Beautiful Vietnam from above in a series of photos that won international awards

On May 15, the 35AWARDS 2020 annual international photo contest announced the results of the winning works in 27 different photo categories, from Aerial photography, also known as drone photography (taken from above by unmanned aerial vehicles) to portraits, fashion, wildlife,...

Each category will select the top winning photo series and announce the final winning photo. In addition, the contest will also filter out the top 100 best photos of the 35 AWARDS 2020 and the top 100 photos voted by readers.

The work "Harvesting reed grass" by photographer Pham Huy Trung won first prize in the drone photography category.

Mr. Trung said the photo was taken near the bank of the Truong Giang River, Binh Hai Commune, Thang Binh District, Quang Nam Province. In 2018 and 2019, the author also won the highest prize of 35 AWARDS. He is a famous Vietnamese photographer with drone photography, capturing the beauty of landscapes and the rhythm of life of people across the country.

In addition, the author has a photo "On the sand hill" taken in Ninh Thuan in the top 100 of the reader-voted photo award, and a photo "Across the field" in the top 100 of the best drone photos of the award.

The second prize winner in the drone photography category was Nguyen Ngoc Thien (HCMC) who took the photo "Early morning fishing" of a fishing boat pulling a net during the anchovy fishing season in the waters of Tuy Hoa, Phu Yen. The author also took another photo called "Net dance" in the waters of Hon Yen, Phu Yen, which was in the top 100 best drone photos of the contest.

Mr. Thien said that every year from May to August, boats in Phu Yen are busy going out to sea to use purse seine nets to catch anchovies. The "dance" of the nets at sea with different shapes is an interesting subject for photographers to compose.

The Top 100 drone photos include 21 photos by 14 Vietnamese authors, showing the diverse beauty of landscapes, human life, and craft villages stretching across the country, including the photo "Sunset on Ban Gioc Waterfall" by author Vu Phi Long (Son La).

Ban Gioc Waterfall has many successive levels, stretching hundreds of meters, located in Dam Thuy Commune, Trung Khanh District, Cao Bang Province. September and October are the ideal times to explore the waterfall, when the water is clear and the waterfalls roar and create white foam.

The work "Ripe rice terraces" by photographer Vu Ngoc Tuan (Hanoi) captures the curving, layered lines in Mu Cang Chai, Yen Bai. The ripe rice season in September and October at La Pan Tan raspberry hill and Sang Nhu horse-shoe hill, Mu Cang Chai district always attracts visitors.

Author Vu Ngoc Tuan also has the work "Net Flowers" capturing the fishing scene at Phu Yen sea in the top 100 drone photos.

The work "The Chorus of the Sea" by author Nguyen Thanh Hai (Ha Tinh) captured the process of pulling the trawl net on the coast of Loc Ha, Ha Tinh. Thanh Hai's work "Catching shrimp with a net attached to the front of a motorboat" taken at the sea of ​​Thach Ha, Ha Tinh is also in the top 100 drone photos.

The work "Afternoon on the field of rattan grass" was taken in Cam Ha commune, Hoi An city, Quang Nam by young photographer from Da Nang, Ha Vu Linh.

The photo "Dance of drying sedge" was taken at the sedge mat village in Tuy An district, Phu Yen by photographer Nguyen Van Luan (Dong Thap). Sedge is the main source of raw material for people to weave mats. To make mats, farmers harvest sedge, split, dry, transport dry sedge, boil and dye, dry the dyed sedge and weave.

Photographer Nguyen Tan Tuan (HCMC) has a work called "Mending Nets" taken at Hon Ro port, Phuoc Dong commune, about 7 km southeast of Nha Trang city center (Khanh Hoa).

Hon Ro is one of the largest fishing ports in the South Central Coast, serving offshore fishing vessels. Mr. Tuan said that the job of mending nets for women is quite hard, but they patiently stick with it to earn money to support their children's education.

In addition, author Nguyen Tan Tuan's work "Buffaloes wade across a lake" is also in the top 100 best drone photos.

The photo "Teamwork" by author Pham Nghia (HCMC) captured the scene of drying anchovies at around 10:00 a.m. on August 19, 2020 in Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan Province. The caught anchovies are sold to manual drying kilns, going through three stages: selection, steaming and drying.

The work "Flower Boat" by photographer Le Huy Anh (HCMC) captures the scene of women washing water lilies and arranging them into flower shapes in Kien Tuong town, Long An province.

In September and October, floods come to the Mekong Delta, the upstream districts of Long An province such as Tan Hung, Vinh Hung, Moc Hoa and Kien Tuong town, the water reaches the foot of the fields. That is the time when people harvest freshwater fish, wild vegetables such as water lilies, sesbania or water chives. Many people and girls in the countryside agree to be models of farmers picking water lilies for photographers to create artistic photos.

Author Le Huy Anh also has a photo "Flooding season in terraced fields" taken at Sang Ma Sao in the top 100 drone photos.

The work "Drying yellowstripe scad" in Rach Gia City, Kien Giang by photographer Le Thai Duong (Bac Lieu).

The work "Salt Flower" by Phan Thanh Cuong (Bac Lieu) captured the scene of salt workers raking salt from dawn at the salt fields of Vinh Thinh commune, Hoa Binh district, Bac Lieu province. Mr. Cuong said that it was still dark so people wore specialized lights on their heads and raked until morning. After that, they piled the salt and used baskets to transport it to the collection point.

Among the 14 authors whose photos were selected for the top 100 drone photos, there are also photographer Alex Cao (Quang Ngai) with the photo "Net flowers spread out like lotus leaves on the sea" and Khanh Phan (HCMC) with two photos "Drying fish" and "Harvesting grass".

The 35AWARDS competition has 50 judges from 50 different countries participating in three rounds of independent scoring. In 2020, the competition attracted 123,400 authors from 173 countries and territories.

Huyền Châu