Father and son from Nghe An are both record holders in photography in Vietnam.
(Baonghean.vn) - On August 26, a ceremony will be held to present the Certificate of Honor for the value of Vietnam Record to the family of the late photographer Quynh Son (from Quynh Luu, Nghe An) for the photos he took during the resistance war against France. Previously, his son, journalist and photographer Ngo Minh Dao, also set a national record in photography.
Photographer Quynh Son, whose real name is Ngo Duc Dau, was born in 1911 in Quynh Son village, now in Son Hai commune, Quynh Luu district. In the early 1930s, he went to Saigon to study photography and worked for photo studios there. In 1936, he returned to his hometown Nghe An to make a living as a photographer in Cau Giat town and named his photo studio after his village.
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| Portrait of photographer Quynh Son. Photo: Family provided |
What is especially admirable about him is that he not only takes photos as a way to make a living, but he is also very conscious of preserving hot, topical moments that take place in his homeland.
During those difficult and fiery years, he often left his studio, away from his wife and children, to go to fierce areas to record the reality of the vibrant resistance war. He took photos many times to serve the campaign for the Viet Minh Front. He has more than 1,000 photos of the resistance war against the French kept at the Nghe Tinh Soviet Museum, typical photos are: "Thanh nien cau Giat joins the army"; "Buying bonds to support the resistance war"; "Raising funds for Lien Viet"; "Quynh Luu first aid class"; "Commemoration ceremony for General Stalin in the revolutionary area of Zone Four"; "Cau Giat burned during the sweep"; "Building roads to serve the resistance war"...
On September 12, 2004, after viewing his photos, former General Secretary Do Muoi wrote: "Photographer Quynh Son has contributed to the country vivid images during the resistance war against France. These are rare images and are increasingly valuable."
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| The photo book collects the works of photographer Quynh Son. Photo: NMĐ |
In the photo book Nghe An Photography in the 20th Century (Nghe An Publishing House 2003), it was commented: “During the resistance war against French colonialism, a number of Nghe An photographers left their studios and returned to areas with heated revolutionary movements to record the reality of the vibrant resistance war. Photographer Quynh Son took a unique photo of the corpse of a French soldier floating on Lach Quen - Quynh Luu estuary. This was the first news photographer from Nghe An to join the resistance war against French colonialism.”
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| The Vietnam Record Organization will present the Record Certificate to the family of the late photographer Quynh Son on August 26. Photo: Provided by the family |
Photographer Quynh Son passed away in 1972. Through the process of evaluating the dossier, the Vietnam Record Organization found that there was sufficient basis to honor the Record Content Value to the late photographer Quynh Son with the content: The first person to take photojournalism photos during the resistance war against the French in Nghe An, leaving behind thousands of historically valuable film plates that are still preserved at the Nghe An Provincial Museum. The certificate of honoring the Record Content Value will be presented to the late photographer's family at the 35th Vietnam Record Reunion event taking place on August 26 in Ho Chi Minh City.
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| In 2014, journalist and photographer Minh Dao was awarded a National Record Certificate for his aerial photos of Vietnamese landscapes. Photo: Family provided |
Previously, in 2014, the son of artist Quynh Son, journalist - photographer Ngo Minh Dao, was also awarded a Record Certificate by the Vietnam Record Organization for the content: "Viewing from the wings of flight the mountains and rivers of Vietnam" - a photo book that collects the most color and black and white photos of Vietnamese landscapes taken from above.
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| Photo book by journalist Minh Dao. Photo: NMC |
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| The handwriting of the late Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet when looking at the photo book of journalist Minh Dao. Photo: NMC |
Journalist Minh Dao was born in 1938 in Quynh Luu, and was part of the first generation of photojournalists for VNA. In the late 1960s, he was a photojournalist in Zone 4 and Battlefield B, then went to work as a photojournalist in the Laos battlefield. After 1975, he returned to work as a special correspondent with the working group of comrades Le Duan, Do Muoi, and Vo Van Kiet, then retired. He has also won many national and international photo awards.
