A small gift for one’s homeland

17:16' 23/07/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – At the invitation of the Vietnam Photographers’ Association, Vietnamese American camera artist Nguyen Trong Hien has recently delivered four training sessions nationwide. He considers them a present for Vietnam after 30 years of absence. Nguyen Trong Hien’s classes attracted many veteran domestic photographers and reporters who came to study with him despite living far away. “Enrollees in these sessions were very hard working and keen to learn new techniques. “I was moved when during sessions in the Mekong Delta region, some even carried their computer and equipment essential for digital photography classes in heavy rain,” Nguyen Trong Hien recalled after the end of his training sessions. In his classes, Mr. Hien shared with “students” what he knew about the latest photographical technologies as well as a new way of looking at digital photography, which he said, in Vietnam, many still thought a “half-bred thing”. Photographer Minh Quoc said most of those who attended teacher Hien’s classes had years of experience in the profession. “But we have learned chiefly from experiences and other colleagues, so there are many things we don’t understand in a comprehensive way,” said he. So Nguyen Trong Hien, who passionately wants to teach all he has learned from foreigners to his young disciples, has opened a new door for them, though as teacher Hien said, Vietnamese photographers had been getting along pretty well without those like himself. Indeed, according to Mr. Hien, with many top prizes in international contests, Vietnam can be considered one of the powers in terms of photography. “I have seen photos taken by Vietnamese artists in exhibitions held in the US, and our works aren’t at all inferior to those of other countries,” said Mr. Hien. But given what he has, Nguyen Trong Hien said he would continue to return and contribute to his homeland. (Source: TP, Viet Nam Net)