by Le Huong
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Work of art: Photographer Dao Tien Dat at work. —VNS Photo Le Hong Linh |
HA NOI — Dao Tien Dat began taking photographs at the age of 42, achieving fairly respectable success considering his late start.
"Last year was fruitful for Dat with 84 international and domestic photographic prizes, an impressive result," Le Hong Linh, chairman of the Art Council of the Viet Nam Association of Photographic Artists said.
"His hard work and creativity deserves an honourable mention."
Dat was also recognised last year as an Associate of the Wilmington International Exhibition of Photography and was given the Excellent FIAP title by the Federation of International Photographic Artists.
"Most of his works describe people's fate and are full of humanitarianism and philosophical questions," Linh said.
Born in a village in the central province of Binh Dinh, Dat never considered a career in photography during his difficult childhood and youth. He worked as a real farmer and rubbish trader when he was young and had no idea that a career in photography awaited.
"Each person has their own turning point, which changes their fate," Dat said, "I was shocked at my mother and then father's deaths. I then by chance read an article about Lewis W Hine's photographs in a local newspaper. The article inspired me to take up photography as a way of sharing and expressing deep feelings."
Turning Point is the title he gave to some of his photographs taken on the sand dunes in Binh Thuan Province, which have brought him various prizes at international contests.
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Turning Point by Dao Tien Dat features sand dunes at Binh Thuan. |
He recalled his first field trip on a motorbike to central province of Kon Tum after asking an experienced photographer to help buy a Nikon FG camera. Excited by the trip, he stopped at a photo shop to buy two rolls of celluloid. But discovered that he didn't even know how to put a roll of film into his camera.
After the help of the photography shop owner, he grasped the most basic of photographic skills. Dat still keeps the photos he took during that trip as a valuable memory recording his first steps into photography.
"Dat's photos aren't ground-breaking," said Chu Chi Thanh, former chairman of VAPA, "But he knows how to portray his philosophy of life through light and shadow." His portrayal of a funeral of a Cham ethnic man, shows a dog following the funeral procession, which move slowly along a sand dune, depicting the love of a dog for its lost owner.
"Photography is the art of capturing a moment filtered from reality's chaos. It is the artist's thinking process. He should not take what he sees but what he thinks," Dat said about his creative principle. "That's why my photos are not only images, but also feelings on the beauty of landscapes, and thoughts on people's fates. I don't care how many photos I take, but I instead am concerned about how much the photos express my feelings, whether I'm satisfied with them and whether they are appreciated by the public."
Each year, Dat thinks hard and focuses on a certain topic. He even takes the same scenes many times over different years.
"Life is always changing, but I will always remain fascinated by people," he said. "People and what we do, never grows stale. And it's always my abundant source of creativity."
Since his first steps into photography, he has won 236 prizes, 201 of which were won at international competitions held in 31 countries and territories.
Dat is now a member of the VAPA's management board for the 2010-15 term and is responsible for photographic activities in southern of central highland region.
However, Dat always said that he had never lived off his photography, instead making a living through his wife's little shop in Quy Nhon city. — VNS