Fleeting Ha Noi moments captured by capital native

Photographer Nguyen Duc Loi showed visitors photos of Ha Noi that are part of his private exhibition at Nguyen Hong Street.

Photo of Ha Noi by Nguyen Duc Loi are on display at his exhibition

Several visitors have heard about him before, but few understood or were able to experience the full magnitude of his photos until they saw them in person.

One photo captures Guom (Sword) Lake during autumn. Another image captures a barber cutting a client's hair in a small alley.

To Loi each photo contains a story or a memoir about the capital.

"We do not know what we have until it is gone forever. It is my desire to capture those lost moments that will never return," said Loi.

In order to catch unique images, Loi usually works early in the morning and wanders around into the late hours of the night.

The 65-year-old man first studied electrical engineering at the Ha Noi University of Science and Technology before he was infatuated by photographs.

"It was photography that chose me," he said.

After a moment's pause, he continued to tell his audiences a story of photo in his collection. Once while he was photographing Luong Van Can Street, he saw a small Dao Quat shrine that was named after the man who pioneered the paper fan making as vocation throughout Viet Nam.

The shrine is small and only a few people were aware of it. To his surprise, he asked an old lady living near the shrine about the relic. She said that the construction of several houses around the area hid the shrine from sight.

Loi sighed when he reached this point in the story. He said he was saddened because the city's historical values were fading away.

A few of the patrons were curious why most of his photos concentrated on capturing labourers as well as the contrast between black and white.

"I was born to a poor family, so I know deeply about poor people, who have to struggle to make it through the day," Loi said. "I also want to emphasise the difference between the rich and the poor through colours."

Nguyen Huy Thong, a journalist, photography critic and friend of Loi's, joined the conversation, saying that each of Loi's photographs revealed extraordinary scenes that people hardly notice.

"My friends and Loi's family members are willing to support him since we know he wants to do something for Ha Noi," said Thong.

Loi began to reminisce about one of his greatest fans, who travelled from Hue to Ha Noi to see his photographs.

"The old man named Dau insisted on seeing all of my photos of Ha Noi. He told me that he would not have a chance to visit all the beautiful places in the capital anymore, but that he would be able to see the city through my pictures," said Loi. "His words have touched my heart and encouraged me to move on."

Loi has taken 2,000 photos of Ha Noi. The pictures will be compiled into books that are dedicated to the 1,000th anniversary of the capital this year. 

Source: VNS