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35AWARDS is an annual international photography competition, first held in 2015 by a team of professional photographers from around the world. Each year, the competition has 50 judges from 50 different countries participating in the judging process. The competition aims to find the 100 best works annually in various categories. Since 2017, 35AWARDS has also announced an award for the 100 best photographers.
In 2021, the Milky Way category of the 35 Awards attracted 1,622 authors with 3,623 entries, out of a total of 281,400 photos from 174 countries and territories. The top images were accumulated for judging the final award of the year. After the results were announced, Vietnam had one entry in the top 10 and 15 entries in the top 200 in this category.
The image of Gành Đèn at night in Tuy An, Phú Yên, taken by photographer Bùi Xuân Việt (Đồng Nai), is the only Vietnamese photograph in the top 10 of the Milky Way category at the 35AWARDS 2021.
The artwork "Night at Ganh Den" by author Bui Xuan Viet
The Vietnamese author shared that since childhood he had loved the faint streaks of light across the sky when gazing at stars, back when there wasn't the light pollution we see now. He spent over a year researching and taking his first photos of the Milky Way, even standing for over an hour in the middle of the night at -10°C on the Everest Base Camp trail in 2019, just to get the perfect picture.
When taking the photo above, Bui Xuan Viet brought a blanket from the hotel to the Ganh Den lighthouse area, chose a dry rocky spot, and then took pictures while stargazing.
In addition, Viet's work, "Touching Jupiter," was among the top 200 most impressive Milky Way photos of 35AWARDS 2021. The idea for this photo came about quite by chance. During a photography trip to Da Lat in March 2020, he discovered that Jupiter could be within easy reach in the pink grass hill area, near Bald Hill. However, when the Milky Way and Jupiter rose high enough, the sky would brighten, and the photo wouldn't be as good. A month later, he returned to the same location to take the picture at the ideal time, 3 am.
The artwork "Touching Jupiter"
Tan Thanh Beach in Go Cong Dong, Tien Giang, about 65 km from Ho Chi Minh City, is a favorite spot for photographer Phan Nhat Dang Thu to photograph the Milky Way, known for its relatively low light noise and diverse foreground. Thu shared that the process of taking this photo was full of memorable moments. He arrived at 4:30 AM, so he had to quickly move to the shooting location, as any later and the dawn light would be heavily distorted. He had to rush across a muddy area as the tide receded, the mud reaching his knees and swarming with mosquitoes. Despite the limited time and arduous journey, he finally managed to capture the image of the boat at the perfect moment as dawn was breaking.
The photo shows Tan Thanh beach.
Meanwhile, Tan Thanh beach was also the location where Chu Thien Son (from Ho Chi Minh City) first went to photograph the Milky Way with his friends. There, he captured a photo that made it into the top 200 of the Milky Way 35 Awards 2021, with a fisherman's clam watchtower in the foreground. "I was quite surprised and excited about this type of photography, and my friends helped and guided me a lot on how to take pictures," Son said.
The photo shows a fisherman's hut in Tan Thanh.
Chu Thien Son also has another photograph taken in Ke Ga, Ham Thuan Nam, Binh Thuan. In the photo, the Ke Ga lighthouse on Hon Ba - the most beautiful island in Binh Thuan - shines brightly against the ground, contrasting with the shimmering Milky Way in the sky. He said he was able to capture such a clear image because he arrived in Ke Ga on a day with very few ships and no distracting light from the surrounding dragon fruit orchards.
This photograph captures the Milky Way at Ke Ga.
The photograph "The Lonely Ixora Tree" in Go Duoi village, Long Thanh Nam commune, Tay Ninh province, was taken by photographer Nguyen Tan Tuan (from Ho Chi Minh City) during a visit with his son to his maternal grandparents' home in Tay Ninh. Wanting his son to experience the natural scenery under the starry sky, Tuan set up a tent and gazed at the Milky Way with the boy beside the lonely Ixora tree, capturing this masterpiece.
The artwork "The Lonely Ixora Tree"
Young photographer Truong Hoai Vu (from Phu Yen), a student at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, chose a hydroelectric lake far from Tuy Hoa city as the location to photograph the Milky Way, a place unaffected by artificial light sources. Vu used panoramic photography techniques to capture the entire scene, with the composition featuring trees whose shapes curve along the Milky Way. The highlight of the photograph is the tents, their colors contrasting against the cold night sky.
Hydroelectric reservoir at night under the Milky Way
In addition, Vu also has another photo in the top 200 of 35AWARDS 2021, also capturing a night scene at Ganh Den lighthouse.
This photo captures a nighttime scene at Gành Đèn lighthouse.
Nguyen Trong Doi, a lecturer at Quy Nhon University in Binh Dinh province, is a passionate photographer. His entry in the Milky Way category was taken at Hang En Waterfall (or K50 Waterfall) in the Kon Chu Rang Nature Reserve, K'Bang district, Gia Lai province.
He explained that to take this photo, besides conquering the waterfall in the Gia Lai highlands, he also had to understand the lunar cycle, monitor the weather, choose the right camera placement, and compose the shot. When night fell and he determined the time the Milky Way would appear, he went inside the "waterfall tunnel" to take the picture. The darkness made movement difficult due to the slippery surface, and the mist from the waterfall posed a significant obstacle, so he needed teammates to accompany him for support.
“When we left the waterfall cave and looked back at the finished work, the indescribable emotions and words of encouragement we exchanged blended with the roaring sound of the waterfall. It was a memorable journey,” said Doi.
This photograph captures the Milky Way from the Hang Én waterfall cave.
Young photographer Tran Van Linh (Hanoi) is a passionate traveler who always wants to enjoy peaceful moments far from the hustle and bustle of the city. Recently, Linh has chosen Long Coc tea hill in Phu Tho and the heart-shaped tea hill in Moc Chau, Son La to camp overnight and capture night sky photos.
“Both Long Coc and Moc Chau are fairly well-known tourist destinations, but most people only admire the sunrise and sunset, forgetting the beauty of the night,” Linh shared. “In the afternoon, after photographing the sunset, I found a spot to photograph the Milky Way. In the cold night mist, seeing the stars stretching across the tea hills, I felt like I was lying in the middle of the universe.”
The photograph was taken at Long Coc tea hill.
The photograph was taken at the Moc Chau tea hills.
Photographer Tran Anh Tuan also has many fond memories of photographing the Milky Way at Dong Chau beach in Thai Binh province. “My colleagues and I traveled nearly 200 km from Hanoi. This is one of the few unspoiled beaches in the North. We stayed up all night on the cold beach, in the pitch-black night sky. Once, we even fell into sand pits underwater because it was difficult to control the camera in the dark, almost dropping it into the mud. But those moments were filled with joy at having captured the night sky,” Tuan recalled.
The photo was taken at Dong Chau beach.
The photograph of the Sang Nhu terraced rice fields under the night sky, taken by young photographer Hoang Minh Hieu (Hanoi), is also among the top 100 entries in the competition. Sang Nhu, located in Mu Cang Chai, Yen Bai, is one of the most beautiful terraced rice fields in Northwest Vietnam.
The artwork "Sang Nhu Terraced Fields"
