35AWARDS is an annual international photography competition, first held in 2015 by a team of professional photographers around the world. Each year, the competition has 50 judges from 50 different countries participating in the judging. The competition is held to find the 100 best works of the year in many different categories. Since 2017, 35AWARDS has announced the award for the 100 best photographers.
In 2021, the Milky Way category of the 35AWARDS attracted 1,622 authors with 3,623 entries, out of a total of 281,400 photos from 174 countries and territories. The top images will be accumulated to judge the final photo of the year. After the results were announced, Vietnam had one work in the top 10 and 15 works in the top 200 in this category.
The photo of Ganh Den night in Tuy An, Phu Yen by photographer Bui Xuan Viet (Dong Nai) is the only photo of Vietnam in the top 10 photos in the Milky Way category of 35AWARDS 2021.
The work "Night at Ganh Den" by author Bui Xuan Viet
Author Viet shared that since childhood, he loved the faint light streak across the sky when looking at the stars, at a time when there was no light pollution like now. He spent more than a year researching and taking the first photos of the galaxy, once standing for more than an hour in the middle of the night outside at -10 degrees Celsius on the Everest Base Camp route in 2019, just to get a perfect photo.
When taking the above photo, Bui Xuan Viet brought a blanket from the hotel to the Ganh Den lighthouse area, chose a dry rocky beach, then took photos while watching the stars.
In addition, Viet also has a work called "Touching Jupiter" in the top 200 impressive photos of the Milky Way of 35 AWARDS 2021. The idea for this photo came quite by chance. During a photo trip to Da Lat in March 2020, he discovered that Jupiter could be within reach in the pink grass hill area, near the Bald Hill. However, when the Milky Way and the stars rose high enough, the sky would be bright, at which time the photo would not be as expected. A month later, he returned to this place to take the photo at the ideal time at 3am.
The work "Touching Jupiter"
Tan Thanh Beach, Go Cong Dong, Tien Giang, about 65 km from Ho Chi Minh City, is a favorite place for photographer Phan Nhat Dang Thu to take photos of the Milky Way, with relatively low light noise and a variety of foregrounds. Thu said that the process of taking this photo had many memorable memories. When he arrived, it was already 4:30 am, so he had to quickly move to the shooting location, because if he was too late, the dawn light would be heavily distorted. He had to quickly cross a mudflat when the tide had just receded, the mud was up to his knees and there were many mosquitoes buzzing around. Although he had little time and moved hard, he finally managed to take a photo of the boat at the exact moment when dawn was about to break.
Photo of Tan Thanh beach
Meanwhile, Tan Thanh beach is also the place where Chu Thien Son (Ho Chi Minh City) took his first photo of the Milky Way with his friends. Here, he took a photo that entered the top 200 of the Milky Way 35AWARDS 2021 category, with the foreground being a fisherman's clam watchtower. "I was quite surprised and excited about this type of photo, and my brothers helped me a lot with instructions on how to take the photo," Son said.
Photo of a fisherman's hut in Tan Thanh
Chu Thien Son also has another work taken at Ke Ga, Ham Thuan Nam, Binh Thuan. In the photo, Ke Ga lighthouse on Hon Ba - the most beautiful island in Binh Thuan - shines brightly on the ground, as if in contrast to the shimmering Milky Way in the sky. He said he was able to take such a clear photo because he arrived at Ke Ga on a day when there were very few ships, and there was no light interference from the surrounding dragon fruit gardens.
Photo of the Milky Way at Ke Ga
The photo “Lonely Star Tree” in Go Duoi village, Long Thanh Nam commune, Tay Ninh was taken by photographer Nguyen Tan Tuan (Ho Chi Minh City) when he took his son to his mother’s hometown in Tay Ninh. Wanting his son to experience the natural scenery under the stars, Tuan set up a tent and watched the Milky Way with the lonely Star Tree, then took this photo.
The work "The Lonely Hairpin"
Young photographer Truong Hoai Vu (Phu Yen), a student at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, chose a hydroelectric lake far from Tuy Hoa city, where it is not affected by artificial light sources, to take pictures of the Milky Way. Vu used panoramic photography techniques to cover the scene, with a composition of the tree trunks curved in the direction of the Milky Way. The highlight of the photo is the tents with colors that contrast with the cold night sky.
Hydroelectric lake 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.
Photo of night scene at Ganh Den lighthouse
Nguyen Trong Doi, a lecturer at Quy Nhon University, Binh Dinh, is a photography enthusiast. Doi's photo in the Milky Way category was taken at Hang En waterfall (or K50 waterfall), at Kon Chu Rang Nature Reserve, K'Bang district, Gia Lai.
He said that to take this photo, in addition to conquering the waterfall in the middle of the Gia Lai jungle, he also had to grasp the moon cycle, monitor the weather, choose a location to place the camera and compose the photo. When night fell, he determined the time the Milky Way appeared, and went inside the "waterfall tunnel" to take the photo. It was dark, difficult to move because it was slippery, and the steam from the waterfall was a big obstacle, so he had to have teammates come along to support him.
“When we left the waterfall and looked back at the results of our work, the indescribable emotions and words of encouragement we shared mixed with the roaring sound of the waterfall. It was a memorable journey,” Doi said.
Photo of the Milky Way from Hang En waterfall tunnel
Young photographer Tran Van Linh (Hanoi) is a passionate traveler, he always wants to enjoy the peaceful feeling away from the urban streets. Recently, Linh chose Long Coc tea hill, Phu Tho and Moc Chau heart-shaped tea hill, Son La to camp overnight and hunt for photos of the night sky.
“Both Long Coc and Moc Chau are quite familiar tourist destinations, but most people only watch the sunrise and sunset, forgetting the beauty of the night,” Linh shared. “In the afternoon, after taking pictures of the sunset, I found a location to take pictures of the Milky Way. In the cold night mist, looking at the stars across the tea hills, I felt like I was lying in the middle of space.”
Photo taken at Long Coc tea hill
Photo taken at Moc Chau tea hill
Photographer Tran Anh Tuan also has many memories of taking photos of the Milky Way at Dong Chau beach, Thai Binh. “My brothers and I traveled nearly 200 km from Hanoi. This is one of the few pristine beaches in the North. We stayed up all night on the cold beach, in the pitch-black sky. Once, we even dove into the sand holes underwater because it was difficult to control at night, almost dropping the camera into the mud. In return, those moments were filled with joy when we captured the night sky,” Tuan recalled.
Photo taken at Dong Chau beach
The photo of Sang Nhu terraced fields under the night sky, taken by young photographer Hoang Minh Hieu (Hanoi), is also in the top 100 of the contest. Sang Nhu in Mu Cang Chai, Yen Bai is one of the places with the most beautiful terraced fields in Northwest Vietnam.
The work "Sang Nhu Terraced Fields"
