Written By - Gabriele De Capitani
Hoi An Town
Woman starting her day - Hoi An , Vietnam
After a very life-revealing, not-so-fun night and 0 hours of sleep, I decided to fall back on one of the things I love most and go on a photo excursion at 5 am in the morning around the waking town of Hoi An.
As I walked by the river and into the town, I saw the day beginning. I was surprised to see so many people, especially the elderly, up and about at 5 am. Many gathered together doing Tai Chi and other aerobic exercises. I was very pleased to see this aspect of social life and how people woke up and started their day together. As I kept walking, I would see fruit vendors set up stands, motorcycles begin to bring noise into the day, and this elderly lady leaving her home. I don’t know if she was going about her daily errands or to join others in some morning exercises, but I found her walking towards the rising sun and leaving her shadow behind to be quite a beautiful moment. I thought about being old, and what would get me up in the morning. It’s too soon to tell, of course, but I imagine people look out for different things as their life passes; this woman clearly had enough energy not to sit at home and instead go about her day. Another image that came to mind is when someone passes away; we often imagine them walking towards a light, and this moment reminded me of that too. I’m not trying to overdramatise a picture here; just a reflection on the meaning certain daily moments can have just by looking at them from a different perspective.
As I continued my walk through the waking town, I spotted a man with a dog sitting on a curb. I knelt and placed the lamp post on the second third of the frame, allowing me to have him more centered and giving me space to retain more of the curving lines of the street. I thought this would give a better sense of movement and perspective. The calm, simple, and almost empty road contrasts with the bright colors of the party street in the back, lit up by disco lights until a few hours before, and now being lit up by the sunrise.
Fun fact: during the nighttime, this whole street is actually home to at least 300 rats.
Here we have a good example of the effect that making a picture black and white can have.
On the left, an alleyway with colors and light appearing more evident as you move away from the camera and look into the distance; you can notice how the floor and the walls are quite dark and gradually become lighter as the reflecting sunrise bounces off the yellow wall in the distance, the red and green lanterns hanging, and a single bike parked on the side of a street.
On the right, we have a very similar picture of a different alleyway, just a bit in reverse. thanks to the black and white we can clearly see the image gets darker the further out in the street you look, the bright sky on the top is in contrast with the darkening street at the bottom, plants and vegetation clutter the slightly twisting steet as we try to look throigh it, (an effect highlited by the long lens choice to squish the already thin street even more so).
The feeling between the pictures is quite different. The first, to me, gives a sense of serenity and tranquillity, welcoming the colors of the morning and having some nice elements such as the bike and the person walking in the distance, sparking some imaginative story. The second highlights shadow and light play, a cramped feeling, and attention to lines and shapes.
Allyway - Hoi An , Vietnam
The last photo of today is something that makes me smile every time I watch it. To me, this very well represents mist South East Asian Countries. An old light pole with an absurd amount of wires and lines hanging from and through it. If you were wondering, yes, those are live wires, and yes, they are hanging loose at head height, and yes, you do have to limbo through them so you don’t get shocked. If that wasn’t enough, however, they also attack you from below with the tubes coming out of the ground. Dangerous as it may be, it remains an identifying staple of Asian culture for me, as it is very much like the rest of the country: a great big mess and mix of organized chaos, which, while surprising at first, really works! And it can only work there. A nice example of this is crossing the street: in the average city, there might be thousands of motorbikes driving just a centimeter apart from one another, or driving very fast. You learn very quickly that absolutely no one uses the crossroad, which might as well be there for decoration, and if you wait for someone to stop for you… well… you will keep waiting. Instead, the trick is to walk and confidently keep walking at the same pace, and the expert drivers will “safely” avoid you, just like the wires, a big mess that works and has its own charm to it.
For this photo, I kept the subject in the center and positioned myself in the middle of this intersection so that the lines would follow and also travel perpendicular to the street, having the pole appear central and important.
Street in the morning - Hoi An , Vietnam
Wired intersection - Hoi An , Vietnam
Allyway B&W - Hoi An , Vietnam