Category: Photography
-
Scandinavian design from the shores of Vietnam.
Asia, the heart of manufacturing these days. Ideas can be created anywhere, however, when the ideas are about to be realized and manufactured, then Asia is the place to be. One of my clients, Fronterra, have their designers in Scandinavia, or more precisely, Denmark. The Norwegians and the Danes have a good relationship. Denmark is…
-
Why nine lives are not enough for a copycat…
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, however as a visitor to Dalat’s old train station, my enticement to buy a souvenir for my son, who happens to love Thomas the tank engine, vanished as hot steam in the air as I walked into the shop. I could have been in Saigon, Hanoi,…
-
The “100 Faces” photography project and the Vietnamese contribution
“The project is a book in which sale proceeds will be donated to The Global Hunger Project. We are collecting an array of portraits from different photographers around the world. The Goal of this Project: Gain exposure for photographers and the art of photography, raise money for global affairs addressing children poverty, expose the world to…
-
“Puppets that dance on water” – Múa rối nước
Showtime. Or so we hope. At the ticket counter they wouldn’t sell us tickets, instead they told us to take a seat and wait in hope. Hope that more than ten souls were willing to spend half an hour to watch an art form that dates all the way back to the 11th century. Welcome…
-
The colorful ones – Saigon brightens up
Talking about Vietnamese fashion, the Ao Dai comes to mind, however, the real deal is something practical and often quite outstanding, in terms of colour that is. How come? Are bright colours the equivalent to the reflective safety vests? Walking the streets of Saigon you will not easily become the next Sartorialist as the most…
-
The masked riders of Saigon’s streets.
Motorbikes are plentiful in Saigon. Over 4 millions according to travelers websites, and in 2000 alone, 1.4 million units were produced locally and sold. According to a survey from 2008, 26 million vehicles are registered in Vietnam, 95% of them are motorbikes. Over 9000 new motorbike registrations daily. The numbers are just numbers until you…
-
Packed like sardines as accidents do happen
The image above was captured on the road from Phu My Hung heading towards district 4. A motorbike carrying building bricks had slammed into a SUV and consequently fell on the road, breaking most of the bricks. Police at the scene filling in forms while the traffic jam is building up as the SUV was…
-
Arriving in Vietnam and facing the traffic
Most people, when asked, would answer that the traffic mayhem that you experience on a daily basis leaves an impression, for better or worse. In the central business district, foreign pedestrians can be observed breaking out in panic and sprinting in hordes across the zebra crossings. Not for the faint hearted indeed. There are a…
-
The streets of Saigon. What to see and what to expect. The street vendors.
I spent two days watching people and capturing the some of Saigon flavours as I left my normal gear behind and went back to basic. One camera and one lens. First out of a small series of blog posts: The street vendors. Above, about to be extinct from the roads, unless in an organised group…
-
Music, fashion and passion
It’s super. Music, fashion and passion. Super 8. Kari brought the music and it is absolutely worth listening to “Other people’s stories”. Photographed at Ramsgate beach, England. It was a long train ride, something that you end up missing living here in Vietnam. Trains are simply the best of public transport, as long as there…
-
Chasing lightning as it rolls over Ho Chi Minh City.
The rain season is definitely here and this evening was spectacular with the lightning frequency. Almost as strobo flashes going off on the dance floor and the crowd lose itself in the music of (insert your favourite dj here). Playing Chemical Brothers while editing images was almost like being back in London’s clubs with the…
-
[…] Yeah, they say two thousand zero zero party over, oops out of time. So tonight I’m gonna party like it’s 1999. Yeah! (Prince, 1999)
1999. My last year at St.Martins. We are heading to New York. The MA students are going and I am the only one from the BA course that can join them. It was a great trip. We visited quite a few design agencies and got a glimpse into the design industry in New York. I…
-
“What were the skies like when you were young?”
They went on forever And they — when I We lived in Arizona And the skies always had little fluffy clouds And they were long and clear And there were lots of stars, at night And when it rained it would all turn It — they were beautiful The most beautiful skies as a matter…
-
A weekend of spiritual wellness for the photographic soul
What better start on the weekend to pay visits to pagodas and take in their atmosphere. Parking the motorbike in the courtyard and see people walking slowly without any haste is a welcomed relief from the traffic mayhem that goes on outside. First stop is the Jade Emperor Pagoda on 73 Mai Thi Luu street.…
-
“What does your online image say about you?”
Self. Myself. My self image. My image. Image. Click. One click, that was it. One exposure. He checked to see if I blinked or not. Five minutes he said. Five minutes passed, money passed, images passed. I had four, scissor cut, standard passport size, identical images of myself. It was quick, it was cheap and…
-
Roaming the roads and pathways with Papa Legba
Saturday morning. Again we find ourselves at the gates of spiritual wandering, walking through and recalling Papa Legba. Legba.net was the domain name I owned while living in London. Somehow I only ended up keeping madsmonsen.com and now, I start recalling the master of roads and pathways, Papa Legba. A boy had invited us in.…
-
“Now I stand here” – A simplistic guide to Polaroid transfer
Now I stand here Where the ocean’s blueness Is without limit The haiku that inspired a trip to Bournemouth, England, and the following examples of Polaroid transfer. Polaroid has been a long lasting love relationship of mine that came to abrupt when Polaroid decided to stop producing their films. My all time favorite, Polaroid 669,…
-
Deus ex machina
“A spiritual journey is good for the photographic soul” was the title from one of our previous road trips. The working title I had in my mind for this one was “Riding with Buddha”, however, looking through the images from the trip, it was changed to “Deus ex machina” or “God from the machine”. Still…