Snakes of Bali
Snake portraiture ! – Why ?
There are plenty of amazing portrait photographs of animals and people’s pets everywhere.
And especially the amount of cat and dog photographs on Social Media can be overwhelming, to say the least.
So, I thought I try a different kind of animal portraiture.
Macro photographs and butterflies and insect ? Nah – overdone… and overrated.
Bird photography ? Mmmmh… not patient enough for that.
What else could I do ?
Fresh from our own garden !
Bali, where I live, has an abundance of snake species, and I was always fascinated by those lovely critters.
The whole project came actually about rather by chance.
I had just purchased a new lens which I wanted to try out. A Canon 24-105 / 4.0L
And that coincided with a snake being captured on the previous day. So why not try out this new lens with this rather unconventional subject.
As you can see I am also a bit uneasy with those critters so close by…
I did only a 30-minute session with this snake before releasing it again.
After editing the photographs I was very pleased with the results.
So, over the course of the next 2 years, we captured any snake we encountered in our garden and did a photo session with it.
All together we encountered 9 different species of snakes – all just within the compound of our garden.
Some of those snakes continued to live in our garden for many years and we saw them on several occasion.
Unfortunately, nowadays they are all gone, due to habitat loss caused by the rapid pace of buildup in our area. I have not seen any snakes in and around the garden for at least 2 years…
Some of them we even occasionally encountered even inside the house.
None of the snakes photographed were hurt or harmed in any way. They were held in captivity only for a few days while being photographed and then released again into their natural habitat.
Bali has a very rich and diversified snake population. According to the leading snake expert in Bali, at least 15-20 species of snakes are known to exist in Bali.
Very few of those snakes are venomous and it is extremely rare that humans are harmed by snakes. It is more likely to get hit by a lightning strike than getting bitten by a snake …
FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS
Photographing snakes is not for the faint hearted. You have to be comfortable handling snakes.
Some species can be very fast ! Fast as in striking as well as in escaping.Lens-wise I recommend any tele-lens above 100 mm focal length.
You may be surprised to hear that I photographed the majority of the photos you see here with a rather low-quality, cheap-ish lens: Sigma 70-300 / 4.0 – 5.6 .
I would have had also my much better Canon 70-200 / 2.8 L . But I decided not to use it because it is too heavy for this. I had to be very quick and for that the Sigma was perfect.
All of the photos you were taken with available light only. However, on most photos we used a reflector that was bravely operated by my wife. Needless to say that she is not as much a snake lover as I am.
Diah, I could not have done this without you. Thank you so much !
Because the snakes cannot be arranged in a way you want them you will have to take a ‘spray & pray’ approach. Meaning to say that you should take lots n lots of pictures. And then mercilessly filter out the keepers.
I had shot several thousand photographs and kept 2% – 3% of them.
Forget a tripod. Most snakes will move a lot, trying to escape or do ‘their thing’.
Venomous – keep a safe distance.
Important Note!
Snakes play a very important role in the eco-system – please do not harm them!
I DO NOT CONDONE THE TRADE OF SNAKES OR KEEPING SNAKES AS PETS
‘I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my family who gave their full support for this project.
Also I would like to thank Mr. Ron Liliey, a snake expert residing in Bali who helped me to identify those snakes and to advise on various aspects of those snakes.
Ron also runs The Indonesian Nature Foundation – http/www.lini.or.id
Truly’ DOMINIK
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Roaming the streets of Saigon Vietnam
I take ‘touristy’ photos as well – here two of the main landmarks in Saigon
Heritage building & Temple scene
Isn’t she a beauty ?
The busiest motorcycle place I have ever seen…
Modern Vietnam’s founding father: Ho Chi Min
Roaming the streets of Saigon
You may have read in my previous post that during February 2016 I had the chance to visit Vietnam for the first time. I spent 2 weeks in Vietnam’s economic capital Saigon, also known as Ho Chi Min City.
My first week there coincided with TET, the lunar new year festival. Read more about this at:
A tete-a-tete with Vietnam during T.E.T
For my second week in Saigon, I moved closer to downtown Saigon so that could conveniently explore the city center.
Saigon is super-busy, noisy and smelly, but lively and a feast for the eyes (and for the camera). The city has lots of heritage architecture.
Some beautiful French colonial buildings among them.
The city center is also quite green with some nice tree-lined boulevards.
Vietnam has probably one of Asia’s most exciting cuisine. But for this aspect, there are lots of blogs out there which explore Vietnam’s rich food culture.
In pursuit of worship
Business in Vietnam has still some space to grow… 😉
Vietnam – Coffee on a whole new level
Coffee houses everywhere…
One thing about Vietnam’s food culture whichI need to point out is: The coffee. Simply the BEST !
As an Austrian I come from a country with a great coffee culture and a variety of excellent tasting coffees.
However, my encounter with Vietnamese coffee has changed my views and preferences in terms coffee tastes.
The Vietnamese have the very best coffee in the world. PERIOD.
And I cannot henceforth imagine a life without Vietnamese coffee. Fortunately, Vietnamese coffee is slowly taking over the world and becoming increasingly available outside Vietnam also. So I should be good for years to come, even if I can’t come to Vietnam to stock up on new supplies.
While on the topic of coffee: There are coffee houses everywhere in Vietnam and the people of Vietnam indulge in this quite a bit.
I usually do not bring home much in terms of souvenirs from my trips and always try to travel lite as possible. But from Vietnam, I flew home with 3 or 4 kg of coffee.
Chinatown here I come…
First I explored VietNam’s largest traditional market: Bin Tay . However, overly busy, dark allayed markets with smelly stalls with goods for which I have absolutely no use I have seen more than enough in 30 years in South East Asia. So I left this place rather quickly and rather wandered about the streets.
Here are some impressions of Saigon’s Chinatown:
as Chinese as it can get…
Bin Tay market, the largest in Vietnam
Grains anyone ?
Or a how about a new helmet ?
Binh Than District – traditional Saigon
My apartment was in Binh Than, a district bordering the first. There is pretty much no particular place in Binh Than district which a visitor to Saigon would want to see.
However, Binh Than is a rather old and very typical district of Saigon. So I was able to indulge in my favorite pastime when I am in a foreign city. Wandering about and see how the locals go about their activities. And immerse me in peoples’ daily life.
For this Binh Than was perfect and I enjoyed my extended strolls very much. In the following I would like to present you with some sights and impressions of a typical inner-city neighborhood of Saigon.
Business on the streets of Binh Than
Mostly woman who are in business here…
Flowers, fish and more…
No rush… Business the Vietnamese way…
a quick bite before the next sale…
Oh, yet more flowers… but that is Vietnam… I can’t help it…
FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS
I had my 15-30 / 2.8 Tamron and the venerable Sigma 50 / 1.4 Art with me. Proly not the best choice… Coz’ Saigon is not a place where a ultra-wide angle lens is of much use.
A 24-70 is what I would recommend. But as always I had my G12 with me so I had the 24-70 focal length range covered also.
I ended up switching my full-frame Sony camera into APS-C mode often turning my 15-30 into 24 – 40 ish lens. I used the Sigma 50 also quite a lot. I love its bokeh and how it handles – a stellar performer.
It was also here in Saigon where I had the idea to make my own camera bag. I had a small Loewe camera shoulder bag with me. But it simply did not feel right. I never got comfortable with it.
On one of trips in the ‘hood I found a very nice looking suede bag which I could not resist buying. I thought to myself: ‘What a pity that it cannot be used as camera bag…’ Or can it ?
Devoting some thought on this issue I realized what sets a camera bag apart from a ‘normal’ bag that it has reinforced walls and compartments to protect the gear.
How hard could it be to get those done back home in Bali. So I bought some dampening / softening material, some suede and got it tailored to my needs.
Now I have a unpretentious and inconspicuous camera bag. I like its looks also.
Inconspicuous is important for me because with a branded common camera bag it’s a little bit like running around with a bag that has written on it: Expensive photo gear inside… steal me…
Not the best idea when moving around crowded inner-city environments.
Though it’s not a bag I would take on a gig such as wedding, it should suffice for wandering the streets of a city. Size wise it can comfortably hold pocket camera such as my G12, one DSLR body and 2 or even 3 lenses.
It also has small side compartments which can accommodate accessories n stuff like memory cards, filters, reserve batteries and all those other things I need when doing ‘casual’ photography.
Some more flowers if I may
And although I already showed you lots of flower photos in my first Viet Nam post here are some more. Those are all Orchids, a flower very common and coveted in Vietnam.
Orchids
more Orchids
and yet more Orchids
To the great country of Viet Nam and all the wonderful people I met there: Thank you so much for the wonderful time… I’ll be back soon.
If you want to see more of Viet Nam, you can see the photographs my wife took during her first visit to Viet Nam, back in 2007.
Truly’ DOMINIK
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Perth-Fremantle
Green inner city Parrots, purple-blue colored trees and black swans…
Where am I ?
No, no. Not on ‘acid’ or any other mind altering substances.
I am in Perth, dummy! Capital city of WA, a.k.a. Western Australia.
And I love it here.
A typical view of down-town Perth
skyline of Perth’s city centre
I thought colorful parrots are animals that you only see in the forest or in the zoo. But I was wrong. In Perth lovely green parrots fly around in the city center. Those buggas are a native species of WA.
And there are plenty of other interesting birds flying around.
Whilst on the subject of birds. There is another ‘birdy oddity’ in Perth. Here the swans are not white, but black.
There is a deeper connection between Perth and swans. For instance, there is the Swan valley with the Swan river flowing through Perth.
And I also saw bronze swan statues in the city center. Since I am neither into ontology nor into folklore & history, I did not further explore the connection between Perth and the swans.
the famous black swan !
Black swan statue.
The Jacaranda Trees
The definite highlight in terms of new colorful things and beings around me was the Jacaranda tree. We don’t have those either in Europe nor here in my adopted home of Bali. So it was my first encounter with this magnificent tree.
A Jacaranda in full bloom is quite a sight, I can tell you.
I was lucky ! Those trees were all in full bloom. And there are plenty of them in and around Perth. Their blooms can be so dense that if you are sitting under one of those trees things around you have a slight pink violet tint. As if illuminated by a pinkish light source.
As a photographer a fascinating phenomenon.
It also reminded me of my younger days when various legit and less legit substances occasionally tinted my vision.
Jacaranda trees in park in Perth
More of this beautiful tree
Blue skies beyond believe !
While on the topic of colors and hues. The blue skies I experienced in and around Perth and Fremantle blew me away.
I am a great fan of deep blue skies in my photographs. And I have a few tricks up my sleeve on amplifying those blues when I edit my photographs.
But the blue skies of WA need no amplification. I have never before and never afterward seen places where the sky can be as blue as in WA. And I have no scientific explanation as to why it is so.
Perth & Freo are blessed with nice winds that keep its air clean. Me had those blue skies for the entire 2 weeks I was in Perth & Fremantle. No haze and great visibility all the time.
Here are some impressions of those very blue skies:
Impressions of downtown Fremantle
In the first few days of my visit to WA I stayed quite close to the city center of Perth. From there I explored the city on foot.
Perth is indeed perfect to walk around. Big kudos to the city administration of Perth for allowing free rides on all public, inner-city buses. Which made this great place even more accessible for me.
I immediately fell in love with Perth’s parks. Just beautiful. All with free access, well maintained and surprisingly empty during weekdays. Oasis of tranquility and lovely places to chill out.
The definite highlight of those parks must be Kings Park. The world’s largest inner-city park I was told. And this Wikipedia article confirms this. It’s much larger than New York’s famous Central Park.
Kings Park – Botanical Gardens
Upon entering the park it feels just like another inner-city park. But once you leave that frontal area and you enter into the Botanical Gardens you are taken into a different world.
They have managed to bring a part of the famous Aussie outback into a park.
Interestingly, some sources say that King’s Park is WA’s most popular visitor destination.
Sounds ‘very touristy’ and packed with people, doesn’t it ?
The way I experienced it though was quite the opposite. While the front part of the park it was quite crowded, in the Botanical gardens which are also part of the park, I hardly saw anyone.
During the 2nd half of my visit I moved to Fremantle, or Freo as it is affectionately called. Perth and Freo are kinda one. Calling Freo a suburb of Perth would not do this place justice. But calling it a city in its own right is also not correct. Who cares.
Freo, has a more laid-back feel to it and the absence of tall buildings make it feel less city-ish than Perth.
I had the great pleasure to stay with my dear friend John Davies and his family from 21st Century Video Productions . He and his lovely family were a great host. From them I borrowed a bicycle with which I cruised all over Freo.
Both, Perth and Freemantle have beautiful beaches. And it is not uncommon for the locals to go from work directly to the beach or vice versa.
Cottesloe beach in Perth
and another view of Cottesloe beach
FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS
If you happen to be in WA make sure to bring a circular polarizer and use it throughout the daytime. I would say Perth n Freo are definitely places ideally suited for a wide-angle or even an ULTRA-WIDE lens. I was mainly using my 10-22 EF-S lens on APS-C sensor camera.
Though I admit I haven’t been handling that lens perfectly when taking this photographs… But hey, this was 10 years ago…
And if you can, bring also a tele-lens. Anything above 135 should be nice. Why ? Coz there are those colorful birds, which I could not photograph as I did not bring any tele-lens.Post pro was done in Capture One and Photoshop. Why Capture One ? Firstly, because it’s a great RAW converter, and secondly, there was no Lightroom at the time when I made these photographs.
I have to admit I have only seen a tiny fraction of WA. That is Perth, Fremantle and a bit of the Swan valley.
And I loved it to bits.
Since Perth is only a 3 hours plane ride from Bali I will for sure return one day and hope to see more.
Truly’ DOMINIK
A selfie from pre-selfie times.
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In Search of the Soul of Seoul
What and where is the soul of Seoul ?
In its advertising campaign to attract visitors to Seoul, they coined the term: Seoul, the soul of Asia.
So I thought it may be a good motto to go by, and find out what is the soul of Seoul ?
And besides, I always wanted to visit South Korea. I also was curious as to what is Gangnam style ?
So I booked a hotel in the heart of Gangnam, which is a district of Seoul.
I am not sure who this gentleman was, but he certainly looks great.
In simplicity, there is Beauty to be found…
have I found part of Seoul’s soul ?
Seoul has some architectural gems, and I liked this one a lot
Gangnam style – I found it !
Gangnam was a good choice. It’s a very modern part of this vast metropolis. There are no particular landmarks in this part of town. But it is nevertheless an interesting district. And I ended up taking quite a lot of photos around here.
Restaurants, bars, cafes – gluttony anyone ?
Nowhere in the world have I ever seen so many restaurants, bars, cafes as in Seoul. And Gangnam is proly’ the epicenter of it all.
One could get the impression that in Seoul half of the population owns, runs or works in a restaurant, bar of café and the other half of the population visits those bars, restos, cafés, etc…
Almost all of the signs you see here are for Restaurants, cafes, bars, etc…
Also, I have never seen so many drunk people at all times of the day as in Seoul. What surprised me though that those drunks are all rather peaceful and not aggressive. Unlike in Western world where you better cross the road when a group testosterone-laden drunks come your way.
Korean Food – oh boy… !!
Talking about food. I believe Korean food is the most underrated cuisine in Asia. Let me explain: If you walk into any mall’s restaurant area in Bangkok, Singapore, Jakarta or any other big city in South East Asia, you will probably find that 30% or more of the food outlets there are Japanese. Korean? Very few.
But I find this very disproportionate to how delicious and beautiful Korean food is.
While the Chinese food philosophy is about medicine for Koreans food is art. Kinda’ makes sense to me.
And the sweets.. Oh my god… so delicious..
and none of those are ever empty.
So where is the next shop we are off to ?
Typical Seoul impressions
Cental Gangnam
Tranquility amid the hustle and bustle
Seoul is a city that lives by a rather fast beat. But within this hustle & bustle, one can find places of tranquility such as park A or in the temple complex of …
some folks can still engage in conversation without a mobile phone
a temple in downtown Seoul
more temple scenery
and another temple complex at dawn
In prayer
check your email after prayer…
Garosugil – the world’s center of fashion and being fashionable
You thought that Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, or Gingsa in Tokyo, or Milano or even Paris are the places that define what fashion and style is about.
I also thought so.
But as it turns out the epicentre of all things fashionable is in Seoul. Namely: Garosugil.
There you can see people who define themselves by what they wear. And not only that: Also by how they wear it.
Style is everything.
I live for my looks
Fashionistas !
Shoes, shoes and yet more shoes
In Korea shoes more than something to put on your feet and protect them from the elements. In Korea shoes are a fetish. Even many dogs have footwear on.
So if you see a lot of shoes, legs and footwear in my pictures it is not that I am obsessed with shoes but to show you what footwear is for Koreans.
And don’t get me started on the Koreans and their obsession with cosmetic surgery.
Can you imagine a life without accessories ?
and shoes of course…
Style over comfort
even the homeless care about their shoes
FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS
This trip was to be different in terms of lenses to be used.
Yeah, of course my G12 was with me. She always is.
But for the DSLR I wanted to do something unconventional this time. So I packed two prime lenses. No, not a 50 and also not a 35. Not even a 85. But a Canon L 135/2.0 and the Canon L 24/1.4 .
I ended up hardly using the 24. And most of the photographs you see here were done with the 135.
Yes, there were situations where I had wished for a wider lens.
BUT !! I am very glad that I choose the 135. It yielded some pictures which only such a tele lens can do. And it proved also to be magic in extreme low light conditions.
I will do it again and bring this magic bugger again.
Post pro: Nothing special. The usual suspects: 90% Lightroom and bit of tweaking in Photoshop.
Have I found the soul of Seoul ? I am not sure.
It probably was a quixotic quest. But one definitely worth pursuing.
I loved my time in Seoul and hope to return again.
Truly’ DOMINIK
and the obligatory selfie in another people’s selfie…
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Melbourne yeah mate
The Southern Hemisphere’s largest tram network…
The impressive skyline of Melbourne
Melbourne – what a place !
After having visited Sydney and Perth in the past it was high time for me to see Melbourne and I was very much looking forward to this trip.
There was one thing in particular that I wanted to find out. What makes this city to rank among the top three world’s most livable cities ?
Sometimes ahead of Vienna, sometimes behind. And Vienna is indeed a very, very livable city.
So I was naturally curious to find out what makes Melbourne so livable and can it beat my ‘beloved’ Vienna.
In short: Yes, it can. And I can see why.
Melbourne is:
> Very cosmopolitan with people of all ethnicities
> Has inspiring architecture with a beautiful blend of old & new
> A food lovers’ paradise
> A very photogenic city with awesome light
> Green & Clean – very pleasant for extended inner-city walks
Sunset at Fedartion Square
Flinders Station during sunset
The people of Melbourne like to go out.
After working hours all restaurants, cafes are usually packed with people. So it’s hardly surprising that Melbourne has a very lively restaurant & café scene.
The choice of world cuisines is mind boggling. Whether you are in search of authentic Sichuan food or an original Vietnamese Pho, or tasty Indian Thalis or any sort of Asian / European or even African food. You will find it all in Melbourne.
Add to this the awesome Victoria’s Market where you can buy all imaginable fresh produce and delights from across the globe. The variety of bread and cheeses rivals even what you can find in any major Western European city. Brilliant !!
The CBD is where it all happens
I spent most of my time in the city’s CBD, the central business district, because most what you want to see and enjoy is all there. While the CBD is not small you can still explore on foot and reach from one end to the other in an hour or two. I did not count my time, but I loved wandering about.
And there is also a lot of culture to be experienced. Museums, art galleries, music venues and and and..
Skyline at the Harbour front / Docklands
also at the Docklands
sleeping rough at Federation square ? No, some art project thingy…
Melbourne has more than one skyline.. and they are all impressive
I told you they like to hang out.. at all possible and impossible places…
where cultures meet…
The inner city parks are also lovely, but Perth is definitely ahead of Melbourne when it comes to parks.
Carlton Gardens with Royal Exhibition Building
Royal Exhibition Building, could be mistaken for somewhere in Europe, don’t you think ?
anywhere is good for a good time outdoors…
A memorial to the Immigrant success story that is Victoria
FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS:
As always I had my Canon G12 with me and used it quite a bit.
As for a DSLR I only took a APS-C sized sensor body (Canon 7D if I remember correctly) and the Canon EF-S 10-22 / 3.5-4.5 .
You may ask why I did not take a full-frame body ? Because I wanted to be as light as possible and this lens is very light indeed. And for ultra-wide angle I feel it does not matter much if one uses full-frame or APS-C sized sensor.
Nowadays I don’t use this lens much anymore. But for many years it was my favorite and a faithful companion that definitely helped to define my style of photography. And I even won several awards using this lens.
Melbourne is blessed with awesome light!! – A photographer’s paradise
Due to its geographical position so far in the Southern Hemisphere the light during late afternoon and early evening creates this super long shadows. And this beautiful light lasts for over an hour or two.
You should definitely have a polarizer with you – to further deepen those saturated blue skies.
The high dynamic range can be a bit hard to cope with, far exceeding any modern camera’s ability to capture it all.
But hey, we all know how to cope with that, don’t we ? Luminance masks, HDR photography, boosting shadows, highlight recovery come to mind if you want to fully exploit all the possibilities this fantastic light throws at you.
Post pro of the Melbourne pix was all done in Lightroom with a few tweaks afterwards in Photoshop. Believe it or not. I did not even have to boost those blue skies by much… They are that blue…
a bit ‘arty’ if I may…
Beautiful light, a photographer’s paradise
I told you: They love their outdoors…
Stunning Vistas at the Great Ocean Road
One day I was in for a special treat when my dear friend Val and her hubby Ryan invited me to venture beyond the city’s limits. We went on the ‘Great Ocean Road’: endless beautiful and deserted beaches with stunning vistas.
And at the end of this 300-kilometer journey, we reached Victoria’s main tourist site: The twelve Apostles. Awe inspiring !
On the way back into town I was amazed by the ever changing landscape ranging from wide-open meadows to lush forests.
Here a some pictures from that day:
Here everyone can find their own private stretch of beach.
The twelve Apostles ? Aussies seem to have problems with counting…
Oh, here are another two… yet still not twelve… who cares mate…
I had a terrific time in Melbourne ! I will definitely be back one day.
My sincerest gratitude goes to Valerie from Together Forever Weddings who took so much time out of her busy schedule and drove me to so many lovely corners of this fantastic city, and beyond.
Truly’ DOMINIK
and here a ‘selfie’ of Yourstruly:
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Bern Short & Sweet
During January 2016 I visited Switzerland for the first time. Actually, it was the second time, because I was there once in my early childhood. But I have no memories of the very first time.
This was a very short visit. Just 3 days. I was accompanied by my favorite travel mate: Kika, my youngest daughter.
We visited Bern, Switzerland’s capital, on the invitation of my very dear friends Dierk & Andrea, whom I had not seen in many years.
Bern is a lovely small city with a beautiful old town. The clever Swiss avoided to take part in any of the great wars and consequently their cities were never bombed and destroyed, like most other parts of Europe.
So all the old buildings are still preserved and in prime condition. Another very positive thing I noticed was the almost complete absence of advertising boards or other forms of advertising in the inner city. Kudos to the Swiss for that!
The good thing about Bern: It is so small that you can conveniently walk all across the old town and explore it in a few hours. And this was exactly what we did.
It was by no means a ‘photo trip’. The focus was on spending high-quality time with my dear friends. However, on two visits to town, I was able to capture some impressions of Bern.
I was privileged to stay in a ‘classy’ suburb of Bern. I have included some impressions from the surroundings there as well.
Kika and me enjoyed this trip very much and hope that one day we can return to Switzerland again to see and photograph more of this interesting country.
FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS:
The sky was almost completely covered with clouds.
So the light was extremely soft. I tried to re-create the muted, less saturated colours in post-pro. And I chose a bit of a film-look to add to the atmosphere as I saw it.
All the photos were taken with a 35mm/1.4 Sigma Art lens and with my faithful travel companion the Canon G12. All shot in RAW. Post pro in Lightroom only.
In the following I leave you with some impressions of Bern.
My home during my stay in Bern
and here a front view of the house I stayed at.
View on to the old city of Bern
the city’s main church – towering above it all
another city view
Do you spot the guy sitting on the roof outside his window ?
Once the sun came out for a moment
A ‘noble man’s’ house
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Vietnam during Tet
To TET, or not to TET ? That is the question.
Most travel advice will tell you that it is not a good idea to visit Vietnam during TET. And I can certainly see why…
But let me explain to you first: What is TET ? TET, is the lunar new-year festive season in Vietnam. During which Vietnam virtually shuts down. Almost everything is closed in that period – even big malls close down.
And the usually super busy cities become very quiet… Even finding an open restaurant can be challenging.
Typical TET decor… seen all over town in Saigon
another example of TET decor in downtown Saigon
The Flowers of TET
Flowers, flowers and yet more flowers.
There is a particular charm, and actually a lot going on during TET. The people of Viet Nam are all in a very festive mood.
And the most outstanding thing about TET is the abundance, or should I say glut, of flowers everywhere. Everything is decorated – a little bit like Christmas in the Western world.
I have been privileged to capture some of the atmospheres of that period in pictures.
yet more flowers…
TET accessories and decor on sale in Saigon’s China town
TET decor in front of a shopping mall
and more of this
FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS:
Part of my mission during this Vietnam visit was to tame my new beast: The Sony @ 7 r II , which I purchased just a few days before my departure.
And what a beast it is. Steep learning curve !
I am very impressed by this camera and the possibilities it offers. Is it perfect ? Nope, at least not with a Metabone adapter. I missed a few shots ‘coz occasionally the ability to autofocus disappeared and I had to restart the camera…
Certainly not something I could afford doing during a wedding.
Let’s see in the near future when I get some Sony glass if indeed the Metabone adapter is the culprit.
I’ll keep you updated.
Lens wise I brought the current ‘Primadonna’ of the 50ies – Sigma 50 / 1.4 Art and my wide-angle darling: Tamron 15-30 / 2.8.
A perfect choice as it turned out. One thing that I love about my Sony cam is that I can switch it from full-frame to APS-C and then sim-sala-bim the 50 becomes (almost) a 85…
Very Chinese but with Vietnamese characteristics
outside a shop window
Nightscene during TET on Saigon’s main bulevard
At first, I was not too happy about my visit to Vietnam coinciding with TET. But after 2,3 days I completely changed my mind.
Now looking back I think I was fortunate to come during TET and to witness the lovely festivities during this special period of the year.
So to answer the question: To TET or not to TET? I may well come again during TET and have my next tete-a-tete with Vietnam.
Truly’ – DOMINIK
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