Quality of Life Behind Norway’s #1 Prosperity Index Ranking Ranking: Norway, best place to be a mother Norway ranked Happiest country in the World…
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Duyên Dáng Việt Nam – Charming Vietnam, the new magazine
It started with a phone call. Most of the time it just does that. A ring. Some vibrations. Then a “hello”, as a command line interpreter, spelling out “Hello World” It was an old colleague of mine. In need of some help. Design help. They had a new project, a magazine, and they wanted a…
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SGN Style, a new project sees the light, yay!
A new blog project to promote up and coming creatives in Saigon. The second project to see the light in 2011. The first one is Saigon Creative, the monthly inspirational breakfast talk. Due to internal restructuring, aSaigonCreativeMorning became Saigon Creative and has now a new website address: http://saigoncreative.blogspot.com/ If you signed up on the old…
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Celebrating Norway’s national day, 17 Mai, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Every year the Norwegian community get together and celebrate 17 Mai. The meet up place is the Norwegian consul’s house, and everybody participate to bring Norwegian food for the event, either by import, returning from a recent visit to Norway or receiving visitors or to source the ingredients locally and make it yourself. True community…
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Let’s talk about fashion – Saigon Creative May event
That’s what we did. We got the inside scoop. A journey of tales. Starting in Milan, where we learned that fresh graduates are being picked up by the fashion houses on next to nothing wages. €200-400 a month and a one year contract. Renegotiable upon end of year. Except that the contract will not be…
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The outtakes, on location in Saigon, Vietnam
On location, the urbanised jungle, hunting, or rather seeking out items that catches the eye. An exercise of vision in between clothes changes. On location shoots there will always be a bit of downtime between clothes changes and I rather keep the pulse going, trying not to break the concentration and rhythm. It’s more fun.…
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To the top of the world, or at least to the 46th floor, the Skydeck at Bitexco Tower in Ho Chi Minh City
Famous cities around the world like to have an observation deck for tourists to see the city in all its splendour. Paris has its Eiffel Tower, with an almost infinite queue, that I passed on the opportunity of seeing Paris from above. New York was different, the former World Trade Center had both an indoor…
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Advertising billboard in Saigon
It’s not the size that counts as Renault Clio’s advertising campaign used to tell us, but when it comes to seeing your work printed out big and put on display on a billboard, then yes, size do matters. We did this ad for Dua Moc brand just in time for Tet and it is still…
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Saigon Creative’s event for April welcomed Tuan from the Propeller Group at Stella Cafe for: Culture exchange. Hip hop New York. Inspired Asian moves. Kung fu.
Sunny Friday morning in Saigon and the Propeller Group represented by Tuan is ready to give a lecture to the early birds. Quite an exchange it was. A cultural exchange. The re-branding of Vietnam. Underground culture. Different from the underground in the past, the ones that everybody knows when you hear the word Vietnam. The…
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“Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” ~John Dewey
While I was setting up and photographing interiors at FV Hospital, I got approached by a man coming out from the maternity ward. He asked me for contact details, told me he just became a dad again, then, that he ran a school and I would hear from him later. Less than a minute. Fast…
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Another sunrise over Ho Chi Minh City (and yes, I am not bored of it, yay!)
I don’t think I will ever grow bored at watching the sunrise. How many times in your life do you actually get up early, climb to a vantage point and enjoy the sun rising slowly on the horizon? I don’t do it often enough, that I know. The day feels longer and more productive, or…
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Learning a new language, exploring HDR
It’s 5am. Been a breeze to get to the location. Getting up to 23rd floor took longer. The security guard took us the wrong way, we got locked out in the emergency staircase and had to walk down to the 18th floor before ascending again. As the horizon started to gain colour tones we quickly…
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On location in Ho Chi Minh City, the outtakes
Getting up early seems to be the norm these days. Previously, while doing an assignment for a five star hotel/resort, we got up early for the sunrise shots. Today was a different assignment all together, however, up early we got. Assembled at six am. Our first video project. Yes, video. Once the job is done…
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aSaigon/CreativeMorning March speaker Dinh Q.Le at Stella, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Brilliant. Inspired. Moving. It was simply a great presentation and the early birds of Saigon enjoyed it. “I’m lovin’ it” to quote McDonalds, however, it was a far better deal. Unwrap a burger and you get disappointed as it never lives up to the tasty, juicy advertising image that sells you the deal in the…
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On corporate assignment in Hanoi and the lessons learned
Sunrays coming through my white mesh curtain. I am waking up in Hanoi. It feels like London. The windows are damp. Outside it’s cold by Saigonese standards, not so by Norwegian standards. Unfortunately, I have spent too much time in the warmth of the south to have the Norwegian layer of protection. To me it’s…