The railway neighbour - Hanoi, Vietnam

[kiemchacsu]

In Hanoi, we have a railway passing through the city. People living along the line are mostly poor class.

Pictures taken by a Leica M6, 35/2 version IV, 50/2 version IV, film Kodak BW400CN, Tmax400 (pushed 1600) and Wephota Pan 100
Critics are welcome.

Greets,
Trung

1

1109_22_wephota_35V4 by kiemchacsu, on Flickr

2

1109_11_wephota_35V4 by kiemchacsu, on Flickr

3

1109_12_wephota_35V4 by kiemchacsu, on Flickr

4

1109_13_wephota_35V4 by kiemchacsu, on Flickr

5

tmax400_1103_15 copy by kiemchacsu, on Flickr

6

1105_08_bw400cn by kiemchacsu, on Flickr

7

1109_17_wephota_35V4 by kiemchacsu, on Flickr

8

1105_16_bw400cn by kiemchacsu, on Flickr

9

1105_09_bw400cn by kiemchacsu, on Flickr

[kiemchacsu]

10

1105_12_bw400cn by kiemchacsu, on Flickr

11

1105_13_bw400cn by kiemchacsu, on Flickr

12

1105_14_bw400cn by kiemchacsu, on Flickr

13

tmax400_1103_12 copy by kiemchacsu, on Flickr

14

1109_16_wephota_35V4 by kiemchacsu, on Flickr

15

1109_25_wephota_35V4 by kiemchacsu, on Flickr

16

1109_26_wephota_35V4 by kiemchacsu, on Flickr

17

1109_21_wephota_35V4 by kiemchacsu, on Flickr

18

1109_29_wephota_35V4 by kiemchacsu, on Flickr

[rxmd]

Nice pictures, but the Wephota pictures look like the negatives are heavily underexposed by 1-2 stops and really dirty. The TMAX shots slightly less so. How did you scan these?

[kosta_g]

nice work, those shots are great, i think the gritty-ness gives a sense of the mood of living next to the railway. is it still in operation?

[__hh]

Excellent and unique photos - I would love to visit Hanoi one day.

Keep them coming Trung.

[TXForester]

Nice work.

[sevres_babylone]

Thank you for sharing them.

[dave lackey]

Very interesting! The second one is the most interesting POV to me but the whole series is very different than what I was expecting!

[snausages]

Excellent, unique subject. I like #10 and #13, but I'd include the rails in the foreground. And #1 has a lot going for it, but I think you want to be closer to the woman on the tracks. Love what the Wephota look is getting at, but I'm not sure it feels entirely purposeful yet. Does the train still run? If so, I want to see it running through there. A remarkable setting, thanks for sharing.

[traveler_101]

I like these shots very much and especially shots 1-4, 7, & 14--which must be shot with the Wephota Pan 100? There is something tangible about those shots: lacking crystal clarity I am drawn into the photograph somehow: less an object and more an experience. Very appropriate for the setting. Someone wrote that they are horribly underexposed. But is that really true?

[kiemchacsu]

Thanks all for critics and compliments.

Originally Posted by rxmd

Nice pictures, but the Wephota pictures look like the negatives are heavily underexposed by 1-2 stops and really dirty. The TMAX shots slightly less so. How did you scan these?

Actually I dont have the recipe for Wephota Pan 100, hence I souped it in HC-110 dilution H 12mins, 20C. Yes for me the negative was under-developed but accidentally the output is not too bad at least for the theme I was shooting. I dont know whether the quality of Wephota or the way I processed the film made it very dirty. Anyhow I wouldnt recommend Wephota for serious works. I use Nikon Coolscan IV for scanning, default output from Nikon Scan 4 software (12bit, TIFF) and might have a bit level/curve adjustment.

Originally Posted by kosta_g

nice work, those shots are great, i think the gritty-ness gives a sense of the mood of living next to the railway. is it still in operation?

Originally Posted by snausages

Excellent, unique subject. I like #10 and #13, but I'd include the rails in the foreground. And #1 has a lot going for it, but I think you want to be closer to the woman on the tracks. Love what the Wephota look is getting at, but I'm not sure it feels entirely purposeful yet. Does the train still run? If so, I want to see it running through there. A remarkable setting, thanks for sharing.

Yes, the rail is still in operation and I also want to return to capture the train running through. For the Wephota, as I mentioned above, the look of Wephota actually is an accident.

Originally Posted by traveler_101

I like these shots very much and especially shots 1-4, 7, & 14--which must be shot with the Wephota Pan 100? There is something tangible about those shots: lacking crystal clarity I am drawn into the photograph somehow: less an object and more an experience. Very appropriate for the setting. Someone wrote that they are horribly underexposed. But is that really true?

Originally Posted by hunghang

Excellent and unique photos - I would love to visit Hanoi one day.

Keep them coming Trung.

Originally Posted by TXForester

Nice work.

Originally Posted by sevres_babylone

Thank you for sharing them.

Originally Posted by dave lackey

Very interesting! The second one is the most interesting POV to me but the whole series is very different than what I was expecting!

Thanks all for very sweet compliments.

[Rayt]

Yes the trains still run and they go very slowly through the city so the people have plenty of time to get out of the way. Hanoi is really full of surprises. I stumbled upon that neighborhood on my way to a temple but didn't manage to take photos as effective as these. When people ask me which country to visit first in SE Asia I aways say Hanoi Vietnam.

[muser53]

Hi Trung...I like this series of images alot. I would like to see more if and when you take the time to return. Thanks for posting.
Paul

[tungh]

It's too hard to take these photos, I know. Thanks Trung!

[matt335]

They are amazing images. Well done and thanks for sharing your work here.

[robklurfield]

wonderful series. I think grit and grain suit it well.

[loplop]

Thank you for sharing, I very much enjoyed that. I wouldn't use the Wephota again... But even with the distraction of the dirty looking negs, the images came through. Thanks again.

[kiemchacsu]

Hi guys,

As promised, I just backed to the area and snapped some quick shots. The film processing last night was a big disappointment for me, I lost 3/4 of the roll because the I was too careless in loading film to tank, hence the light leak killed most of the roll. Sure that I have to go back again, anyhow, below are what remained.

Enjoy,
Trung

19

1110_35_400tx_1600_tmaxdev by kiemchacsu, on Flickr

20

1110_36_400tx_1600_tmaxdev by kiemchacsu, on Flickr

21

1110_28_400tx_1600_tmaxdev by kiemchacsu, on Flickr

22

1110_30_400tx_1600_tmaxdev by kiemchacsu, on Flickr

[loplop]

Wow, that'salotta bikes!

[farlymac]

A wonderful series, Trung. Looking forward to more installments.

PF