Brickworks

This is just a bit of advertising next to some photography to show the nice bokeh of the Jupiter-8 lens.
Just showing some progress on my soon to pen coffee shop in Hue. So if you're in Hue come and visit from mid. November and check out the Facebook page for more updates here.

Construction Machine

GXR A12-M, f5.6, 1/3500, ISO 200, RAW, 75mm (Jupiter-8 f2.0 50mm LTM)

A Drive Around Hue

I finally had one day off and time to go for a drive around Hue on my motorbike, I really missed that after being busy or it's been raining in the past weeks here.

I did take my Epson R-D1 along to get a change in cameras although the GR is easier to use when driving.

It's been a great drive on some small dirt roads in the middle of nowhere before heading to a park overlooking the river to get some photos of the sunset.

I will have to take more drives like this in the next weeks and take more photos around Hue.

University Concert

GR, f2.8, 1/125, ISO 1600, RAW

Mid-Autumn Lion Dance

When you hear drumming and see traffic jams everywhere in Hue, it's not the daily rush hour as you would think coming from London but the Mid-Autumn Festival.

The Mid-Autumn or Moon Festival gets celebrated in quite a few countries in Asia but in Vietnam it mostly means Lion Dances everywhere. There is also Moon cake of course but mostly it's about Lion Dances.

People drive around in small lorries with all their gear ready to hop off and perform their dance routine in front of shops and restaurants.

This means that as soon as they start dancing it will cause a traffic jam and even the police trying to regulate this is not very successful.

It's pretty cool to see overall and good fun. It's funny how many different Lion Dance groups there are and you see sometimes 3 or 4 different teams all around the same area.

Streetfood

OPO, f2.0, 1/17, ISO 2309, JPG

Boy on a Bike

R-D1, f8.0, 1/1351, ISO 200, RAW, 42mm (Ricoh GR f2.8 28mm LTM)

Lovers at the Gate

R-D1, f2.8, 1/8, ISO 1600, RAW, 42mm (Ricoh GR f2.8 28mm LTM)

This is a situation where the Epson R-D1 is not really very usable in, the limited high ISO abilities coupled with almost no way to make sure you nailed the focus make these photos almost impossible. Still, with some pushing of the RAW files it did give me a usable photo and I actually like the colours.

Selfie While Driving

GR, f6.3, 1/320, ISO 3200, RAW

Alley

GR, f2.8, 1/125, ISO 3200, RAW

Handover

OPO, f2.0, 1/756, ISO 100, JPG

Back on my way to Hanoi for a few days. It will be nice to get a break and it's always great to be travelling.
Taking the train is one of the best ways to travel around here, by motorbike is best but also takes a bit longer.

Waiting at the Light

GR, f2.8, 1/125, ISO 25600, RAW

Yellow Vespa

GR, f2.8, 1/40, ISO 20000, RAW

Viet Nam Rail

GR, f6.3, 1/500, ISO 400, RAW

In a few days I'll be on this train on my way to Hanoi for a short trip.

Father and Son

GXR A12-M, f2.0, 1/68, ISO 200, RAW, 75mm (Jupiter-8 f2.0 50mm LTM)

Rain by the Wheelbarrow

GXR A12-M, f2.8, 1/3200, ISO 3200, RAW, 75mm (Jupiter-8 f2.0 50mm LTM)

Sunlight

GXR A12-M, f2.0, 1/60, ISO 1405, RAW, 75mm (Jupiter-8 f2.0 50mm LTM)

High Voltage Work

OPO, f2.0, 1/2100, ISO 100, JPG

Combing the Beach

GR, f6.3, 1/320, ISO 100, RAW

Woman's Work

GR, f6.3, 1/320, ISO 400, RAW

Yellow & Red Shop

GR, f2.8, 1/125, ISO 1000, RAW

Umbrellas at Night

OPO, f2.0, 1/17, ISO 5285, JPG

Happy Chat

GR, f6.3, 1/320, ISO 800, RAW

A Cold Drink in the Shade

OPO, f2.0, 1/312, ISO 100, JPG

400km to Hue

After getting up early and enjoying a local breakfast and coffee it was time to hit the road for the 400km to Hue.

I usually try to limit the daily drive in Vietnam to 100km to have time to do it comfortably and taking the scenic road. Doing 400km in one day sounded like a lot but I knew it wasn't too difficult to do with an earlier start and shorter breaks in between.

Despite having a long distance to go, I chose to go via the best route and take the Ho Chi Minh Road south. It's really the best way to travel in Vietnam.

While I didn't want to miss out on taking photos but didn't want to stop for this, I just took photos while driving.

The journey is great and very scenic but you need to watch your petrol since you can easily run very low and not have any town or petrol station around.

After a long drive, I made it back to Hue a bit earlier than even expected and without being too tired but in need of a cold beer.