ed note: I couldn't find any pictures from Cornet, so I added my own. Anyone interested in helping with Exhibit in Vietnam??? I'm readyFrench photographer Nicolas Cornet’s photo exhibition about Vietnam, namely “Vietnam, Rising-up Life” opened on Sunday, April 6 at the HCM City Art Museum. Cornet talks about the event and photography.
Solving riddles through photography
Why did you name the exhibition “Vietnam, Rising-up Life”?
The first time I came to Vietnam was in 1987. Since then everything has been changing very fast and very much. For the past 21 years, I’ve always tried to look at Vietnam from different angles. Here the life is rising up day by day and living conditions are also changing.
I often take photos of the Vietnamese countryside. Whenever hearing about a nice village, I immediately go there. I’m enchanted by village roads and tracks in Tuyen Quang province. Cities in Vietnam are similar with high-rise buildings.
Of the 60 photos displayed at the exhibition, which one are you most connected to?
Each photo is a memory. For example, I went to a pagoda in Hanoi in 2004. The pagoda was very quiet. I saw an old woman who was in charge of cleaning up and taking care of the pagoda. When I raised my camera to take a photo of her, she stood up straight and looked at me proudly, without any confusion or shyness. I like this portrait. It reminds me of grandmothers. Many foreign newspapers have used this photo, though it is a simple one.
I also took a photo of a wedding ceremony on the river. The girl in that photo got married through matchmaking. The couple lived in a small room, which is next to the room of the husband’s parents. I felt that their life was very hard but last year I met the woman and her life had changed a lot. She was happy with her husband and a child.
Vietnamese people and landscapes in your photos are all nice and gentle. What do you think when many foreigners are shocked by environmental pollution, traffic jams, or cultural conflicts in Vietnam?
There are many ways to see a fact. I didn’t come to Vietnam to comment. My job is recording the fact as it is, by my ideas and feelings.
I also hear that it is dirty in India, etc. I think when one goes out of his house or his country, he should have a broad view and broad mind, otherwise he should not leave his house.
Schoolgirls at a village school in the southern province of Vinh Long (by Nocolas Cornet)Have you ever arranged things to get a good photo?
I don’t like arrangement. I get my photos by chance or by patience.
To get a good photo, what is more important, feeling or technique?
You have to learn all necessary techniques and then forget them and let feeling lead you.
In photography, who has influenced you?
I learnt to use a camera at the age of 12 and studied photography at a school of advertisement and photography. This job needs flexibility in learning. When I went to Europe, I learnt from photographers there in making layouts and using light in photos. But when I came to Asia, everything changed, from humans, landscapes, colour to light. I had to study again.
In Vietnam, I have learnt much from photos by Mr. Vo An Ninh and Do Huan. Many photos by Mr. Vo are beautiful as paintings and they are very near to paintings. They are my teachers.
What could you share with the young who want to become photographers?
Patience. They should learn about painting and taking photos because of their love for it. I often say photographers are those who nearly starve to death. When anybody asks me about my job, I always say my job is wandering down the road. A photographer is like an uncared-for child. I have to work outdoors from early morning till evening.
What works will you have which are close to Vietnam?
After this exhibition, I will go to Cambodia to make a photo book about this country. After that I will cooperate with the German national television station to make a documentary about Vietnam, which is in a series about Asian countries.
You have gone to and worked in many countries but why do you have a strong attachment with Vietnam?
Because I have many memories in Vietnam, many Vietnamese friends and my wife is Vietnamese. I usually travel between Vietnam and France to visit my family, my friends and do my job. We have two sons, Thao, 10 and Luu, 12. I also teach photography at the HCM City State and Movie School.
You work hard and your photos are used by many magazines, but why haven’t you earned any awards?
Because I have never sent my photos to any contest. I don’t care about awards. Newspapers and magazines in Italy, France, Germany, and Spain use my photos very often and they also place orders with me. I have sold hundreds of photos to them. That’s the greatest award.
(Source: VNE)
Solving riddles through photography
Why did you name the exhibition “Vietnam, Rising-up Life”?
The first time I came to Vietnam was in 1987. Since then everything has been changing very fast and very much. For the past 21 years, I’ve always tried to look at Vietnam from different angles. Here the life is rising up day by day and living conditions are also changing.
I often take photos of the Vietnamese countryside. Whenever hearing about a nice village, I immediately go there. I’m enchanted by village roads and tracks in Tuyen Quang province. Cities in Vietnam are similar with high-rise buildings.
Of the 60 photos displayed at the exhibition, which one are you most connected to?
Each photo is a memory. For example, I went to a pagoda in Hanoi in 2004. The pagoda was very quiet. I saw an old woman who was in charge of cleaning up and taking care of the pagoda. When I raised my camera to take a photo of her, she stood up straight and looked at me proudly, without any confusion or shyness. I like this portrait. It reminds me of grandmothers. Many foreign newspapers have used this photo, though it is a simple one.
I also took a photo of a wedding ceremony on the river. The girl in that photo got married through matchmaking. The couple lived in a small room, which is next to the room of the husband’s parents. I felt that their life was very hard but last year I met the woman and her life had changed a lot. She was happy with her husband and a child.
Vietnamese people and landscapes in your photos are all nice and gentle. What do you think when many foreigners are shocked by environmental pollution, traffic jams, or cultural conflicts in Vietnam?
There are many ways to see a fact. I didn’t come to Vietnam to comment. My job is recording the fact as it is, by my ideas and feelings.
I also hear that it is dirty in India, etc. I think when one goes out of his house or his country, he should have a broad view and broad mind, otherwise he should not leave his house.
Schoolgirls at a village school in the southern province of Vinh Long (by Nocolas Cornet)Have you ever arranged things to get a good photo?
I don’t like arrangement. I get my photos by chance or by patience.
To get a good photo, what is more important, feeling or technique?
You have to learn all necessary techniques and then forget them and let feeling lead you.
In photography, who has influenced you?
I learnt to use a camera at the age of 12 and studied photography at a school of advertisement and photography. This job needs flexibility in learning. When I went to Europe, I learnt from photographers there in making layouts and using light in photos. But when I came to Asia, everything changed, from humans, landscapes, colour to light. I had to study again.
In Vietnam, I have learnt much from photos by Mr. Vo An Ninh and Do Huan. Many photos by Mr. Vo are beautiful as paintings and they are very near to paintings. They are my teachers.
What could you share with the young who want to become photographers?
Patience. They should learn about painting and taking photos because of their love for it. I often say photographers are those who nearly starve to death. When anybody asks me about my job, I always say my job is wandering down the road. A photographer is like an uncared-for child. I have to work outdoors from early morning till evening.
What works will you have which are close to Vietnam?
After this exhibition, I will go to Cambodia to make a photo book about this country. After that I will cooperate with the German national television station to make a documentary about Vietnam, which is in a series about Asian countries.
You have gone to and worked in many countries but why do you have a strong attachment with Vietnam?
Because I have many memories in Vietnam, many Vietnamese friends and my wife is Vietnamese. I usually travel between Vietnam and France to visit my family, my friends and do my job. We have two sons, Thao, 10 and Luu, 12. I also teach photography at the HCM City State and Movie School.
You work hard and your photos are used by many magazines, but why haven’t you earned any awards?
Because I have never sent my photos to any contest. I don’t care about awards. Newspapers and magazines in Italy, France, Germany, and Spain use my photos very often and they also place orders with me. I have sold hundreds of photos to them. That’s the greatest award.
(Source: VNE)
No comments:
Post a Comment