URBAN b&w

Sài Gòn / HCM-City, Vietnam, 2014 - Leica M7, Summilux 35, Kodak Tri-X * The 5-star Caravelle Saigon Hotel was officially opened to the public on Christmas Eve 1959. It features a stylish French and Vietnamese architecture. Luxury indecently stands alongside poverty in Vietnam. Everything is today subordinated more than ever to a quest for success with a wish for growth at all cost for escaping poverty. Moreover, economic inequality is reinforced by inequality of voice and opportunity, with the poorest excluded in favor of the rich. Like China Vietnam could have become a "red capitalist" country.

Sài Gòn, Vietnam, 2013 - Leica M7, Summilux 50, Kodak Tri-X * I love wandering in the streets of any city in the world, and specially in those of the magic city of my birth where there is quite often too much activity. I feel so close to the little people on the cluttered sidewalks, like the two mahjong players and shoeshine boy here.

Hà Nội, Vietnam, 2013 - Leica M7, Summilux 35, Kodak Tri-X * Through trade Vietnam has become the most globalized populous country in modern history. But is globalization a friend or a foe? Likely both and nobody could guess whether the Vietnamese cultural imprint will resist this worldwide complex and multifaceted phenomenon which was deliberately adopted by the country.

Hà Nội, Vietnam, 2017 - Leica M7, Summicron 50, Kodak Tri-X * Grandmas are often truly so lovely, so great... Vietnam is getting old before it gets rich, which makes caring for the elderly hard to afford, i.e. raises concerns about healthcare, welfare and pensions for the elderly at a time when the country is focusing on economic integration and requires a large labor force. More people are working into old age to survive, in the world’s most rapidly aging country. Will solutions be too little, too late for Vietnam’s growing ranks of elderly poor?

Sài Gòn - Vietnam 2017 _ Leica M7 Summicron 50 Kodak TriX * Built in 1924 as a place of worship, the unique stone pagoda Kỳ Quang 2 has unwittingly become since 1994 a home for abandoned babies and disabled children. Healing the wounds of war with love and compassion here at Kỳ Quang 2 Pagoda where Venerable Thích Thiện Chiếu is revered as their adoptive father by more than 200 children. According to statistics, Vietnam has one of the highest rates of abandoned babies in the world.

Hòn Khói, Vietnam, 2013 - Leica M7, Summicron 28, Kodak Tri-X * Stretched out on the dirty beach, the poor old woman was waiting for her son who was swimming nearby. The approaching Russian tourist with a one-piece swimsuit appealed at once to me. Vietnam emerges top Asia-Pacific travel choice for Russians and Chinese.

Hà Nội, Vietnam, 2008 - Leica M7, Summilux 35, Kodak Tri-X * Most if not all drainage plans being used in Vietnamese cities are truly outdated or inadequate. Property damage, house inundation, traffic congestion and power cuts caused by the flooding therefore affect frequently the lives of local residents for several days. Climate change will increase the threats that Vietnamese cities face from flooding. Extreme rainfall will likely be more intense. Sea level will rise, raising the level of estuaries and rivers. Dams and reservoirs will become more difficult to manage under extreme conditions.

Vũng Tàu, Vietnam, 2008 - Leica M7, Summicron 28, Kodak Tri-X * After I climbed like a pilgrim some 847 steps under a scorching sun, I reached the base of the divine statue which stands with outstretched arms perched on the hill overlooking the ocean. Then I climbed up the monumental statue, 133 stairs more to the top. That is when an ill-mannered youngster jostled me in the narrow spiral stairs to reach the right shoulder of the statue for watching the panorama of the city and the surrounding sea. Though only one person could stand there, I arranged to shoot this double portrait on this cramped shoulder. Not everyone can say they’ve climbed a 32-meter tall Jesus with two outstretched arms spanning 18 meters. Built in 1974, the statue of Christ the King was completed in 1993. Catholics who make up 7 to 10 per cent only of Vietnam’s population, i.e. 7 to 10 million, are deemed to be oppressed by the regime.

Hà Nội, Vietnam, 2017 - Leica M7, Summilux 35, Kodak Tri-X * How many people could today read and write near-extinct chữ Nôm, the ancient Vietnamese writing system? Probably a few dozens only in the world. Talented artist Nguyễn Quang Thắng handwrote here artistic Nôm ideograms on Vietnamese traditional Dó papers. Devised in the mid 17th century by Portuguese missionaries who enriched the Roman alphabet with additional accents to suit the specific tones of the Vietnamese language (in particular Jesuit Francisco de Pina), chữ Quốc ngữ romanized writing system has burried a thousand years of cultural past, and insidiously formatted significantly the thoughts of an authentic people.

Hà Nội, Vietnam, 2000 - Leica M4, Summilux 35, Kodak Tri-X * These cute kids remind me so much of my earliest childhood in Vietnam. Literacy of course matters but it's of utmost importance that cultivating, expressing oneself, exchanging views, arguing, criticizing and challenging awareness optimally complement basic reading, writing and counting. I sincerely hope that education in Vietnam will one day take a more appropriate direction in order to significantly reduce the business and technology flood damages in this globalisation era and raise the global culture level of this country of my heart to international standards. The critical issue of generations of know-nothings without a common culture has already spread across the globe into the bargain.

Nha Trang, Vietnam, 1997 - Leica M4, Summilux 35, Kodak Tri-X * It was 5 a.m. at dawn. I stepped out of a small hotel in front of the beach. Half asleep I came across a nice ghost, a nuclear cloud on the horizon and many swimmers inbetween. Loudspeakers spitting political slogans disturbed me when I triggered my bosom chum, a very old black paint Leica M4. Unlike today, rude Russian or Chinese tourists have not yet taken over the Vietnamese beaches.

Sài Gòn, Vietnam, 2017 - Leica M7, Summilux 35, Kodak Tri-X * Under a grudging sun a young worker was cutting plastic nameplates from pre-cut boards. With the Vietnam War, Vietnam traded three millions of lives for independence and equality. More than four decades later, blatant inequality and endemic corruption proliferate. The country has ended up with the biggest lie of all, i.e. the worst of two opposing systems: the authoritarian ideology of communism and the unfettered ideology of neoliberalism. Finally capitalism crept up on communism in a country that engaged in double dealing with kind of deceptive red capitalism in the manner of China, the neighboring newly superpower.

Sài Gòn, Vietnam, 2017 - Leica M7, Super-Elmar 21, Kodak Tri-X * She spotted me on this trendy sidewalk of a rich district of Saigon, smiled and lowered her eyes as I walked towards her. Like China, communist Vietnam has ironically rushed to capitalism and moved toward an increasingly inequitable society while severely limiting free speech. Vietnam could rank third in the world in terms of fondness for branded goods. The ownership of luxury houses, hotels and cars is rising, particularly in HCM City and Hanoi. The country is also perceived by foreign observers to be one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Inequity and corruption are increasing more than ever as the country has embarked on a questionable path that makes it a member of the global neoliberal community.

Sài Gòn, Vietnam, 2014 - Leica M7, Summilux 35, Kodak Tri-X * Today most people in Vietnam are supporting capitalism. Communist Vietnam may actually be one of the most pro-capitalist countries on Earth. Blatant economic inequality is reinforced by inequality of voice and opportunity, with the poorest excluded in favor of the rich. The country continues to demonstrate tight media censorship and its one-party regime frequently jails critics. Vietnam has long been near the bottom of RSF’s World Press Freedom Index and is ranked 176th out of 180 countries in the 2019 Index.

Sài Gòn, Vietnam, 2017 - Leica M7, Summilux 35, Kodak Tri-X * The family members of this young woman with deformed toes in the beauty salon are unfortunate victims of Agent Orange. More than 10 years of U.S. chemical warfare in Vietnam exposed about 2 to 5 million Vietnamese people to Agent Orange. More than 4 decades on, the impact on their health has been staggering. This dispersion of Agent Orange over a vast area of Central and South Vietnam poisoned the soil, river systems, lakes and rice paddies, enabling toxic chemicals to enter the food chain. In the end, it's about human decency, a war crime, an abominable disaster and a legacy of environmental devastation.

Sài Gòn, Vietnam, 2017 - Leica M7, Summilux 35, Kodak Tri-X * Through Agent Orange the Vietnam War lives on ang ghosts are everywhere. Five decades after, the ghost of Agent Orange does not stop wreaking havoc and still looms large. Not enough has been done for sure to assist Vietnamese with health defects and their families. It's miraculous to see these young second or third generation victims smile to life in a trendy coffee shop of downtown Saigon.

Hà Nội, Vietnam, 2008 - Leica M7, Summilux 35, Kodak Tri-X * Believing the propaganda news at the time, the NVA soldiers thought that this war was a true fight for independence. They could not imagine a civil war between the North and the South in which America could have taken part only to support the South for fighting communism. Though the country has been unified for more than four decades, the regional divides still endure and the nation is yet to be reconciled.

Sài Gòn, Vietnam 2017 - Leica M7, Summicron 50, Kodak TriX * As the country develops and younger generations grow up, the Vietnamese seem happy to embrace Western ideals and enjoy economic prosperity. But inequality and corruption are more than ever booming too. Is it then reasonable to think that Vietnam has become a "red capitalist" country that is with its ever-present communist model victorious in war but defeated in peace?

Hà Nội, Vietnam, 2010 - Leica M7, Summilux 35, Kodak Tri-X Early on this dog day afternoon I was headlong chasing this daredevil cyclo driver in the Old Quarter of Hanoi. Instead of taking a couple of tourists around he was dangerously carrying a pair of long rail sections through the maze of narrow streets. I ran so long in order to get at last the right place and time for shooting breathless this movie scene on the fly.

Sài Gòn, Vietnam, 2017 - Leica M7, Summilux 35, Kodak Tri-X * It really matters to remind of the Agent Orange war crime perpetrated during the Vietnam War. The abominable consequences of dioxin use are passed from generation to generation. On this candid picture shot in steep narrow stairs, the fortuitous flag on the roof clothesline, the striped kitty T-shirt and the stylish anklet were just incredible godsends.

Hà Nội, Vietnam, 2013 - Leica M7, Summilux 35, Kodak Tri-X Wandering in the Old Quarter I came across this magic alley. Lost in thought, lost in translation and lost in this hot stifling city, what was I doing there? This should be the right place for a lost soul like me.

Hà Nội, Vietnam, 1997 - Leica M4, Summilux 35, Kodak Tri-X I was looking for a boonie hat just lost for good. The monsoon rain soaked me to the skin in this street of Hanoi. I felt blue and was hungry. Why was I recalling the remarkable French novel "Suite indochinoise" by Jean-Luc Coatalem at that very moment? This candid scene could be shot a century ago.