Vietnam’s Ancient Village and Bustling Hanoi Old Quarter with Mamiya 6 (Part 2)
Vietnam’s Ancient Village and Bustling Hanoi Old Quarter with Mamiya 6 (Part 2)
Diary
Vietnam’s Ancient Village and Bustling Hanoi Old Quarter with Mamiya 6 (Part 2)
In the last blog post, I shared the first part of my Vietnam trip with Kevin. We cycled in the remote town of Ninh Binh, took a boat tour, and enjoyed some local food. While we were in the Old Quarter, the central part of Hanoi, we wandered around places like the local markets, the war museum, and a traditional village. It’s easy to navigate around with Grab, and many markets are walkable. What’s special about Hanoi is that every street sells the same type of products: there’s a toys street, a kitchenware street, so you get to see a lot of similar shops but slightly different. In addition to the incense village we visited, we also checked out the Ancient Village.
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It is situated 44km away from the city. We booked a private car to get there and spent 2 hours checking out the whole place. You can easily spend more than that if you are keen to explore the entire compound! It was built more than 370 years ago, and I think they have kept it very well; things are patched up very naturally.
We went into the Giang Van Minh Worship House. It’s a relic built during the reign of King Tu Duc and is a good place to learn about the history. I can read the traditional Chinese words on the pillar and old documents. The uncle was smoking a pipe and let me take a few photos of him. I took them with the Mamiya 6, quickly took a reading with his cheek and forehead, and opted for f/3.5.
There is this one lotus in the small pond; I was trying to use black and white and get the reflection of the flag at the same time.
This place has its own barbershop, where we roamed and took a few photos.
Also, local people were drying peanuts on the ground and sorting out the bad ones, she said.
Other locals are working in a small workshop together as a family.
On the last night we spent in Hanoi, around the Hoan Kiem Lake area, it was blocked for tourists and locals. It was like a Disney carnival with kids speeding in their electric mini-cars, street hawkers trying to sell local food, and people performing live music. This city’s energy is amazing!
Aside from that, I wanted to walk around alleys and streets to see if I could get some shots with the advantage of the Kodak Portra 800. So I shot all of these at f/3.5.
We also checked out the train track. It’s so touristy now; it’s not like when Keith and I went there in 2017. Locals try to let you go up only if you are buying a drink. So we headed to the other side along the track and reached the station.
We stopped and stayed on each side of the track to see if I could capture the train coming. It’s quite dangerous, and the train is quite fast when it comes. I only got one shot with the motion of the train passing by.
I also took a few photos of the motorbikes passing through the track and locals’ daily life there. I guess it’s just part of their lives with the train coming three or four times a day.
While we walked to the Hanoi Film Store, we passed through this local market. We looked at each other as if we’d found treasure. It’s a busy wet market with food, butchers, and hawkers blended in seamlessly. At ISO 400, f/3.5, 1/15 to 1/60 is somewhere I could take my photos without camera shake.
I was studying this scene because the street lamp was too strong. If I took it, the highlight would be blown away, or I could take it with one stop faster to keep that highlight, but the contrast would be very high. I opted for the latter option and took this.
We also checked out the Vietnam Military History Museum, the building looks like a brutalism style. It’s curated from the start of Vietnam till the modern era. We are particularly interested in the Vietnam war section.
It’s so hot and humid out there after taking this shot we need to hide under the plane to get some breeze.
I was trying to compose something out of the ordinary. Be creative! All shot with the Reflx Lab 250D 120 film and processed in ECN-2.
Overall, it was a fruitful trip with sweat and fun. I broke my Leica MP and even messed up my rolls when I got home. Keep shooting! I had a blast with the Mamiya 6. I am getting more used to the square format and now I find it really good to compose. Also, I think reloading on the Mamiya 6 is much faster than the Pentax 67II; when I take out the 120 film spool on the right side of the camera, the slot is not as tight as on the Pentax, which allows me to take it out quicker. When I load the film, somehow I always couldn’t slot it in the right position on the Pentax 67II; I have to load it twice or even three times. With the Mamiya 6, you don’t need to do it another time. The handgrip is comfortable, the patch is easy to focus. The light meter wasn’t great as what I expected, and it’s very easy to fire a shot if you forget to lock the camera. If you happen to forget to turn the dial to lock the camera, the battery will drain quickly so you need to always have a spare one with you. It takes LR44 so I can share it with my Leica MP. All these little details and subtle differences added up to be a big plus. Can’t wait to have it with me for some landscape next time!
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Ooh lovely exposures especially the reds in your color photos. I have a Mamiya 6, myself, and I love the results but often find the camera underexposing. I heard due to the location of its light meter it’s often ‘tricked’ by strong overhead lighting into underexposing. Some get around by cupping their hands over or using exposure comp, of which I do the latter. Did the handheld meter help you in this case?
Hey John, glad to hear that I am not alone. I tried exposure compensation but still quite underexposed. I think handheld meter is the best or any compact meter that can put on the hotshoe.