Tokyo International Foto Awards honours Vietnamese photographer

According to the TIFA 2020 Organizing Committee, photographer Khanh Phan won the gold prize in the Human/ Culture category with the photo entitled "The children’s dancing with gongs", and the silver prize in the Advertising/Travel/Tourism category with the photo named "Drying fish".

The awarded photo "Drying fish" by photographer Khanh Phan.

The joyous photo of "The children’s dancing with gongs" was taken in December 2018 at a festival in Gia Lai province, Vietnam. In the photo, the children are happily dancing with gongs at a Jrai ethnic group festival.

“The children are taught to sing and dance at their early ages by parents and village elders. Despite their young age, the children dance as if they were professional dancers,” said the photographer.

Meanwhile, the awarded photo “Drying fish” was taken in July 2020 at Long Hai fish market. The market, in Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Vietnam is the seafood trading place, especially dried scads, the animal creatures with the scientific name of decapterus.

The photographer’s lens focused on a woman who, in her conical hat, is drying fish under strong sunlight. “I came to Long Hai on a photo trip and was really overwhelmed by the scale of the fishing village. Fish are bought in bulk from large ships offshore, steamed and put into wooden trays to dry. The fish are usually dried under the direct sunlight after one day, then brought to markets for sell,” read Khanh Phan’s photo caption. 

Another awarded photo by Khanh Phan- "The children’s dancing with gongs".

Previously, Bui Huy Trang, another Vietnamese photographer, also won the TIFA 2019 with Gold Award in the Book/ Document category.

TIFA is a fairly prestigious international photo contest. TIFA 2020 awards includes nine categories of advertising, architecture, books, editorial, events, art, nature, people and science.

Each category is subdivided into different contents, for example, category "People" features seven contents including children, culture, family, lifestyle, portraits, self-portraits and wedding.

Its mission is to recognize and reward talented photographers from around the globe and put them in touch with the artistic community in Tokyo, Japan. Photographers from all corners of the world are encouraged to submit their works for valuable prizes.