Three 10th graders from Hanoi who were selected from the ‘The Pride of My Town’ competition for high school students will join the ninth International High School Students’ Photo Festival Exchange in Japan from August 19 to 25.

They are Hoang Ngoc Khanh from Kim Lien High School in Dong Da District, Nguyen Thao Tien from Doan Thi Diem High School in Bac Tu Liem District, and Hoang Tue Lam from Bao Long High School in Gia Lam District.

The trio met and had talks with professional photographers at the headquarters of the Department of Fine Arts, Photography, and Exhibition under the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism on Saturday afternoon before their trip to Japan.

The trio, led by photographer Nguyen Khac Hieu, will compete at the contest held on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido, with the participation of 23 teams from Japan and 21 other nations.

Hieu was one of the three Vietnamese representatives at the first version in Japan in 2015.

Vietnam has sent students to all the nine editions of the contest.

During the second festival exchange, the Vietnamese team won the first prize for the entire group, while one of them bagged the third prize.

Vietnamese students also claimed several prizes at other editions.

These achievements resulted from the ‘For a Future Generation in Vietnamese Photography’ project implemented by professional photographer Nguyen Ba Han.

Han told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that he has been dedicating 10 years to the project in a bid to create a useful playground of photography for young Vietnamese people.

He also expected to contribute his part to the development of Vietnam’s photography.

Vietnamese photographers are aging and most of them are still persisting with old-fashioned styles, he said.

To engage in the global photography scene, photographers should focus on capturing images that tell stories rather than simply creating beautiful pictures to display on walls, he explained.

Vietnam is rich with exciting and inspirational stories, providing photographers with ample opportunities to draw from and create their masterpieces.

Some international photographers have come to Vietnam to share stories through their lenses.

For example, American student Justin Maxon traveled to Vietnam to document the life of a 42-year-old woman named Mui, who lived with AIDS, and her five-year-old son.

His powerful photos depicted their experiences living homeless along the banks of the Red River in Hanoi, earning him the 2007 World Press Photo award in the Daily Life category.

In contrast, few Vietnamese photographers have previously dedicated their time to capturing similar meaningful stories or the unique lives of individuals.

Over the past few years, some young Vietnamese photographers have jumped on the bandwagon of taking in-depth story-telling photos.

In 2013, female photographer Maika Elan, whose Vietnamese name is Nguyen Thanh Hai, shot to stardom with her album of photos called Pink Choice. 

The Pink Choice, a deeply-intimate and sensitive portrayal of the everyday lives of gay couples in Vietnam, made her the first Vietnamese to win the first prize for the ‘Contemporary Issues’ category at the World Press Photo 2013, organized by the World Press Photo Foundation.

To inspire young photographers to create real-life and documentary photos, Han initiated a project to select high school students and take them to the International High School Students’ Photo Festival Exchange in Japan.

Under his guidance and that of other photographers, the chosen students have learned to tell stories through their images.

This year, the trio will showcase their artworks depicting the peaceful fishing village and the warmth and affection of fishermen in Bai Tu Long Bay, located in Quang Ninh Province, northern Vietnam.

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