On my second trip to Vietnam in January 2002, with Steve Warren, and Mission Peace, I was able to focus more on the culture and the villagers of the countryside who had never, ever been photographed before. For a few precious days during this trip, I was with a Vietnamese nun who spoke French. She and I were deep in the Mekong Delta where people live in very primitive huts in the dirt as well as huts on stilts in the water. It was a fantastic journey through an area of the world where time seems to be standing still, the people are gorgeous, and the scenery inspiring.

Knowing that most of these villagers had never had their photographs taken, I had brought a Crown Graphic 4 X 5 field camera with film magazine and a Polaroid back. This type of Polaroid (T55) has a print and a negative together; so, I was able to capture people on film, and immediately give them a copy of the photograph while keeping the negative for myself to print upon my return to the states. My subjects were thrilled.

I was fortunate to meet an elderly gentleman who lived in a multi-generational hut. He had been photographed decades previously, and showed me the picture. We collected his entire family, and I took an updated photograph for them. After the photo shoot, he sit up, and look at the 2 photos of his family side by side, 40 years apart, he was beyond happy. For him, it was the gift of a lifetime. – See photo below-

On a personal level, working with Mission Peace changed my life. Honestly, this is exactly the type of work that originally drove me to become a photographer. For me to have the opportunity to join this team of surgeons who were changing the lives of children in a part of the world where medical care is not readily available, and capture the story as it unfolds… well, it was a tremendous honor and a huge privilege.

Both trips I took to Vietnam with Mission Peace were nothing short of phenomenal. And the work I did for them helped them to raise even more money to support their future work in the country and expand their efforts to help orphanages, and start a cultural exchange program between young Vietnamese and American children. I am honored to have been an integral part of Mission Peace’s international aid project.

 

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