Hanoi-based photographer Tran Viet Van of Lao Dong (Labor) newspaper was among the honorable mentions at the 20th International Photography Awards (IPA) 2023 in the US.

Van's entry, which consists of nine color photos with the theme Nhip dap thoi gian (The Rhythm of Time), was recognized in the Press Photo category.

His photos depict the daily life and activities of Cuban people in Old Havana, Trinidad, during his visit to the Latin American country in November 2022.

Photographer Viet Van's winning photo.

Some of the images in this series have previously won an Honorable Mention in the Press Photo category at the World Master of Photography Awards in Austria and a Third Prize at the Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year in the UK - the world's leading award recognizing the art and diversity of food photography.

IPA 2023 attracted over 15,000 entries from 120 countries around the world.

Excellent works in the categories of people, wildlife, nature, advertising, and press, were selected by esteemed photography experts from the US, the UK, France, Germany, and Italy, for exhibitions and publication in books.

The winning photographers in these categories come from the US, the UK, China, and Poland.

The winners of the most prestigious awards, Photographer of the Year (Professional) and Discovery of the Year (Amateur/Student), will be announced in late October.

Viet Van is one of the photographers who have won the largest number of international awards.

Van started taking pictures in 1998, and so far, he has won more than 80 international awards in photography. He has held 11 solo exhibitions, including two exhibitions abroad. He has also been a judge at many film festivals and photo contests in Vietnam.

The photographer believes the most important thing is to feel like moving forward.

"If I stop, I'm dead. I am very obsessed with the saying of a famous artist: You should never feel outdated, so you must always be creative. The hardest thing for an artist is creativity - the hardest thing for creativity is inspiration. Contests are opportunities for me to express myself, to look back at where I am in the evolution of contemporary photography, and to move forward," he said.