Artist Le Van Vinh and moments of life

(Baonghean) -Perhaps no one in Vinh in the past did not know about Hoa Binh Photo Studio - one of the first photo studios in Vinh and its small owner Le Van Vinh. Born in 1934, this year, photographer Le Van Vinh has reached the age of 80. In the middle of the bustling city, his garden house in a small alley on Le Loi Street still retains the old features of a photo studio from decades ago. And the story over a cup of tea in the early morning full of mist and smoke helped me understand more about the life of artist Le Van Vinh, a career closely tied to the ups and downs of his homeland, his country...

His father was from Hanoi, a famous chef on French merchant ships (later the head chef of Vinh Giao Te, who served the Geneva Friendship Committee in Nghe An); his mother was from Bac Ninh, skilled in making tofu, Le Van Vinh was born in De That Street when his parents chose Vinh Town as their place to live and work. He said: “My mother worked hard to raise us by selling tofu. At that time, my father often followed the French officials to the colonies, so my mother took care of the family alone. In Vinh, there were also my uncles, all of whom were workers at Truong Thi - Ben Thuy.”

Artist Le Van Vinh

Because he was often sick, unable to study further, and unable to do other heavy work, Le Van Vinh decided to learn photography from a kind neighbor near his house at the age of 15. The neighbor, who was also his first teacher, was NSNA Tran Dac Bach (who later became a reporter for Vietnam Image Newspaper). After 3 years of working hard with cameras and printers, he mastered the profession and opened his own studio at home, named Hoa Binh Photo Studio. It was one of the first and famous photo studios in Vinh. Knowing the reputation of photographer Le Van Vinh, from 1953 to 1954, the Town mobilized him to follow the workers and laborers of the large construction site 311 Lien khu 4 to record their working moments on the Vinh-Muong Xen route to serve the Upper Laos campaign, and to welcome international delegations to Vietnam.

He remembers, those days made him - a 20-year-old boy with a weak soul, grow up with hardships. Until now, he still laughs at himself when he says: There were nights when I cried, cried because of the suffering, because I could not sleep when many insects crawled all over my body in the deep forest. Yet the workers, laborers..., they still worked hard. They shed so much sweat, blood on the arduous route. The big film camera, a roll of film that could only take 8 photos, always made him feel cumbersome and entangled. But that vibrant life awakened a vague strength in his heart. He pressed the camera tirelessly, on the bumpy roads, on the steep mountain slopes. He took pictures of quick breaks, of smiles still covered with dirt shining in the sun, of calloused hands... And he took pictures of all the determination and unity of a generation, of a nation. Only when he was struck down by a severe malarial fever, and thought he would not survive, did he return...

He did not understand what miracle had helped him overcome the “death door” that time. Perhaps because so many events, so many changes in his homeland were in need of his enthusiasm and talent? Having just recovered from his illness, he was assigned by the Public Security Department to take photos of the welcoming ceremony for Nghe An prisoners from Con Dao. He remembered that from a small ship, he went out to welcome a large ship carrying thousands of prisoners to Cua Hoi Port. He was stunned when thousands of skeletons appeared before his eyes. Some had broken legs, some had broken arms, some had lost their sight, some had all kinds of illnesses... with tattered clothes, being welcomed back into the arms of his homeland. When he raised his camera to take a photo, he could not hold back his emotions. He stood there crying after taking a few dozen photos, and then, he could not hold the camera anymore. One of his photos was later published in the “Image” newspaper No. 2 of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam about this event.

In 1956, he was transferred to follow Group 2 - Land Reform Team to record images of landlords' exploitation of the poor in Nam Dan, Hung Nguyen. After that, he returned and enthusiastically participated in youth work at Vinh Town Youth Union, was elected as Secretary of Youth of Ward 1, then Chairman of Vinh Town Photography Cooperative. During this period, he participated in the cultural supplementary movement and was awarded the Emulation Fighter Certificate and Emulation Fighter Badge.

During the fierce years of the war against the US, he had a "position" in the Vinh City's American Crime Investigation Board (at that time, Vinh was called a city). With vivid photos of the crimes of the American invaders, the pain they poured on this homeland, people can clearly see the hardships, the readiness to face danger, both the love and hatred of the artist-soldier Le Van Vinh. The photos awakened conscience, the photos worth a thousand words reached the international community, helping friends understand more clearly about the Vietnam War, adding to the voice of the fight to protect justice. That was the image of American B52 planes bombing Nghi Phu, Tan Thang..., people dying like straw. That was the image of the body of a baby about 1 year old lying on its side next to a bomb crater, at that time the smoke of the bombs was still billowing. That was the image of bodies being thrown into the air, caught in tree branches. An entire city desolate, devastated in the rain of bombs...

.He was also wounded in the arm while taking a picture of our anti-aircraft artillery position when shooting at American planes near Vinh Station. At that time, he was in the bunker, raising his camera to take a picture when a piece of bomb flew towards him. Holding his bleeding arm, looking at the bunker about 100 meters away, a photojournalist, “probably from TTX” (he remembered) had died in the series of American bombs. When the bombs stopped, he held back his pain and ran out when he heard the cheers that we had shot down an American plane. An enemy pilot had died. At that time, he raised his camera to take a picture of the remaining half of the pilot’s face lying next to the plane wreckage… The incomplete face captured in the lens reminded him of it until now.

The photo of the prisoners returning from Con Dao was published in the second issue of Vietnam Image Newspaper by photographer Le Van Vinh.

He - a photographer, should have been more moved by the beauty of this life, but because of the war that had been unleashed on his homeland, he chose and was chosen to record the hatred and pain. The moments when he pressed the shutter were sometimes just a hair's breadth away from death. "But in my heart or the heart of any patriotic citizen, there is an urge to live with the hardships, the pain, the glory of the nation" - he said so with all simplicity and pride. And in the hundreds of thousands of painful moments of war, his photos still radiate faith and love.

He rummaged through the cabinet to show me the photo “Children seeing off father to the battlefield” he took in 1960. In the black and white photo, the soldier tightly hugs his 12-year-old daughter. He bends down, his eyes full of affection as he looks at his daughter. The little girl smiles brightly, her eyes are black, her arms around her father’s neck. He said that this soldier and his daughter lived in Hanoi. The little girl followed her father to the battlefield and said goodbye in Vinh. The moment he pressed the shutter was also the moment he was so moved that he could hardly contain himself. They were so beautiful, so noble… The most sacred, most harmonious feelings of love for the country, love for family overflowed in their eyes, in their gestures. The photo has made him and the soldier’s family still maintain a connection until today…

There are still many moments of over 60 years of holding the camera, to preserve as documents, he has submitted them to the State for management. He regrets most that many valuable photos of the war time were lost after the bomb fire. From the old camera that could only adjust the speed by rotating the aperture to many later, more modern ones; from Hoa Binh photo studio to the famous Co Nghe photo studio in Vinh city, giving us a portrait of a "photographer" who lived by photography and gained glory from photography. After the war, he quietly worked on his profession, quietly looking for peaceful moments of life to keep for himself.

He turned to landscape and art photography, then passed on the profession to his children. Four out of five of his children followed their father's career. They are the owners of famous photo studios in Vinh City today: Co Nghe, Tra Giang, Hong Nhung, Quang Phuc... As for him, in his career as a photographer, his photos have been to five major exhibitions in Hanoi, many exhibitions in Vinh (including one exhibition during the anti-American war). He once won a first prize in the North Central Region Photo Festival, and until last year, the nearly 80-year-old "photographer" still went all the way to Ban Don (Dak Lak) to take a photo of Ban Don elephants.

Not seeking fame or fortune, he quietly lived in an old house with his second son - People's Artist Le Quang Dung. That's why he ignored the consideration for the title of People's Artist decades ago, and only received it about 10 years ago, according to the earnest wishes of his children.

Every day, he still quietly waters the flowers in front of the porch, eats meals prepared by his wife, and is satisfied with his life as a photographer "almost over" - he said with a smile.

Article and photos: Thuy Vinh