Sunrise Photography Tour in Vietnam Fishing Village

Wonderful trip that shows you the authentic Vietnam.

I thought we were just taking photos of fisherman but I was wrong - there was so much more to see. Not only were we taking photos of the early fish market, we wandered through a vegetable market, had coffee and breakfast with boat owners and photographed them playing cards, observed wine being distilled, watched rice crackers being made, visited the local bakery, wandered streets that were very local with not a tourist in sight, met a local with puppies, watched farmers working in the fields and ended up in the working boat yard. This tour covered so much of Vietnamese local life and exceeded my expectations. Our mentor "Sam Keating" - what an amazing photographer, positive person and a really nice guy. He was easy to talk to and wanted to ensure we were getting the most out of our cameras and our time with him. He was so encouraging and was wonderful with my 14 year old. He gently suggested ways to get different photographs or to improve our photos. He was very patient with us and keen to ensure that we took the 'killer shot' - which we did. I only wish we had more time to do more tours with Sam - our skills increased dramatically. Sam conversed with the locals which meant that we didn't feel that we were intruding and never felt that we had invaded someone's privacy. The locals were very accommodating. I highly recommend this tour and Sam - the variation in activities that could be photographed meant that we were using and learning different skills throughout the tour.

Response from the operator: Thanks again for this wonderful review, Sam will really appreciate it!

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Do this tour even if you only have an iPhone!

This was a really great experience, seeing the fish market bust as the fishing boats came in at sunrise. I learnt so much even about using my iPhone!

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An exciting morning at the fisherman's harbour in Hội An

Let me ask you this: it's the holidays ... Who dares to ask their family to get up at 4:30 am? For a photo tour ...?! Really??? Well, I did ... and I can assure you the five of us had a wonderful experience! First, only one of us was equipped with a DSLR camera. The others had very good to mid-range smartphone cameras. After a short but interesting introduction on light, composition, focus, background, and making subjects stand out, as well as the operations at the fisherman’s harbor and engaging with people, we set off to the harbor. The place is full of action early in the morning, with fishing boats just arriving and the catch being unloaded and traded. Etienne and his team were very helpful in pointing out appealing activities, good light, nice reflections, and interesting backgrounds. They were very engaged in the action. We spent most of our time in the fisherman’s harbor, but also visited a fish sauce manufacturer and some fish processing activities, ending up in Hội An’s shipyard. All were very nice locations with plenty of opportunities to take great shots. Etienne and his team also actively engaged with the locals, creating a very friendly and open atmosphere between photographers and “subjects,” providing a great opportunity for good shots with smiling faces and lots of fun. Almost a detail, but during the tour, we had a short breakfast with coffee and banh mi. The bread was the crispiest “French baguette”-style bread I had during all of our travels. It was a great experience; we all came home around 10, satisfied with the good morning and the nice results.

Response from the operator: Thanks so much Geert, what a great family you have!

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Amazing! LOVED it!

I'm an avid amateur street photographer but through the Covid years sort of lost my mojo and camera knowledge a bit so I was both apprehensive and excited about this tour - especially since it's going to be low light for the most part. Etienne Bossot, our private guide was AMAZING! He immediately sat down with me while we were boating to the first location and went with me through my camera settings, adjusted a few settings for me which would be perfect for the low light and guided me through all the basics. When we reached our first location - fishermen pulling up their nets to the backdrop of sunrise - I felt at ease and with him checking in on me just made for an amazing experience! I got quite a few good ones and was pretty chufed with the results. We then moved on to an unknown local market with not a singe other tourist in sight and where he is well known and loved by the locals. We enjoyed a traditional noodle breakfast before he guided us through the market, finding the right light, the perfect backdrops and helped with composition and framing. Because Etienne is known there, they did not mind us walking around taking photos and did not pose for photos either which is perfect for street photography! We even watched a board game while Etienne bantered with the men. Got quite a few good photos here too! We then went for coffee at a little local cafe with our cameras packed away to simpy enjoy the coffee and have a chat with everyone - and they LOVED to chat! The cafe owner's kids were running around and took a liking to us, coming to sit with us and just being cool little kids! Such a lovely authentic experience after a morning of great photography! On the way back to the boat the cameras came out again and we managed to get a few good photos of people going about their day and fisherman pottering around at their boats while followed by a bunch of kids who obviously found us intriguing - giggling and pointing at us, wanting to shake our hands and talk to us in broken English. Even the fisherman were very happy to see us and wanted to take photos with us! I'm probably now on someone's instagram account! Priceless! I would really recommend this tour to everyone who loves photography - you do not need to be an expert or an excellent camera either. Hubby tagged along and not being a photographer you'd think he'd be bored but Etienne made sure he was included and he really just loved the experience of the places we went. It's a very early start - we were picked up at our hotel at 4:30 am - but it was so worth it! The photos included here are just happy snappies with my mobile phone.

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Amazing experience

Amazing experience in a fantastic fisherman market 1h from Hoi An. We arrived at 5am and the place was dramatically busy. Photo opportunities where tremendous even if challenging due to the chaos. The light was changing every minute but overall so beautiful. People where so friendly. Andy was a brilliant guide. After the market we had a walk trough the fishing village and the people where so welcoming. I highly recommend.

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