mo : no 20111

First published 2011

Copyright © 2011, Irfan Darian and ID Photography. All rights reserved.

All rights reserved. No part of this publicationmay be reproduced in any material form (includingphotocopying or storing in any medium by electronicmeans and whether or not transiently or incidentally tosome other use of this publication) without the writtenpermission of the copyright holder.

Applications for the copyright holderʼs writtenpermission to reproduce any part of this publicationshould be addressed to irfandarian@gmail.com or atʻIrfan Darianʼ or/and ʻID Photographyʼ at Facebook.com.

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scenes from ben thanh the last kampung market people

the can gio story italy the first fortnight

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Scenes from Ben Thanh...Being one of the more touristy market in Ho Chi Minh City, Ben Thanh suffers from a state of confusion. Where one would see the convergence of tourists from all over the world partaking in what the market has to offer, it also alternates itself as a central location for small-scale entrepreneurship, meeting place, a photography hot spot...and many others.

But beyond the veneer of innocence that the market seems to portray, I could sense that inner spirit of the Vietnamese people within. The can-do attitude, coupled with a tinge of entrepreneurship and innovation, layered with that inner strength that they have, while still holding on to that physical nostalgia that the architecture of the market seems to pervade. All of this seems to point to that indomitable spirit that this place represents and reflects of the people there.

And what is more interesting too, is the richness that Ben Thanh offers...no, not about the physical literal manifestations, but the richness of opportunities that the place had offered, is offering, and will offer, to its people.

And to me too...the visual richness that it has to offer for my photos.

These are my scenes from Ben Thanh.

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A tilt-shift view of the Ben Thanh market, from the rooftop of Lavendar Hotel, HCMC, Vietnam, on an early weekday morning. The hustle and bustle surrounding Ben Thanh was already apparent from this angle.

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Motorcycles are the main mode of transport for the ordinary folks here in HCMC, Vietnam. Fast, cheap and reliable. But they could also be the bane of the transportation gridlock that defines the urban landscape.

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Entrepreneurship is not just a matter of the passionate and those with business acumen over here. It is also about survival. Self-running and street-side vendors are an ubiquitous site.

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For those who would like to take things a little slower, and capture the sights and sound at their own time, there are slower modes of transport available. At just a finger-snap away.

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Scenes of poverty are apparent at certain sections of the market. A boy was seen here playing with paper trash that had just been thrown away by a passer-by. The mum sits in the background, having her lunch, and oblivious to her son’s new-found ‘toy’.

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In the midst of the heavy traffic, a ‘mobile’ cobbler went about his business, repairing shoes, and displaying his wares to interested potential customers.

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...and some just let their ‘window’ display do the selling.

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Riding a motorcycle is not just the sole domain of the boys over here. Most probably derived from the need to be mobile.

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A snapshot of the traffic around Ben Thanh.

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A typical shop, shares a space with make-shift street-side shops.

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Ben Thanh never sleeps. It gets just as busy when the sun sets. Here’s the night market along the roads surrounding Ben Thanh.

The last kampungBeing the last remaining 'kampung' (village) in mainland Singapore, Kampung Lorong Buangkok is the very antithesis of modern-day Singapore. Located on the north-eastern section of the island, the remaining traditional kampung houses, which numbers less than a dozen, is a marked contrast to the high-rise public housing buildings just a mere stone's throw away.

But what the village offers even in that small piece of land is a peek to what Singapore was, just a generation ago. The proximity of the houses, the centralized location of the mosque as a primary centre of socialization, the 'disorderliness' yet openness of the village...all these somehow adds to the character of what a kampung was all about back when it was the geographical/habitation norm.

But alas, the exigencies and competing requirements of modern-day development had a heavy price attached to it, and what remains is indeed the last bastion of 'kampung-hood'. 

Would this spirit still live amongst us, in our concrete-dwelling modern-day habitats? Who knows...but what I do know, is that these are indeed, the last scenes...of the last kampung in mainland Singapore.

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A rattan chair hangs by a rope, surrounded by a couple of cheap plastic chairs. Obviously a hang-out place, long forgotten.

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A once magnificent-looking gate still standing there...battered, but still useful.

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Old-school mail box. But still used, and usable.

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A letter-box in the world of emails...

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The lone sofa...

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‘Mail delivery’ to God...yes it is still working.

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With the House of God, as the centre-piece.

Market peopleIn this photography project, I decided to revisit the market that have managed to introduce me to the joys of Portraiture and Documentary Photography. It was refreshing, yet somewhat a challenge for me to be doing such a project, given my preference for capturing photos of non-human entities. But I supposed it is through these goals of challenging your norms, and going out of your comfort zones, could you then grow and develop your strengths.

In this project, I have decided to capture the essence of the market that I visited. It was not easy to get people to be photographed, given the Asian's sense of shyness, and suspicions about such things. But alas, after some moments of searching and constantly looking for that 'photo-worthiness' and essence of what makes the place tick and breathe, I found them...my essence, in some of the photos...well i hope!

And I hope you would find as much visual joy looking at these, as I had trying to look, and capture them too.

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the Can Gio storyAn environmental disaster area during the Vietnam War, these series of pictures tries to capture the Vietnamese's desire to turn this Ground Zero of an environmental warzone into a biosphere.

Spanning an area of over 75 000 ha, the Can Gio Biosphere Reserve is now declared to be a UNESCO site, unlike the scene that pervades it during the Vietnam War. Used by the local soldiers as a safe haven, the huge swath of greenery was rained by over 4 million litres of herbicides and other chemicals, and its adverse impacts was so deeply embedded into the eco-system that it required an entire generation of dedicated care for it to be what it is today.

This docu-story captures the various activities that are only beginning to take place within the biosphere, and the steps taken by the local authorities to ensure its sustainability. Hopefully it is a gentle reminder to the current and future generations, about the fragility of Mother Nature.

These pictures are taken over a period of 3 months, with 2 visitations to the Biosphere. My wish and hope is that these photos and the story would serve as a reminder, and perhaps an inspiration, to what Man's steely determination can achieve in our constant fight to ensure Earth's survival.

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Regardless of where you are, morning rush hour traffic is always a killer.

A local on a motorcyclist that didn’t mind being photographed, taking a boat ride to cross over the the Can Gio district.

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Our quiet but skillful boat captain. He did a three-point turn in a very narrow river.

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One of the local’s children, bursting out in tears as I inched towards him to take a picture. But it didn’t take long for him to recover from the scare.

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One of the floating platforms used by the caretaker district for commercial-level oyster farming.

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One of the workers taking care of the oyster floating platform. The platforms are rather small, hence can house only one or two persons at a time. Sometimes they do have pets, usually dogs, for company.

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Harvesting the oysters...fresh from the source. It does look dirty, but trust me, its really good and tasty.

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A close-up of a freshly-harvested oyster.

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Waiting in line, at the ferry terminal, for the ferry to bring us across.

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A surge of motorcyclists rushing in to occupy the limited space in the ferry. A common sight during the morning/evening rush hour.

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With they meagre things that they have, the people were still kind enough to offer us drinks during our visits to their humble huts.

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A soothing touch and work from mummy, to soothe the excitement felt by the child over our presence.

italyKnown for it’s culture, climate, architecture...and many more, Italy is the first stop, of hopefully many more European holidays along the Mediterranean sea. These are the pictures of my family’s vacation in December 2010.

We started on the 2-week vacation at Milan, the city of fashion icons, and breathtaking architecture. Shuttled our way down to Florence, before heading to Venice, Capri, Pisa and Pompei. We ended off the trip at Rome, which includes a visit to the Vatican City.

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Milan...the city of fashion, architecture, and of course, AC Milan.

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Inside view, looking out, from the main Duomo at Milan.

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Ferris-wheel at a local fun-fair, located by the sides of Lake Como.

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Venice...for the hopeless romantic.

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Gondolas...queueing for customers.

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Cathedral..

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A horse carriage passing by a H&M store. Florence.

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Duomo at Pisa...

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View from the top of (the Leaning Tower of) Pisa.

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An avenue along Assisi.

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Pompei...with Mount Vesuvius in the background.

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Strolling along the ferry terminal of Capri.

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An avenue in Rome...

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Ceiling patterns...

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The Colosseum...

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the first fortnighta photo diary of my twins during their first 2 weeks. Born slightly premature (late premature babies), they were put under observation in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for a few weeks before being allowed to leave. These are the pictures that I have managed to capture, over the fortnight, that seems to be the longest 2 weeks ever, of my live.

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The older of the twins, Eliza. She was born a minute earlier, but weighs barely 1.5 kg (just over 3 pounds)

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Eshal is the larger of the twins, but still relatively small for a normal baby, tipping the scales at only 2.08 kg (about 4.5 pounds)

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For a small baby, Eliza is the more feisty of the pair. She was constantly on the lookout for means and ways to get herself out of the swaddle covering her. I guess you can really see streaks of what one is going to be like even at such an early stage of their lives.

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One of the more emotional scenes for me and their mum was to see both of them topless and being UV-rayed to treat their jaundice, with their feeding tubes and all still being attached. It was tough and emotional for both of us to see this scene, but it is something that just needed to be done, to get them to be better.

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One of the small moments of happiness for us was when Eshal, the younger but stronger of the pair, was able to latch-on during the first breast-feeding attempt. It was supposed to be something naturally instinctive for a baby, but nonetheless a scene that is unforgettable for the both of us.

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As mummy’s milk was still working towards full capacity, there were times when it was replaced with formula milk. This is Eshal on the bottle. A sight to behold for someone who has just learned how to suckle barely a couple of days ago.

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The smile that makes all those sacrifices and worries, that much more worth it.

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Take me home mama.Perhaps that’s the plea from Eshal to mama, as her small hands reached out to her.

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Eliza peeking from under her swaddle...

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Eshal was the first to be allowed home after a week. Here she is laying down comfortably in her rocker, and giving us that cute look of hers, with her big, slightly brownish eyes.

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We make it a point to visit Eliza almost everyday. Here she was large enough to be carried by the mother. This was after one of our first few attempts at getting her to suckle.

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Eshal and her beautiful smile...

On a side note, Eliza was soon deemed to be strong enough to be brought home in her third week.

Irfan Darian is an educator, a photographer and a father of twins. Having just picked up photography in 2008, this publication entitled ‘mo:no 2011’is his second effort in producing his very own coffee-table photo ebooks.

Through these collection of photos, Irfan hopes to inspire and share his passion for photography with fellow photographers. His belief that a photo or a set of photos should tell a story, and beyond, can be seen in this collection of pictures that delves into both his professional, and personal lives

To know more about him, and his works, you can be his friend on Facebook (Irfan Darian).Some of his other works can also be seen on his other Facebook page at ‘ID Photography’. Do remember to become his page fan.

His other works could be seen at http://irfandarianphotography.blogspot.com/

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