Hanoi by Night
Explore the excitement of Hanoi in low-light
Hanoi by Night Photo Tour capture Vietnam’s capital after dark, from bright and bustling markets to exotic food stalls on lowlit corners, the headlights of city traffic tracing beams in the night air.
We start at the famous ‘train street’, with shots of the night train rumbling between the houses and brightly-lit cafes. We then head over to Hoan Kiem Lake to wander among the crowds to take relationship, portrait and detail shots of the people we encounter. The cafes and alleyways around St Joseph’s Cathedral buzz with young people catching up over coffee, lemon tea or bowls of ‘Che’, and we’ll capture the new face of this youthful country.
From the Cathedral, we head over to Ba Dinh Square, where Ho Chi Minh once read Vietnam’s Declaration of Independence, and now a popular evening gathering place for local families. We photograph the atmospheric lowering of the Vietnamese flag in front of Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum by Uncle Ho’s white-uniformed guards.
Finally, we’re at colourful Tran Quoc Pagoda, shooting this iconic lakeside temple in lowlight. It all makes for an unforgettable night exploring Hanoi’s life after dark, with new skills and unque pictures to remember it.
Hanoi Photography Day Tour and Workshop
Itinerary
6:30pm – Hotel pick-up
7pm – The tour begins at a cafe on ‘train street’. We’ll have an introduction to the tour, review camera basics and look at the elements of a 3 picture story – Context, Relationship and Portrait or Detail shots. The train rushes through at about 7:20pm, and we’ll be ready in the right spot to capture the big moment as it surges between the houses.
7:30pm – We now head to Hoan Kiem Lake and wander among the crowds. This is a popular area for both local Hanoians and visitors to the capital, and we’ll photograph people at work, rest and play on the streetlit shores of the lake. If the night market is happening (Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays) we’ll move up Hang Dao Street to catch shots of the traders and buyers at the many eclectic stalls. Here we’re looking at aspects of street photography, and shooting in the moment.
8:45pm – We’ll grab a taxi to Ba Dinh Square, an iconic location in Vietnamese history. Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnam’s independence from France here in 1946, quoting Thomas Jefferson. Now the square attracts many locals of an evening, especially families catching a cool breeze, and some of the older crowd taking their constitutional. We’ll mingle with the crowds and capture a photo story about the evening activities in this atmospheric spot. In particular we’ll be looking at how to snap black and white photography, as the darkness and floodlights provide perfect contrast.
9pm – Ho Chi Minh’s sprucely white-uniformed guards perform a lowering of the national flag, and we’ll catch shots of the ceremony, as well as the people looking on.
9:15pm – Our final stop is stunning Tran Quoc Pagoda, Hanoi’s oldest major temple. Here we’ll practice with long-exposure photography, using a tripod and controling the shutter speed, aperture, ISO and composition to create a spectacular final Hanoi landscape.
10pm – We head back to the Old Quarter and have time for refreshments at a cafe and a review of our evening’s photo story before returning you to your hotel.
10:30pm – Farewell
