Fishermen of Thanh Hoa

A fisherman takes the helm of the boat as he picks his way through the Thanh Hoa surf. The boat is coming in after a night’s fishing in the early morning. The boats are run by families in the area. They are winched back up onto the beach when they are finished.

A family offloading fish from a night's catch in Thanh Hoa. The fish will be sold to local markets and restaurants. I think I was lucky with this shot because the boat is well placed to get that background and the lights on the boat are strong enough to light up the people there. This is the way I like to use artificial lighting.

I saw this small herd of cattle walking on the beach. Actually, I was having lunch with my family when I spotted this. So, I jumped up from the table and raced down onto the beach. I try to bring in different elements into my photography, trying to make the picture that little bit more interesting.

This reminds me of a Eugene Smith photo. I darkened the picture to bring out the fish more in the foreground. I find it difficult doing vertical shots because you really have to focus on all of the space and fill it up.

Everybody seemed to be doing something in this shot. The whole image was moving in front of me. I really like working with these nets. I try to use them as a veil, and I love to put people behind them.

This was really early in the morning. The mist hadn’t lifted yet so I got these very clean backgrounds. I believe you should keep going back to places and try to get different lighting every time.

I really go out of my way to try and find something unusual to include in my shots. I was with some friends on the beach and I enjoyed the emptiness of this . It was really a day out at the beach but I brought my camera anyway. I’m glad I did.

Another early morning shot. I love the way the ripples mirror the clouds. I wanted them all bending down together which I think is the best shot. You have to work quickly here because the light is constantly changing and in Vietnam, sunrise is very quick.

When I was shooting this shot I really didn’t want to look at the back of the camera because there was so much happening and I was afraid I’d miss something if I did. These women were crawling inside the nets to get the fish that had fallen onto the sand. They really make the picture better I think.

This is one of my favorite of this fishing series. I wanted to go down at a different time to see what was happening and there wasn’t much happening. I walked along the beach for a bit and saw these children flying kits. It was dusk so I had to work quickly. You can see the lights of the fishing boats out at sea. I think it rained later.

I know a lot of photographers don’t like working with flash but I think it’s important to know how to use them. I have a flash that is more than 20 years old. It’s like a toothbrush, it does the job. I use a manuel setting at about 1/32 which is very light flash. I don’t know much about flash photography but I do know how to get a picture with them.

These boats don’t look like much but they get the job done. There is a small cabin for the pilot and that’s all the protection you have from the elements. They are held together with bamboo and foam. The wash comes right into the boat.

The sun was rising and I thought this would make a nice shot shooting against the sun. It’s not a shot I do too often because it is full of cliches.

The wind was blowing and I thought these flags would make a nice shot. I slowed down to shutter speed to give a sense of movement. When doing a picture story it’s always a good idea to look for a variety of different views.

Another shot where everything was moving. It was very dark and I could hardly see anything in the viewfinder so I just shot and didn’t really look. Sometimes there is a lot of luck in photography, just don’t be afraid to do things differently.