Two weeks after the first get-together, Matca had the chance to hang out with 4 other talented young photographers in “Portfolio Review #2” taken place on 15 July. This time, 4 participants shared their work, ranging from ongoing projects to a newly developed idea or simply the most favorite photographs since they first picked up the camera. Below are the summary of each series and our suggestions. “Portfolio Review #3” will take place shortly, please sign up here and follow our Facebook for more details.
Trung Qp
Independent filmmaker Trung QP brought his personal project depicting the relationship between him and his mother. Although he pursued a familiar subject matter, his approach using many nude photographs of Trung and his mom would surprise or even shock many viewers. In Trung’s images, his mom, an old woman from the countryside is portrayed fully naked and centered in natural light, showing her wrinkled body with nothing concealed. This crude, unprocessed visual style reveals a deep connection between them, showing Trung’s great appreciation toward his mother as well as her trust toward him as the photographer.
Other images from the series are more quiet, overwhelmed with metaphors and a particular cinematic feel. The mindset of a filmmaker clearly affects how Trung sequenced his story. However, some of the photographs can only act as bridges in motion picture. As still images, they lack certain qualities to connect the plot and leave viewers hanging.
This type of personal work has never been done before in Vietnam so it will definitely attract a lot of questions and curiosity once published. Matca suggested Trung to consider using a photo zine as a format to present his story. He is also advised to reduce the number of nude photographs so they would become the climax of the sequence. There should also be more images that show the interaction between Trung and his mom since it is what the series lacks at the moment.
Vu Tien Duy
Duy has a good sense of aesthetics and is in the process of finding his own voice in photography. At “Portfolio Review #2”, Duy shared some of his street photography work, as well as his idea about photographing cityscapes through the remaining traces of human being. However, Duy is still struggling to execute his thoughts visually so the current images are yet to engage viewers.
On the other hand, his street photographs are likeable with good toning and composition yet lack a personal signature. However, photographs from Duy’s ongoing cityscapes project show signs of experiments. He intentionally blurred the images that somehow imitate the brush stroke. We encourage Duy to keep experimenting and photographing things close to his heart.
Nguyen Hoang Nam
Nam brought several projects both finished and ongoing. Most noticeable of all are three images of autistic patients at Center For Social Protection III. Nam has photographed autistic patients before for a community project, but the results look rather heavy and cliched. His new works, however, are completely different as they show respect to the subjects and make them look intimate instead of pitiable. His choice of scenes and colors bring about a dreamy feel, as if the subjects were in their imaginary world. The images promise to bring a more sensitive and humanistic view to a subject matter that has often been made into a tragedy.
To continue, Nam wants to visit other centers. But Matca suggests that it would be more feasible if he sticks to the current place and looks for untold stories instead of doing something large scale and without depth.
Nguyen Anh Tu
Tu regards the camera as a tool to document beautiful places he has set foot to. It can be seen from the photographs his impression and joy when capturing such vivid landscapes. However, heavily influenced by common travel photography, Tu has not found his own style or developed his creativity.
If Tu wants to find his own voice, Matca suggests documenting every moment on the road and less obvious charms that could speak about unknown stories of the land. As techniques play a big part in landscape photography, Tu should improve his gear and skills too. On the other hand, an average camera can perform just as well if all capacities are utilized. Tu should also view works by famous landscape and travel photographers to get to know other approaches.
