June 2023
Incredible trip to Ninh Binh.
Please check out my photos from an incredible trip to Ninh Binh
Trip to Mui Ne, Viet Nam
A four hour ride from Saigon and you can spend a long weekend in one of the cleanest, scenic and uncrowded beaches in Viet Nam.
We stayed at the Sailing Club Resort. Great rooms, super service and 4-5 star food. The only negative for us was it did not have a gym. Regardless enjoy our pictures.
Life after lockdown. Final post of 2021.
It was incredibly difficult to be basically banished to my apartment for 3 months of 2021. We made the most of it but it so nice to see life rise up in the streets of Saigon. He are a few of my final shots of that rise up for 2021.
Life above the Saigon Lockdown
The Beautiful Daily Ritual at Nha Trang Beach, Vietnam
The local residences start arriving at the Nha Trang Beach every day at 4:00 - 4:30 AM. Hundreds. Families. Couples. Groups. Solo. They are all there to start the new day in their own way. Many choose the water. Many choose the beach. Some people exercise. Some people meditate. Some people bury their selves in the sand. It does not matter. Everyone for a few hours every day live in peace.
The Smiles Of Binh Thành
New York Institute of Photography Travel Photography Course Certificate of Graduation
I know there are more important issues in the world right now but after 8-10 months, I graduated from New York Institute of Photography on June 4th, 2020.
I had actually started an advanced photographer course from NYIP in 2010 but never finished. It was nice to finish this course. I know there are many online photography course, but NYIP, started in 1910, is the oldest and the largest. The course is very well organized with a curriculum that is very relevant helping experienced photographers become better photographers. NYIP also provides patient and knowledgeable instructors to help you through the course. Thank you NYIP!
Below are photos from my final project.
More photos: oneyearinvietnam2020.squarespace.com
NYIP info: www.nyip.edu
Street Photography Nirvana
There is Street Photography Nirvana in Bangkok, Thailand. The place to find it is Aperture Tours (www.aperturetours.com). There are three options. The daytime Bangkok Street Photo Tour (3 hours one on one lessons). The Bangkok Night Photo Tour (3 hours one on one lessons). And the option I took the Bangkok Extended Tour (6 hours one on one lessons, day and night).
The photographer/teacher who led my tour was Paul Lukin (paullukin.com). Croatian born who moved to Thailand 10 years ago to practice his Muay Thai kickboxing. There came the point in his life, where he decided to stop the sport and start his photography career. He has not looked back.
First of all, I need to point out just talking with Paul for 6 hours, about his passion for photography, how to improve your street photography and understanding the difference is what separates a great photographer, from the many mediocre photographers, were worth the price of the tour.
We met at Hua Lamphong Train Station. Immediately we started taking pictures of the old but stylish train station and the people in the train station. Off we walked towards Chinatown, stopping at one of many famous temples along the way.
In Chinatown Paul led me through the backstreets. It was a whole new city hidden behind the main streets of Chinatown. Grocery stores, ice houses, food stalls, people betting on Muay Thai, and local housing units creatively making the most of their small living space.
We took a tuk-tuk to the pier where we could take a boat to the famous Wat Arun Temple. We spent a large portion of our time here, taking pictures of the temple and the incredible statues and ornaments within the temple’s grounds. We took pictures of the diverse tourist, the Buddhist Monks and the sights of the river that bordered the temple. We topped off this part of our tour by climbing up the six flight of stairs of a restaurant across the river to get an incredible night time picture of the lit-up temple.
Paul and I finished the wonderful day observing and taking pictures of the Buddhist Monks gathering for evening prayer at the Wat Bowonniwet. It was incredibly surreal to see a steady stream of monks humbly arriving for their evening prayer.
It was a great photographic and personal experience. Paul was an excellent mentor and a great person to hang out with for six hours. The final part of the Nirvana experience was the Thai people. There was no anger or rejection of any of our photo request. They embellished it and rewarded us with many pictures of the wonder Thai smile.
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