The unique set of photos about Saigon in the 90s through the lens of a Japanese photographer
In the early 90s, Japanese photographer Doi Kuro spent a lot of time and effort traveling across Vietnam.
For the past three years, every weekend, Bui Nguyen Van Nguyen has spent time roaming the streets with his camera ‘collecting’ every simple piece of Saigon life.
The streets of Saigon are quiet because of the Covid-19 epidemicNVCCOld apartments, grocery stores, roadside shops, alleys, crowded markets in Saigon… and many other idyllic images are captured by the 9X boy’s lens, becoming an important piece in the picture called his own “life”.
Stories, kind people and positive life
Bui Nguyen Van Nguyen (29 years old, currently working in the media industry in Ho Chi Minh City) said that he started this hobby of “collecting” since leaving the university lecture hall. At that time, he had just started working, work related to film media made him interested in the subtle angles that the artist could bring, tell stories to the audience. So he also started to create his own “photo corners”. At first, he took pictures with his iPhone and then borrowed a camera from a colleague and then saved up and bought a camera for himself.
At weekends, Nguyen often carries his camera around the streets, stopping here and there to “catch” beautiful scenes. “I usually keep my camera ready in my bag, so when I see a beautiful moment on the road, I immediately take it out and take a photo,” Nguyen shared.At first, taking pictures for Nguyen was just a habit, a personal hobby. He took a lot of pictures but only saved them on his phone and didn’t share them with anyone. Later, he set up the page “Everywhere Takes” on Instagram with the desire to share his photos to many people.
With the image quality that carries the breath of life, “Everywhere, Shoot” quickly received a lot of attention from the online community.”I’ve been gradually accepted by everyone, so I feel like I need to be more careful in every angle of my photos, bringing a lot of kind stories , kind people, and positive life to everyone,” Nguyen said.
“Do you love Saigon like me?”
That’s the question Nguyen posted with the status line “Saigon has always been beautiful, because there are always kind young people who do wonderfully kind things, hen”.Nguyen takes pictures everywhere he goes, at home and abroad, but he puts the most love in Saigon. As the child of the mountain town of Ban Me, Nguyen chose Ho Chi Minh City as a place to live and study, and then gradually fell in love with and attached to this place.
“My youth is associated with the alley, with the street corner, with a plate of rice of 20,000 VND, a loaf of bread with lots of chili sauce, with a bowl of double-squeezed noodle soup with a cup of hot broth on the side of the road,” Nguyen shared.
Nguyen thinks that “collecting” photos is like recording and recounting the journey of youth. This job left many memories, but what impressed him most was that his love for Saigon was always great every day, still loving this place warmly and generously.
“…Saigon these days, it’s too benign to look familiar, looking forward to the bustling fresh dui, when it was bustling everywhere, …”. That is the status line accompanying the image of Nguyen taking a scene of an empty Saigon street because of the Covid-19 epidemic.
Witnessing the complicated situation of the Covid-19 epidemic, Nguyen confided: “Saigon will pass the tribulation, and then normal life will return as usual. No matter what, Saigon never leaves anyone behind, so are the people of Saigon, always protecting each other to overcome difficulties.” Follow thanhnien
