Hoi An is probably dubbed as one of the best places to live in Southeast Asia, especially anyone who love photography, because it offers some of friendliness and most stunning countryside sceneries all around. It is actually here that tempted a French adventurer to give his current job and become a professional photographer and settle down here. In this program, we will meet Etienne Bossot and discover why the beauty of Vietnam can change a person’s destiny.
I find my way to meet Etienne in his Hoi An photo gallery. Most photos in the gallery are taken in and around Hoi An. He seldom captures the landscape; his photos are mostly about people. He really loves the people so he tries to include the elements into his photos. After he graduated, he traveled many places in Asia region to look for a job. He went to Japan, China, Thailand and Vietnam. At that time, he just likes Asia and wanted to a job here. Then he went to a French winery company having base in Vietnam. When he knew that the company has the base in Hoi An, he quickly searched about Hoi An. When he moved here, he did not think he will become a photographer. Actually, he has never touch a camera in my life before. But only after few months, he felt that he needed to capture the sceneries, the places and the people here. Local people here are very interesting and different from people in his homeland. Without any official schooling in photography, Etienne searched documents on the internet. And with more practice and experience, he realized that photography is not only a small happiness but also a profession.
Etienne continues to pursue the creative sights by going out to mountain with his camera and photographing ethnic people and can get early to capture the fishermen with achievements in their catch. The ideal of Hoi An Phototour was born in 2012 in which Etienne brings people in the locations they normally would not able to reach and provide them the chance to capture the unique moments about travel and people.
We started tour by taking the ferry to go to Duy Hai fishing village. It is definitely not the tourist attraction in Hoi An, but Etienne said this is an ideal place to take photos. The most fascinating part of the day is how to capture people, one of the strengths of Etienne. Arriving at the fishing village, Etienne guides us to meet the local people in the village. In observing and listening to Etienne, I understand to have a new expected picture; we need to have personal communication and technical skill. Western area, everyone has their own private space, while in Southeast Asia, you are easier to make friend with people.
In the journeys like this, visitors have the chance to meet the local people and experience in the villages that have no any visitors. This village is always crowed from the sunrise. The image of people appearances everywhere, so it is a great place to capture. And then he knew that there have no visitors coming here before, so now he takes people to the village to enjoy the beautiful scenery and take photos. Every time he takes photos for someone, he really tries to know their name and what they do. When he posts these photos on the internet, he attaches little stories with them. When the stories are shared online or social media, people can learn about old ladies in very far remote villages that they have never heard. This is one of the meanings of the photographing. Thanks to these photos, people can know and even access to the countryside.
Etienne’s phototour has acknowledged and excellent ranking on Trip Advisor. He has been expanding the tour beyond Hoi An to other parts of Vietnam and the region. Etienne is an easy-going man. It’s just simply his passion when he pursues his love. Beautiful landscapes in Vietnam, particularly in Hoi An have inspired him a lot. From the love with beauty, his passion grows naturally. The interesting thing in his job is that he can do everything he wants. From working as a sale manager to being one of Hoi An most favorite photographers, Etienne Bossot has an interesting life. He will continue to live in Southeast Asia at least next 20 years. Now with each piece of life he gets in each photography journey, he share on social network and hopes to arouse the hidden someone’s passion to discover the beauty of Vietnamese people.
Source: VTV4 – VTV.vn
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