thuyen thung, a photo from Binh Thuan, South East

Photographer's Note

"Anyone who has traveled to Phan Thiet or any of the fishing villages along Vietnam’s central coast will recognize the tiny basket-shaped boats called Thuyen Thung. They are so widely used in the region that they have become synonymous with well known places like Phan Thiet and Mui Ne.

The small, round bamboo boats put out to dry in the sun look like mushrooms growing on the sand. Thuyen thung have become thoroughly ensconced in the central coast’s local history and culture. One of the more famous legends surrounding the boats is that the French levied heavy taxes on boats and many poor villagers could not afford to keep their boats, so they invented the thuyen thung, thus evading taxes as the French did not consider the basket-like vessel hardly a boat.

Villagers make the boats by selecting and splitting high-quality bamboo into thin strips and drying them in the sun. They then skillfully bend and knit the strips into a round shape. After knitting, the boat is coated with many layers of dipterocarp resin for waterproofing.

A thuyen thung costs some VND1 million. Many households make thuyen thung by themselves, while some buy a boat from others."

experimenting with b&w conversions, any comments are welcome. uploaded the colour version as a ws..

delkoo, fijiphil, nicol_g, gabrielpat, luisafonso, coco, jmdias, designsoul, everlasting, sabyasachi1212, AnimeshRay, Bien, fixed, Mistral, pinakie_slg has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

ALSOM (6616) 2006-07-24 12:03

Incredible shot ! The scale between the man and the Thuyen Thung is amazing !

Nice composition with the dotted boat on the horizon, beautiful light!
Alain -

s10001in (0) 2006-07-24 12:11

Mark,
Awasome.....
Just impressive point of Thuyen Thung turrning showing realtionship between both.
Impressive waves on back & buch of ships(Boats).
Powerful shot.
Great one.
Great work . TFS,
Shailendra

gravatar (1586) 2006-07-24 12:18

Great black and white composition. Nice tonality, though the color toning might be a bit strong for my tastes. Very evocative composition, regardless.

arindam_thokder (3985) 2006-07-24 12:22

Hello Mark,

This one is great. I like the action in the picture. Also the b/w conversion is really great.

Arindam

delkoo (68) 2006-07-24 12:41

hi mark i am stunned by a shot like that, full of action and big contrat between those small round bamboo boats and ships on the background.

great one
didier

veronika (6052) 2006-07-24 12:43

Hi Mark,
nice picture full of contrast and movement, i like the background also filled with so many boats, nice nice :)
Vero

fijiphil (1355) 2006-07-24 12:57

Excellent photo, excellent note. Prefer the colour version personally, it almost looks B&W anyway!!

leo61 (0) 2006-07-24 13:11

Hi Mark!
Excellent B&W photo,I like it more than the colored version.
Good composition with the strange boats and nice action.A sharp image with good contrast.
Regards,Leo

clnaef (6289) 2006-07-24 13:31

Bonjour,
Il y en a de ceux qui gagne leur vie à la sueur de leur front !
Bonne soirée.
clnaef

gabrielpat (7163) 2006-07-24 14:57

hi mark,
forms and movements are fantastic,a pisture so well balanced.b and w perfect!great.

luisafonso (862) 2006-07-24 16:47

Great photo Mark! There is plenty of action going around, although perfectly frozen by you shutter choice. The composition is very good; like the dual bamboo boats. Your black and white conversion really enhances the timeless mood of the photo. Like it a lot.

coco (30433) 2006-07-24 16:53

Amazing, Mark, amazing.
The man, the sea, the tinies, the waves and this magic black and white.
I love this photo.

Good, very good.

BAKO (1689) 2006-07-24 16:59

Hello Mark.
Great B&W photo,I also like it more than the colored one.
Cool composition with suparb contrast.
Regards
BakO

Luko (13978) 2006-07-24 18:10

Good one, Mark! your timing wasn't faulted : you got the ideally dynamic move, perfectly describing the thuyen thung throw for the wannabe competitors of the next china sea olympiads.

More seriously speaking, that background, with the line of fshing boats, helps a lot. I'm litterally drooling on my camera, thinking of the many photo ops around, involving fishermen and nets.

No problem for me, BW was the way to go, better than poorly colored RGB.

jmdias (45780) 2006-07-24 20:13

mark

Very nice photo, the sense of movement and the ships in the background are very nice, the B&W a little greenish too is nice
TFS
Jorge

Furachan (0) 2006-07-24 20:39

Superb shot, Mark, not just because oif the exquisitely timed foreground action but almost as much because of the flotilla in the back. Quite an "epic" shot in a way, which, interestingly enough is what Salgado is all about in my view, taking daily labors and elevating them.
A big bravo!
Francis

vapours (8258) 2006-07-24 21:31

Quite a unique scene here, I have never seen one of these Thuyen Thung's before, and I'm also amazed at the amount of boats in the background as well. Your black and white conversion is spot on. Great work.

roamermark (1590) 2006-07-24 22:01

Hi Mark,
I like the movement inherent in the shot...the waves, the subject rolling the boat etc...I also like the scale provided by having the subject next to the upturned boat.
Well Done
Cheers
Mark

rosiegirl (1596) 2006-07-24 22:11

What an interesting looking boat. It would be like paddling out into the sea in a bowl. It looks like a huge basket, but it really is small for a boat. The motion you've caught is wonderful- the rope stretching out with the man adds so much to the photo. Great job!

Rosie

CaptainJack (0) 2006-07-24 22:13

This B&W conversion is superb! The combination of the basket-shaped boats in the foreground coupled with the ships lined across the horizon, almost like an invasion is very striking!

ndb1958 (9289) 2006-07-25 0:13

Hi Mark,
what an amazing composition. These tiny basket-shaped boats called Thuyen Thung are impressing. The action of that man and his movement is great. Wonderful movement.
The scenery with all these boats in the background is cool. I even like the b+w.
Great image.
Nino

Darren (6823) 2006-07-25 1:00

Hi Mark, looks like I am a little late to the table here, but I will chime in. Very good stuff; the timing is perfect, the second boat on the right is an excellent additional element and the boats on the horizon are hugely successful. I would consider just a little crop from the bottom but you probably want to keep it full frame. I prefer the other conversion you uploaded, but both are much better than the color version. Nice shot.

fixed (3833) 2006-07-25 4:14

hello Mark
I'm sorry, I posted a workshop yesterday and no more time for comment :( ... but I'm here today ... :)
I like a lot this photo, the scene is dynamic and interesting
ok I'm stupid but "Thuyen Thung" make me thing to a big, big GI's helmet :)
As said some members the boats's alignment is wonderful ... ok no add value in my comment :)
I try a workshop ... and I know, it's not perfect (a little bit hard to "work" on a small size) ... but I think, it misses (a little bit) some contrast, and especially in the waves.
anyway a beautiful picture
bravo
Arnaud

[workshop] [compare]

jinju (14265) 2006-07-25 5:28

Stunning shot Mark. Really good. The horizon is the wow factor here. So many boats! Almost like an armada of fishing boats. The man in the foreground takes all of that and distills it all, becoming the personification of all those other men on those boats. The conversion is really nice. B/w adds drama to this shot, and thats why I prefer b/w to color.

nopoint (878) 2006-07-25 15:20

Great action shot! Also, you have made a good search of the origin of these baskets. I am very good with these baskets but I never know the history of them. Thank you for sharing Mark...Kiet

designsoul (21492) 2006-07-25 23:00

Szia Mark! This is amazing.... the moment that you caught, the incredible "exoticism" of the scene *sorry for the lack of a better term) and the marvellous bw conversion... the mometn is certainly decisive. The fishing boats on the horizon just add an icing on the cake. I am in awe...
sasa

everlasting (13803) 2006-07-26 2:08

I havent seen these boats before, so thanks for that and your note.
Your shot has great timing and the other boats dotted along the horizon make the icing on the cake. B&W looks very fine, Mark, but as I am certainly no expert on conversion, I'll leave the comments to those who can.

AmiBe (6042) 2006-07-26 14:36

Hi Mark,
excellent picture, for me it's a decisive moment.
Excellent compo, very well balanced.
I've never seen such round boats.
The boats on the top are a huge +.
Well done

sabyasachi1212 (19739) 2006-07-29 13:58

Hi Mark,
This is a superb action shot, very well captured. Love the B&W mood here complete with the rows of boats in the BG. This type of boats are seen in South India as well, similar nature, similar method. They are called coracles.
With Greetings from India
Sabyasachi

don_narayan (2014) 2006-08-01 12:26

Hi Mark. What a superb shot, the composition is just perfect, which an interesting background and plenty of texture throughout the frame. Great b/w as well. Nice work.

Narayan

RandomCameraGuy (3069) 2006-08-05 19:54

holy crap that's a kick ass shot!!! nice bw conversion, great moment, and an interesting fore, and background. I love it man!

So how's things? Where you at these days?

af

AnimeshRay (9073) 2006-08-08 23:27

Amazing photo! The gallery of boats lining the horizon seems almost menacing, and the man wrestling with the gigantic lid looks as small and insignificant, yet as courageous, as Don Quixote.
Wonderful.

keribar (43841) 2006-08-18 0:10

Whooooo !

This is very very special, and should go into my favorites if I had any left. I like everything here, the scene with the boats, the waves, the BW and the incredible catch of the guy pulling the bamboo boat. Look at the leg in the air - Wonderful ! Izzet

recepyuksel (17808) 2006-08-20 5:55

Absolutely perfect composition. This Thuyen Thungs are very interesting and good photographic objects. Many boats in horizon is a great details in compo, and man's position is perfect. Bravo
Besst wishes

partha (13775) 2006-08-27 6:11

What an excellent shot. Nice body language of the person. The perspective looks brilliant. B&W is a wise choice.
Wonderful.
Partha

Timmok (802) 2006-09-01 8:20

Hi Mark

Great picture. The B&W works very well there. It's a very rich composition with a very well captured moment on the foreground, and the silhouettes of all these boats in the background. Excellent sharpness

Congrats and thanks for sharing

Bien (4739) 2006-09-07 13:16

Hi Mark, am hopelessly behind on commenting, but couldn't leave this one untouched. Absolutely beautiful moment captured here. The way the fisherman 'throws' his boat into the sea is so full of plenty! Beautifully composed and the horizon paved with fisher boats give this photo such a beautiful frame, wow, excellent work here! Sabine

scalerman (26884) 2006-09-10 12:32

I would have opened this even without noting how many others liked it as well, Mark. Liked what you did with the BW here and it's tack sharp with real motion in it. A great travel souvenir. regards, c

bnallama (3763) 2006-09-21 16:28

Nothing to nitpick here Mark. I simply love this shot.... the boats in the distance is a bonus.. :-) TFS. Bala

fohoizey (1128) 2006-10-14 16:29

Superb B&W and excellent composition, congratulations!

Mistral (15396) 2006-10-29 17:25

Hi Mark
excellent dynamic shot!
The horizon full of boats is a crown to your excellent image.
Really a great shot!
A smile
Luca

nicoz (1979) 2007-01-22 7:57

Hi Mark,
Your gallery is excellent! This is a very dynamic shot. The B&W is good but I also liked the golden tones or the colored version. The army of boats on the horizon is excellent, it fills in the empty ocean very well.
Well done!
Nicolas

Evolution (91) 2007-07-21 20:35

Mark,
yes, these boats are iconic of VN, and possibly over photographed. but you have managed to make this photo feel original and different. B+W is a good choice, although i think the highlights in the pic need some adjustment.
well done,
Brian