To start off the New Year, my wife and I decided to go hiking at Pena Adobe in Vacaville, CA. We invited our good friends Gary and Jennifer to come along too. We just recently shot their engagement photos there and wanted to explore it some more. Nowadays, everywhere I go my camera comes with. Here are some photos from yesterday’s hike.
Travel
Trip to Toronto and Chicago
This past summer my wife and I were able to squeeze in a trip to Toronto and Chicago after shooting a wedding in Jacksonville, Florida. I had some extra days to burn, so we managed to fit this trip into our plans. Toronto and Chicago have been two cities I’ve wanted to visit since I’ve gotten into Instagram. I follow some awesome photographers who were from these two awesome cities and because of them, I had to fit these cities into our travel plans for 2016.
For Toronto, the main attraction for me was Niagara Falls. We were able to see Niagara Falls in the daytime and during the evening, which was amazing. While in Toronto, we visited the CN tower, Centre Island, Kensington Market, etc. I was amazed by the amount of skyscrapers in Toronto. One thing I like about Toronto is how diverse it is. We always enjoy sampling new food so when we got here, our eyes lit up. Hopefully we’ll be able to return some time in the future.
After Toronto, we visited Chicago for three days. We took the train from the airport to our hotel. Our first steps on the Chicago streets made us realize how small we are in this world. The buildings in Chicago are MASSIVE. We took the architecture tour and loved it! We were lucky to have our hotel next to Millennium Park. It was one of our favorite places we saw in Chicago. Millennium Park is known for The Bean, but my favorite part of the park was the fountains. The pictures I took there were my favorite pics I took on this trip.
Between the two cities, Chicago will be the first city we’d return to. We loved Toronto, but Chicago was awesome. We felt that our stay was too short and there’s still so much more to see. We always try to maximize our trips, squeeze in as many cities as we can in a small amount of time. Hopefully Chicago will be on our itinerary for our next trip.
Streets of San Francisco
Being a street photographer in Sacramento, can be hard. My buddy and I would walk 5 miles plus and come away with only 10 “money shots”. I’ve tried to change my focus while on the street but I struggle to find the keepers. Maybe I’m too stuck in my ways. I can’t complain too much, especially when you’re with good company.
Going to SF is my escape. San Francisco is a bigger city with more “life”. I usually come away a lot more keepers in SF than I would in Sacramento. With street photography, I prefer to capture the wider scenes with lots of shadows, contrast, lines and angles. I love using my Ricoh GR and Fuji X100t for street photography. These cameras allow me to be more discreet and not disrupt the flow of Streetlife. I’ve tried to go back and do street with my Nikon DSLR and I struggle to get the shots I would get with my too compact bodies.
Of course while in San Francisco, you have to lookup. I like taking architecture photos almost as much as street. I normally walk around with a 35mm so I try to make it work with my restrictions.
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Early this year, My wife and I traveled to Vietnam and Bangkok, Thailand. This was my first time flying over to Asia. I never had a desire to travel to Vietnam, until I got into street photography. Street photography makes me want to travel and see the world. Our first stop in Vietnam was Ho Chi Minh City.
My first morning walking around Ho Chi Minh City, I knew that motorcycles will be the recurring theme in the photos I take on this trip. It’s the most convenient form of transportation for these congested streets.
The traffic in Ho Chi Minh City is crazy. Never have I seen so many motorcycles. It was scary crossing the street. The traffic won’t stop for you. If you decide to cross the street, you have to commit to it and not hesitate.
Walking around Ho Chi Minh City, we saw so many random scenes. Almost every corner we saw something we’ll never see back in the states. After a while, we weren’t surprised by what we saw.
With the amount of traffic in Ho Chi Minh City, I thought it would be awesome to get some panning shots. This is probably my favorite technique I’ve learned in photography.
Ho Chi Minh City was one of our favorite cities we’ve visited on this trip. We had a good time enjoying the street food, exploring the city, and taking photos. I’ll end it with one of my favorite photos I’ve taken on this trip. Of course it’s a panning shot, but the eye contact with the passenger on the motorcycle just topped it off for me.
The Men of Ho Chi Minh City
Last Month, my wife and I went on vacation. We went to Vietnam and Thailand. We visited Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok, Hanoi, Nha Trang, and Dalat. I never really wanted to go to Vietnam until I saw my brother’s street photos from his trip to Vietnam last year. Ever since I got into street photography, I want to travel more and explore new places. I picked up a Ricoh GR for my street photography. It’s small, compact and the images are awesome, especially the black and white.
Our first stop was Ho Chi Minh City. I was told, when shooting street photography I should to try to focus on one thing when walking the streets and only shoot that. One of the subjects I decided to focus on, were the motorcycle taxi drivers. Almost everywhere I turned I saw them sitting on their motorcycle waiting for customers.
It was awesome to see how many ways they can sit on their motorcycles. Sometimes they’re a bit shy.
When they’re not shy, they’re just really comfortable, or just had a long day.
Walking around with my little workhorse, The Ricoh GR, makes capturing pictures like these so easy and fun. It’s so convenient and I love the quality of the photos that I get from this little camera. It allowed me to capture these awesome moments as my wife and I explored the city. Check out Ho Chi Minh City if you ever visit Vietnam. Nha Trang and Ho Chi Minh City is a must!
Nha Trang, Vietnam
My parents are from Nha Trang, Vietnam. They left Nha Trang in 1981 to live in the United States. I was born in 1983. I heard the stories of what my family went through to get to the United States, so I’ve never had the desire to go to Vietnam.
It wasn’t until my wife convinced me to go to Vietnam that I wanted to go. The destinations were Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok (Thailand), Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Nha Trang and Dalat. Bangkok was what got me excited for this trip. Nha Trang interested me because that’s where my family came from.
When we arrived in Nha Trang, we were shocked by how relaxed this city was. It doesn’t have the traffic that the other cities we visited and the people are very nice here. We knew we will love it. As we toured the city, there were a lot of things that reminded me of all the food my mom used to make when I was young. Nha Trang was our favorite city we’ve visited on our trip to Vietnam.
I will continue to post and show the rest of our trip to Vietnam and Bangkok.
Two Days in London
After our visit in Paris, we flew over to London. We had two days in London before we were off to see Venice. We stayed right in Piccadilly Square.
Trafalgar Square was so packed during lunch time.
We tried to squeeze as much as possible in the two days we stayed in London. There’s still so much more to see. Our most memorable meal was from The Little Viet Kitchen. Check it out!
Trip to Paris
12 Hours in New York
Hi, I’m Henry Huynh. I’m from Sacramento, California. Photography has been a new hobby for me this last year. I picked it up to help my wife as a second shooter. As I got into photography, I became really interested in street photography, so I decided to start this blog to display my photos. You can also find me on Instagram: @hhhuynh or @the_other_huynh.
In September, my wife and I went on vacation. Our destination was Paris, London, Venice, Rome, Barcelona and New York. We are from Sacramento, California. Before heading to Paris, we had a 12 hour layover in New York. These are the photos I shot while in New York.