Five Vietnamese photographers has won an international contest with vivid shots of the nation’s beautiful landscapes and people.

Bui Viet Duc’s wonderful photo capturing tea hills in the northern province of Phu Tho won the silver prize at The First Half of 2021“Smile World” International Photography Awards.

The award-winning photo is titled “Trung Du Wakes Up”  by Bui Viet Duc.

Duc’s artwork entitled “Trung Du Wakes Up” won silver in the Beauty of Nature category with a cash prize of US$1,000.

Long Coc tea hills, located in Tan Son district, Phu Tho province, are considered one of the most beautiful landscapes in Vietnam, with many large and small hills alternating with successive messages, according to Smile World International Photography stated.

“At the time of late autumn and early winter, the tea hills are covered with fanciful fog. In the early mornings, dew and clouds float on the tea hill, creating a picture of nature like a fairyland. In addition to bringing high economic efficiency, the tea hills are also an attractive eco-tourism destination,” it added.

Renowned female photographer Khanh Phan also won a $500 bronze prize in the contest’s Documentary and Travel category.

The excellent photoshoot of the nipa palm forest by Khanh Phan.

She captured a fishing man in the nipa palm forest in Quang Ngai Province, Vietnam. 

The 10-hectare forest is considered the “green lung” of the locality, not only because of the immense green color but also because of its biodiversity. Its underwater is the habitat and breeding ground for many species of fish, shrimp, crab, mussels, among others.

Khanh Phan also received the Excellence Award at the Open category with the photo entitled “Harvesting Grass”. In the photo, five women are harvesting grass with over one-meter high leaves waving like ocean waves.

In the same category, Nguyen Tan Tuan, Nguyen Ngoc Van, and Nguyen Phuoc Hoai received excellence awards.

The “Harvesting Grass” artwork by Khanh Phan.

Tuan’s photo shows a woman harvesting water lilies in a pond in Moc Hoa District in the Mekong Delta province of Long An and Hoai’s shows a stunning view of a fisherman throwing a large fishing net captured from above in Phu Yen Province coast in central Vietnam. According to Hoai, from above, the net looks like the heart of the sea. In Phu Yen, a poor province with a population of around 860,000, a large number of people head out to sea to fish, making boats their livelihood.

Meanwhile, Van took a portrait of Mr. Se who was born and raised in the ancient town of Hoi An. As the photographer said, it is quite difficult to find a way to approach the subject because he does not like to be photographed and be in the press. Photographing him required a lot of persuasions.

“I would like to express: Life is a cycle of birth, getting old, sickness and death. The old man is contemplating about human life,” she stated.

Organized by the Smile World International Photography Union, this year’s contest attracted over 10,000 entries.

The photo entitled "Harvesting water lilies" by Nguyen Tan Tuan.

"The beauty of fishing nets" by Nguyen Phuoc Hoai.

The "Old Age" photo by Nguyen Ngoc Van.