Silhouette of a man skateboarding in front of a LED advertising display. Shot by Lee Starnes, Vietnam photographer.

Making the Monotonous Memorable

May 27, 2019 in travel

hear it all the time, “I’m bored of shooting the same old stuff.” Most of the time its from my own mouth and I’ve said it more times than I’d like to admit.

As photographers, we want to see new things, shoot new locations, create new art. That’s all well and good, but there is so much beauty in the seemingly mundane that we could shoot the same location for weeks on end and still find something unique and interesting. We just need to shift our perspective. Coming up with something fresh and different is a challenge, but shooting repeatedly in the same location pushes us to dig deeper, look closer, to slow down. It allows us to become intimate with a place and its people. “Seeing old things with new eyes” can add layers into a story that perhaps a first look had missed.

Imperial City of Hue with purple flowers bed in foreground against a dramatic sky. Central Vietnam landscape. Shot by Lee Starnes for a Pics of Asia photography workshop.

Central Vietnam Workshop and Tour Roundup

May 20, 2019 in travel

We just wrapped our most recent central Vietnam photo workshop and tour for Pics of Asia and we couldn’t have been happier with the students, locations, and the endless supply of coffee we had this year. Starting off in Hoi An, we ventured a bit south to one my personal favorite fishing villages before heading back up north to Hue to explore the old capital and the surrounding countryside. Striving to keep things interesting, we discussed travel, portraiture, street and landscape photography. Whether we were photographing frenetic wet markets or peaceful sunset vistas, we always came back to the importance of slowing down, enjoying the moment, being prepared for when the shot presents itself, and forming relationships with the people we came across on our journey. What we lacked in sleep, we certainly made up in spades in the form of unforgettable experiences. In case you haven’t checked out my article on the importance of slowing down and breaking bread, click here!

Collage of a Vietnamese bamboo artisan working, documenting the process of splitting bamboo into thinner strips before weaving in a craft cooperative in Central Vietnam. Shot by Lee Starnes.

Slowing down: Building Relationships through Photography

May 16, 2019 in travel, portrait

Last week, I headed back out on the road with Pics of Asia for another workshop and tour in Central Vietnam. We expanded our tour this year from 3 days to 5 days and included stops in the former capital Hue, the ancient town of Hoi An, and their surrounding countrysides. One of my favorite tours of the year, we explore serene lagoons, energetic markets, dabble in street photography, witness incredible sunrises, and drink far too much coffee.

Wearing a salmon stripe shirt and navy shorts, Matthew Holland pets his French Bulldog on a muted sky blue sofa. Photographed by Lee Starnes for Holland Preconstruction website launch.

Recent Work: Holland Preconstruction

April 09, 2019

Recently, a friend and fellow French Bulldog owner, Matthew Holland of Holland Preconstruction, reached out to us as he was looking to give the launch of their new website a lifestyle look and feel. He wanted to show his company’s personality - to eliminate the corporate wall between the business and the people who make them. The brief was essentially this - Show process in how we do what we do, a fun headshot, be a bit cheeky, and of course, let’s have a picture of Dobby the Frenchie - after all he is the Head of Staff Well-being. Talk about a dream brief.

Rhododendron tree blooms in front of misty forrest landscape. Road to Mount Fansipan. Shot by Lee Starnes.

Climbing for Charity: Fansipan

March 25, 2019

Over the past few weeks we’ve been raising funds for Saigon Children’s Charity as we prepared to climb northern Vietnam’s Mount Fansipan, Indochina’s tallest mountain at 3,143 meters. The time finally came to make good on our commitment and headed up to Sapa to start our journey this past week. We started the trek at Tram Ton, Vietnam’s highest pass at 2,100 meters, and arrived in high camp 12 kilometers and 6 hours later. A bit slower than the 1 hour 37 minute record some alien apparently conquered the journey, but we were proud and excited none the less.

Vietnamese thrash/punk band Cut Lon performs in Pikachu costume. Punk concert at Soma Art Cafe. Shot by Lee Starnes, Vietnam photographer.

Saigon Punk Chronicles : Cut Lon, The Dumpies, District 105, 7 Uppercuts, Pick Supplier

March 06, 2019

This past weekend, Hanoi’s Cut Lon had their record release here in Saigon at Soma Art Cafe. This was a classic example of hearing a band and then seeing them being a bit…different. Clad in Pikachu costumes, Cut Lon got on stage and absolutely shredded. Think youth crew meets thrash - circle pits, sing alongs, and stage dives. Yeah, a bit of cognitive dissonance with the whole Pikachu shtick, but one of the things I love about the scene here is the complete lack of elitism that plagues so many scenes in the States. Kids having fun and saying something while they do it… how can you not love it? So bring on the Pickachu.

Sillhouette of man fishing by the lake. Sunset in Dalat, Vietnam. Shot by Lee Starnes, Vietnam photographer.

Catching Up: Dalat over Xmas.

February 25, 2019

Over the past few weeks, as you may have noticed, I have been a bit off the radar. Partially voluntary and partially by sheer logistics. The lunar New Year, or Tet as they say here in Vietnam, brought a much needed respite and a bit of digital detox was in order. I’ll have plenty of images up here in the coming days (Indonesia was incredible!) so check back for those. That said, I had such a backlog of images and I wasn’t quite sure where they would live, so I’ve decided to use this space to show some of those.

Antique collection of records, ID cards, coins, books, newspapers, envelopes, and lottery tickets. Saigon street photography. Shot by Lee Starnes, Ho Chi Minh City-based photographer.

Seeing Things with New Eyes

January 17, 2019

I’ve lived in Saigon for over 5 years now, and unfortunately, I find myself shooting Saigon less and less these days. What was novel is now the norm, shoots go on autopilot, the penny is less shiny. blah blah blah you know how it goes…in a nut shell, I got bored. And boredom is the biggest disease in the world, darling.