Rehahn Croquevielle arrived in Vietnam from France six years ago as avolunteer in Hoi An. Before long, the beauty of his new home inspiredhim to take up photography. He has travelled to the furthermost cornersof the country to capture the lives of the nation's ethnic communities.
In a small space at a Vietnamese Women Day'sfair held on October 20 in Hanoi, Croquevielle's photo collection shinesout with its vivid images of women and young girls of ethnic minoritygroups. Naturally, every picture tells it own story. Croquevielle standsin the middle of the exhibition. As the only expat, he creates a lot ofinterest and catches the eye of visitors, mostly teenagers, who stopoff to scrutinise his work.
Prominent among the20 photos on display is on of an 84-year-old woman from northern Vietnamwearing a conical hat, her right hand clasped against her foreheadwhile the other hand covers her mouth. Her eyes sparkle like starssurrounded by wrinkles, yet an impression of her strong inner spiritshines through.
"I wanted her to pose like that.A straightforward smile would have been too generic. By doing so,people realise it is very Rehahn. It also helps make audience focus onlyon her eyes and her beautiful wrinkle," says Croquevielle.
One of the visitors to the exhibition, Pham Binh Minh, says she wasstrongly impressed by the photo's visual effects. "These photos exciteme. I have never seen anything so natural and broad-minded. It lookslike he sees everything from a different angle," Minh says.
Born in Normandy, France, in 1979, Croquevielle admits he has beencaptivated by Vietnam's beauty and people since he volunteered in Hoi Ansix years ago. "At that time, I was a member of Enfants du Vietnam, aFrench charity organisation. We appealed for benefactors to helpdisabled children in Hoi An, Da Nang, Tra Kieu, and Tanh Binh, and Iwanted to spend more time here. I ended up staying, and that is when mylove for photography started," Croquevielle says.
"As a photographer, I think Vietnam is a paradise. With so manycolours and contrast, Vietnam is an inexhaustible source of inspiration.As a human, I love almost everything, but the lifestyle in Hoi An isreally what I'd been looking for all my life. The culture, a smile frommy neighbours, the food and simply riding my motorbike."
Croquevielle has taken over 25,000 photos of Vietnam, most of whichare of elders, children and landscapes – his biggest sources ofinspiration. "Children are natural, candid and generous. The portraitsare always pure and full of grace, even when they are sad. Working withthem is harder than anyone else. The elderly are wise and their facesare marked by time. The lines run deep across their faces, and they arethe proof that the beauty has no age!" he adds.
The 34-year-old says that these extraordinary photos were taken on theroad while he was teaching himself photography. It is clear his skillshave improved after several trips around the world.
One of his favourite moments was taking a photo of an old Mong womanholding a tobacco pipein her hands, with her eyes twinkling in the sun."At first, she was shy, but then she showed me how to smoke. I coughedlike crazy, and so did she. I caught that moment of her and took a shot.It was funny. It is like every photo of mine has a story behind," heexplains.
"I love meeting people, sharing andsmiling with them. I have so many stories about families I have met onmy trips. We had a good time, drank tea and ate together sometimes.That's enough to make me happy all day. About me, I'd say I'm animpatient man as well as a perfectionist. I'm not always easy to bearound sometimes. Good is never enough and I always strive for more.Sometimes I take a hundred photos of just one subject."
Croquevielle is planning a five-day trip to central Vietnam. Thejourney will take him to Kon Tum to visit ethnic groups. "I realisedthat both Vietnamese and foreign photographers mostly go to northVietnam. I will explore other regions of Vietnam in November. I havealready met the Hre and Co Tu people, but I will meet eight other ethnicgroups on this trip. It will be the last piece for my first book 'VietNam, Mosaic of Contrasts'," says Croquevielle with a blazing smile.-VNA
In a small space at a Vietnamese Women Day'sfair held on October 20 in Hanoi, Croquevielle's photo collection shinesout with its vivid images of women and young girls of ethnic minoritygroups. Naturally, every picture tells it own story. Croquevielle standsin the middle of the exhibition. As the only expat, he creates a lot ofinterest and catches the eye of visitors, mostly teenagers, who stopoff to scrutinise his work.
Prominent among the20 photos on display is on of an 84-year-old woman from northern Vietnamwearing a conical hat, her right hand clasped against her foreheadwhile the other hand covers her mouth. Her eyes sparkle like starssurrounded by wrinkles, yet an impression of her strong inner spiritshines through.
"I wanted her to pose like that.A straightforward smile would have been too generic. By doing so,people realise it is very Rehahn. It also helps make audience focus onlyon her eyes and her beautiful wrinkle," says Croquevielle.
One of the visitors to the exhibition, Pham Binh Minh, says she wasstrongly impressed by the photo's visual effects. "These photos exciteme. I have never seen anything so natural and broad-minded. It lookslike he sees everything from a different angle," Minh says.
Born in Normandy, France, in 1979, Croquevielle admits he has beencaptivated by Vietnam's beauty and people since he volunteered in Hoi Ansix years ago. "At that time, I was a member of Enfants du Vietnam, aFrench charity organisation. We appealed for benefactors to helpdisabled children in Hoi An, Da Nang, Tra Kieu, and Tanh Binh, and Iwanted to spend more time here. I ended up staying, and that is when mylove for photography started," Croquevielle says.
"As a photographer, I think Vietnam is a paradise. With so manycolours and contrast, Vietnam is an inexhaustible source of inspiration.As a human, I love almost everything, but the lifestyle in Hoi An isreally what I'd been looking for all my life. The culture, a smile frommy neighbours, the food and simply riding my motorbike."
Croquevielle has taken over 25,000 photos of Vietnam, most of whichare of elders, children and landscapes – his biggest sources ofinspiration. "Children are natural, candid and generous. The portraitsare always pure and full of grace, even when they are sad. Working withthem is harder than anyone else. The elderly are wise and their facesare marked by time. The lines run deep across their faces, and they arethe proof that the beauty has no age!" he adds.
The 34-year-old says that these extraordinary photos were taken on theroad while he was teaching himself photography. It is clear his skillshave improved after several trips around the world.
One of his favourite moments was taking a photo of an old Mong womanholding a tobacco pipein her hands, with her eyes twinkling in the sun."At first, she was shy, but then she showed me how to smoke. I coughedlike crazy, and so did she. I caught that moment of her and took a shot.It was funny. It is like every photo of mine has a story behind," heexplains.
"I love meeting people, sharing andsmiling with them. I have so many stories about families I have met onmy trips. We had a good time, drank tea and ate together sometimes.That's enough to make me happy all day. About me, I'd say I'm animpatient man as well as a perfectionist. I'm not always easy to bearound sometimes. Good is never enough and I always strive for more.Sometimes I take a hundred photos of just one subject."
Croquevielle is planning a five-day trip to central Vietnam. Thejourney will take him to Kon Tum to visit ethnic groups. "I realisedthat both Vietnamese and foreign photographers mostly go to northVietnam. I will explore other regions of Vietnam in November. I havealready met the Hre and Co Tu people, but I will meet eight other ethnicgroups on this trip. It will be the last piece for my first book 'VietNam, Mosaic of Contrasts'," says Croquevielle with a blazing smile.-VNA
