Vietnamese lensman scores silver at French photo fest
Tran Viet Van scooped silver for his « 90 Years Old Shoemaker » photo at « Prix de la Photographie, Paris » (PX3).
Van, a journalist at Lao Dong Newspaper, was honored in the Press/Travel/Tourism category.
The photo captured the moment of 90-year-old shoemaker Trinh Ngoc, who has been making shoes for over 60 years.
Throughout his career, Ngoc has made shoes for many Vietnamese singers and even for the Cambodian royal family, including King Norodom Sihanouk.
In an interview with VnExpress International in 2019, Ngoc said the royals wanted to have shoes with traditional Cambodian traits to wear on special occasions. So he spent days at the museum in Phnom Penh learning local culture and tradition to come up with intricate patterns, using brocade fabric and other traditional materials.
In the 1960s, he was invited to the royal palace about seven times and became well known not only in Cambodia but also in his home country, Vietnam.
According to the PX3 website, when Van asked him what the most important thing in his life was, Ngoc said: « My life is very simple, I just think: If you create joy for others, you will receive double happiness. »
Founded in 2007, « Prix de la Photographie, Paris » is a photography award that strives to promote appreciation of photography, discover emerging talent, and introduce photographers from around the world to the artistic community inParis.
Van has won various photo contests in and outside Vietnam and held solo and group exhibitions in many countries.
By Dang Khoa – VnExpress.net – September 23, 2021