Truyen Than: The Art of Conveying The Soul

TRUYEN THAN

(click on image)

With my photo expedition-workshop to Vietnam looming, I revisited some of imagery made during my earlier visit to Hanoi in 2012, and decided to rejig some of the photographs which had appeared on a gallery I had titled The Portraitist Of Pho Hang Ngang onto Medium, a blogging platform.

The portraitist is Nguyen Bao Nguyen, and he works as a “Truyền Thần” artist. The art aims at conveying the soul of a person from a photograph to a drawing-painting.

Speaking of Medium, I'm a fan of these new platforms; noting that some are free while others are not, since they provide an easy way to feature one's work, whether prose, photographs or both...and these promise to widen the reach of such "publications".

Apart from Vietnam being on my mind, the other prompt for uploading Truyen Than is the recent photo essay appearing in The New York Times titled To Be A Russian, which follows the same design characteristics as Medium...large photographs filling the whole viewing real estate on one's monitor (if one chose the photographs to do that), sparse prose (but to the point) interspersing these images.

I recall some years ago various POV posts encouraging fellow photographers to go big...that the era of small dinky photographs on websites didn't cut it any more. One of these POV posts is dated April 2009, some 5 years ago...and since then, we've seen a proliferation of large photographs on websites.

But back to Nguyen Bao Nguyen...I read somewhere that he had passed away, but I believe that the information is wrong since it pre-dates the dates (September 2012) when I met with him in Hanoi. I hope I find him well and healthy when I'm back in Hanoi in a couple of months.

I'd like him to see this photo essay.

Les Stone | Pelerinaj Voudou

Photo Les Stone-All Rights Reserved

I'm of the view that when properly used, Facebook is an extremely useful tool for photographers and others...and my introduction to Les Stone is proof of that.

And yes, this is my second post on the religious tradition of Haitian voudou in a row. I'm interested in syncretic religious traditions, and voudou is certainly that. The practices of contemporary vodou are descended from, and closely related to, West African Vodun, and incorporates elements and symbolism from other African peoples including the Yorùbá and Bakongo; as well as Taíno religious beliefs, and European spirituality including Roman Catholic Christianity, European mysticism, Freemasonry, and other influences. So uber syncretism if you like.

But back to Les Stone. He directed me to his phenomenal work titled Pelerinaj Voudou (pelerinaj is the Haitian word derived from the French pèlerinage, or pilgrimage. It's a multimedia photo-book of his many photographs of Haitian practitioners of voudou accompanied by a chilling pulsating sound track, presumably recorded on site. Turn on your computer's loudspeakers, find a comfortable chair, and brace yourself for an incredible audio-visual experience. You won't regret it.

This wonderful work further reinforced my objective of photographing voudou during 2015. As I said in my previous post, it'll most certainly happen.

Les Stone is a New York City born photographer who worked in corporate and fashion photography. He has been photographing in Haiti since 1987, and traveled over 150 times to Haiti to cover Voudou ceremonies. He also photographed the assault on the Vice President-elect of Panama Guillermo Ford by members of the Batallón Dignidad, a paramilitary group employed by Generalissimo Manuel Noriega. He was one of only two American photographers to capture the attack on camera. Asked by Sygma to work with them for the next 11 years. He subsequently traveled extensively throughout the world, covering conflict in the Middle East, Ethiopia, Afghanistan and Kurdistan.

Les' photographs have appeared in the National Geographic, the cover of Time, Life, Paris Match, Stern, Fortune, The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, The Smithsonian Magazine,Newsweek, Mother Jones, Panorama, GEO, TV Guide, and US News and World Report. He chronicled conflict in Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, Kosovo, Liberia, Cambodia and Haiti.

Yes, that kind of a heavyweight.

Hue's Imperial Citadel in tour Vietnam Travel

Announcing himself Emperor Gia Long, he started development on an excellent fort castle in Hue in 1804. Today the sovereign's development is referred to in Hue simply as "the Citadel", and its inward sanctum, once the home of the ruler and his family, is called "the Purple Forbidden City". Despite the fact that the Citadel and its Imperial City were seriously harmed amid the Vietnam War in 1968, they stay one of Vietnam's top vacationer ends.

In the same way as other of Asia's pioneers of the past, the sovereign depended upon conventional systems for divination, called geomancy, to pick the area for the Citadel. With a wish to make a kind of small Forbidden City like the one in Beijing, a huge number of workers were recruited to build his fortification and royal residence. They dug a ten kilometer canal, alongside thick earthen dividers, to make the Citadel's edge. Replicating the French military modeler Vauban, these earthen dividers were later supplanted by two-meter-thick stone dividers. Inside the external border, a more modest channel and littler block dividers limited the sovereign's Purple Forbidden City. The Purple Forbidden City, other than fancy habitations, likewise incorporated a system of entryways, yards, and regulatory structures. The sovereign didn't live to see the fruition of his design gem; passing on in 1820, the Citadel was at last finished in 1832 by Gia Long's child, the Emperor Minh Mang.

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The Nguyen Dynasty finished in 1945, when Bao Dai surrendered the throne to the comrade pioneer and originator of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh.

For quite a long time, Vietnam had been affected by the French, however the Japanese changed that in 1940 when they attacked French Indochina at the begin of the Second World War. The Emperor Bao Dai was a pawn of these bigger worldwide powers, first acting under the course of the French, and later pressured by the Japanese to proclaim Vietnam a part of Japan's Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. The disagreeability of the Japanese made it decently simple for Ho Chi Minh to persuade Bao Dai to resign.

Throughout the following ten years, the ruler left the Purple Forbidden City, and Vietnam slowly plummeted into confusion, as French, comrade, and magnificent powers vied for force. Amid this time, the Citadel experienced both tropical storm and termite harm, and was by and large disregarded. In 1968, amid the tallness of the Vietnam War, socialist powers surpassed Hue and involved the Citadel. As a major aspect of the Tet Offensive, the Vietcong sneaked into the Citadel, slaughtering the South Vietnamese monitors, and opened the path for some Vietcong to enter. In an odd touch of destiny, the hundreds of years old, royal Citadel substantiated itself a commendable military post in the hands of the opposition to radical communists. Americans had a troublesome time dislodging the North Vietnamese from the Citadel, prompting one of the bloodiest clashes of the Vietnam War, the Battle of Hue.

American shelling amid the fight obliterated a great part of the Citadel, particularly smoothing the inward Imperial City, of which few of the first structures remain today.

The remaining structures in the Citadel have been painstakingly restored, and in 1993 the Citadel and its Imperial City was pronounced a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. A great part of the land that used to be the Purple Forbidden City, nonetheless, is today simply rice fields.

What stays of Hue's amazing Citadel is still an advantageous fascination for guests. In spite of the fact that it will never have the capacity to recover its previous superbness under the Nguyen heads, the Citadel regardless is an excellent and captivating chronicled site. For anybody going to Hue, going by the Citadel ought to be at the highest point of the schedule.

Stan Raucher | The New Israelites

Photo © Stan Raucher-All Rights Reserved

Over five decades ago, Ezequiel Gamonal, a humble Peruvian cobbler founded an evangelical sect called Asociación Evangélica de la Misión Israelita del Nuevo Pacto Universal, and declared he had been chosen by God to build a new Israel in the Amazon wilderness, and many people answered his call and formed this sect.

The members of Ezequiel's followers strictly observe the Ten Commandments, the Sabbath and, imitating the ancient Israelite "look", the men grow out their hair and beards while women keep their hair covered with kerchiefs...a sort of Israelite hijab. The cult founder is said to have been an admirer of  Cecil B. DeMille’s work, and based his belief system on these biblical movie epics.

During weekdays, the men wear regular clothes and baseball caps as they go about farming and farming. The women teach in the local school and care for children. However when Saturday arrives, the cult members meet for elaborate, day-long festivities with bible readings, singing of hymns to the tune of a brass band and a feast.

Stan Raucher's Los Israelitas features 15 gorgeous monochromatic photographs of members of this sect, made as he traveled down the Amazon River by boat with several members of this Peruvian evangelical sect.

The UK's Daily Mail newspaper also featured a whole spread of Mr Raucher's photographs, along with interesting captions.

Stan Raucher, now based in Seattle, was born and raised in Minnesota during the age of black and white television, and LIFE magazine photo documentaries. Although he did not begin to do photography seriously until 2003, these early influences are reflected in his work. His work was widely exhibited, with three recent shows: the 2013 Newspace Juried Exhibition, in Portland, The Decisive Moment, Black Box Gallery, Portland, and 2013 B+W Exhibition, Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins. After 36 years as a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Washington, he retired in 2011 and now devotes his time to photography, travel and outdoor activities.

Private Tours - Are you a foodie?

Dislike any of our different visits or  know all the spots you'd like to visit? At that point you can construct your uncommon visit!

Maybe you'd like to visit the mystery noodle shop you read about in Time Magazine, where the patriarch of the now well known "Peace Noodles" shop or Pho Binh as its known to local people permitted the Viet Cong to hold military gatherings on the top floor of his restaurant while serving nourishment to their foes underneath.

On the other hand possibly you ran over the definite Wall Street Journal article on Cholon and you need to look at the congregation where Catholic President Ngo Dinh Diem and his more youthful sibling hung out in 1963, preceding they were caught and killed.

Related post: Vietnam travel packages

Is it true that you are a foodie? What about a custom gastronomic visit where we'll take you to attempt the most delightful Vietnamese dishes in Saigon! Is it true that you are a maturing photographic artist searching for some extraordinary shots? Don't confine yourself to the touristy areas...let us reveal to you the "genuine" Vietnam.

"Private Tours" offer a more customized experience than our different visits. The rate for a private visit is $60 for every individual for the initial 2 hours and $30 for every individual for every extra hour. We require no less than 3 days perceive so as to plan a custom visit for you.

Need a chill keepsake to show to your loved ones? We have cap mounted cams which we can use to film your ride (for an additional $35)  and make an exceptional feature of your Vietnam Adventure! We can likewise blend in a custom music track in your feature upon appeal.

Video of the South Pole Quest Team

Remember the South Pole Quest Team, which consisted of Ray Zahib, Kevin Vallely, and Richard Weber I followed them fairly extensively during the Antarctic season that has just passed as they made their record breaking run from Patriot Hills to the Pole in just 34 days time. Well, a new video has been released highlighting their efforts, and it's extremely well done. It does a great job of showing the challenges and hardships of life in the Antarctic for these expeditions, so I thought I'd share. Check it out below.


South Pole Quest Trailer from Nick Gravel on Vimeo.

Sebastian Schnuelle Wins 2009 Yukon Quest

I'm a couple days late on this one, but on Tuesday, Sebastian Schnuelle crossed the finish line in Fairbanks, Alaska, to claim the 2009 Yukon Quest championship. He was followed closely by Hugh Neff, who finished just four minutes back, which is quite remarkable in a race that is over 1000 miles in length. Musher Jon Little arrived in third place, another 1 hour and 4 minutes behind.

The Yukon Quest is one of the top sled dog racing events in the world, and is held annually between Whitehorse, in the Yukon Territory of Canada, and Fairbanks, Alaska. In winning this year's race, Schnuelle completed the epic course in 9 days, 23 hours, and 20 minutes. That's a new record time, besting the old record set in 2007 by Lance Mackey by 3 hours and 17 minutes. In fact, the top three racers would all have beaten Mackey's record, giving you an indication of how fast this year's race was. Four-time defending champ Mackey was at the finish line to greet the teams.

Sled dog legend Martin Buser finished in 4th place overall, and was followed very closely by Michelle Phillips who claimed fifth. Some of the mushers and their dogs are still coming in, but the majority have now crossed the finish line. Many will now begin preparing for "The Last Great Race", the Iditarod, which will begin in just 8 days, with the ceremonial start set for Saturday, March 7th.

For Schnuelle, history is not on his side for winning the Iditarod as well. Mackey is the only man to win both in one year. Still, coming of a huge win like this one has to give plenty of confidence as he heads for Anchorage, and his date with destiny.

The Oracles of Kerala | Medium

The Oracles of Kerala

I've played around with Medium, which describes itself as "a place where people share ideas and stories, designed for little stories that make your day better and manifestos that change the world, and is used by everyone from professional journalists to amateur cooks". It also claims that it's simple, beautiful, collaborative, and helps you find the right audience for whatever you have to say.

I suspect that the photo story I chose isn't going to make anyone's day any better, nor will it change the world....but I can attest that it's an easy and beautiful platform to use. I have the feeling it's more adapted to text...articles, essays and such, although the uploading of edge-to-edge images is simple, and quick. Medium recently introduced an app for the iPad.

As to whether it helps me to find the right audience will be tested over the course of the comings days and weeks.

Take a look at my first effort; The Oracles of Kerala.

Museums in Saigon in VietNam tour

ietnam has a fascinating 2,000 year history and there is abundance to research the country's past and how it impacts life today. Shockingly, on the other hand, while there are some fantastic verifiable focuses in Vietnam not all fulfill the same standard - quite a few people are extended photo shows with few English understandings of the settings or history behind the photos, leaving the visitor overwhelmed paying little respect to the way that they have some previous learning of the subject.

That being said, in case you pick the right authentic focuses on your outing you can take in a fantastic plan and begin to recognize more the rich history of this country.

Possibly one of the best verifiable focuses we've seen in Vietnam, the trademark history exhibition of Ho Chi Minh City evaluates how to chart the country's history from antiquated times and 10,000 year old relics to the wars with China and the different customs that have formed the change of the Vietnamese nation about whether. There are some wonderful delineations of model and workmanship from the Cham and Oc Eo city foundations, statues of Buddhas from over the range, collections of porcelain and craftsmanship from distinctive true periods and an even a mummy found spared in Saigon. The records on the dividers all through the authentic focus similarly go some way or another to helping the visitor grasp the various times of Vietnamese history, with simply several openings. Exceedingly recommended.

Basically obliged audit for any visitor to Ho Chi Minh City, the War exhibition is a broad collection of photographs, peculiarity and other affirmation determining the loathings of war and the repercussions of unexploded statute, napalm and diverse legacies of the fight. Strikingly the display evaluates how to refrain from being unreasonably political, rather demonstrating the finger at the senseless nature of war itself instead of focusing exorbitantly about on selecting flaw. It is a bleak and moving foundation, yet it is significantly proposed both to help fathom what Vietnam accomplished and as an evidence of the essentialness of battling for peaceful responses for differences between nations.

Housed in a stunning old building from the explorer period, the Fine Arts Museum has a captivating amassing of works from both contemporary and standard specialists, furthermore an enamoring get-together of statues and aged rarities going again the degree that the first century AD on the third cover.

Related post: Vietnam travel deals

Just over an expansion from the downtown scopes of Nguyen Hue and Dong Khoi (the development is ghastly so we'd provoke jumping in a taxi as opposed to walking around the platform!) on the banks of the conduit is an exhibition provided for Ho Chi Minh. It is arranged in an engaging building and plan with extraordinary viewpoints of the stream, and contains a possibly fascinating social occasion of photographs pointing out the life of Ho Chi Minh. Tragically this potential is lost as so immense quantities of the photos subtitles, really when made a translation of, disregard to illuminate the giganticness of events or social occasions depicted in photographs, making the experience to a degree disorienting for those that have not focused on the life of Ho Chi Minh (which, clearly, most Vietnamese people have)

While the photos themselves are interesting, the show corridor is not by any stretch of the creative ability recommended unless you have a lot of time gazing you in the face or a robust speculation (and prior knowlege) in the man that lead Vietnam's battle for independence.

Change in Schedule for Primal Quest

We've had a slight change in schedule for Primal Quest Badlands presented by SPOT this year. I posted an announcement to the PQ website this morning that the start of the race has actually been moved up one day to Friday, August 14th to help better facilitate the event. That also means that the race will now end on Sunday, August 23rd, as opposed to the following Monday. Should work out better for everyone involved.

We've posted a schedule with a few more details on the site, and looking it over, you can get a few insights into what is going to happen. For instance, we're going to load up the busses starting at 3 AM on Aug. 14 and teams will be shipped out to the starting line to promptly get underway at 5:30 AM. This is a completely different kind of start from Primal Quest Montana, in which the teams started off at mid-morning instead. And on the schedule for the 13th is a "Surprise Event". What could that possibly be? I'm not saying! But you'll notice that we're holding the maps and passports until after that event! ;)

On a personal note, I'm excited about the change in schedule. August 14th also happens to be my birthday, and this year is one of those monumental ones. I'm going to be turning 40 on the day the race gets started, and I can't think of a better way to celebrate than to kick off Primal Quest Badlands. Should be a blast and I can't wait.