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The nostalgic look of the Independence Palace in the eyes of a Saigon boy

HCMC in Ho Chi Minh City from the small, but Thanh Vu does not get a chance to visit the Reunification Palace, until shooting. According to Vu, this place is beautiful and very attractive.

Nguyen Thanh Vu, born in 1992, is a photographer and studio owner in Ho Chi Minh City. His street photos, scenes, people… often have nostalgic colors. Last year, Vu and his friends made a set of vintage-style photos in Saigon, the shooting spots were places like Independence Palace, Marie Curie High School, Ly Club Saigon restaurant…

Most of the spots Vu took are the outside space of the Independence Palace to see the whole scene, covering the building, large courtyards, large lawns, fountains, walkways in the green campus…

The time to take photos is on a weekday, so the visitors to the Independence Palace are also quite crowded. Vu’s group chose corners with few people passing by for a peaceful background. Going in the hot weather, the group tried to take a quick photo, within 3 hours to complete the set of photos.

Vu and his friends run along the streets of the city and randomly stop at suitable places. In Ho Chi Minh City since childhood, but Thanh Vu did not have the opportunity to visit the Independence Palace until taking pictures. Vu finds this place beautiful and very attractive. “Maybe because I came for the first time, I found everything new, the feeling of pressing the camera was very interesting. I also did not preview the photos people took here, so I have more or less my own feelings,” he said.

“I got a little inspiration from the movie L’Amant filmed in Saigon, some scenes in the film are very poetic, many beautiful places in the city are present. I want the series to have the same features,” Vu said about the idea. The idea to make and invite 2 of my friends to model photos, find suitable clothes at secondhand stores.

In addition to the Independence Palace, Vu also went to Marie Curie High School on Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street, District 3 to take pictures. The school is more than 100 years old, featuring classical architecture, typical of French-style construction mixed with Asian-style decoration. The paint color combines red, yellow and white tones, giving a feeling of lightness.

The group also happened to stop at a restaurant with the main white space, with a bit of an ancient touch. Photo viewers showed interest in the couple’s chemistry in front of the camera even though this was the first time they met. “Looking at the photo, I thought it was cut from a movie,” Facebooker Le Chi Minh commented.

As for Vu, he hopes the photo series will contribute more bright colors to Saigon in the gloomy days because of the influence of the Covid-19 epidemic. “Hopefully tourists will come back here soon when the city is healthy again,” Vu expressed. Follow vnexpress

Photo: Nguyen Thanh Vu

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