In focus: The photo Hem Pho Mua Dong (Narrow Alley in Winter) by Le Hoai Phuong won the second prize of the contest.

HA NOI — A monochrome photo entitled Huong Vi Hang Ngay (Daily Taste), capturing a young girl enjoying a cup of coffee, won top prize in a photography category of a contest dubbed Coffee on a Winter's Morning.

Taken by amateur photographer Dinh Manh Tai, 26, from the northern province of Vinh Phuc, the photo was deemed a modest but beautiful one.

"It meets the contest's demands, such as good light, structure, character's appearance and the angle's focus," said Nguyen Viet Thanh, a juryman.

"Everyone recognises the beauty in the modest photo," he said. "I even feel the coffee cup's fragrance and taste radiate from the photo."

The contest was inspired by the way that a fragrant cup of coffee to start a new day can warm people up in fiercely cold weather.

Launched last December for coffee lovers and artists alike by The Thao & Van Hoa (Sports&Culture) newspaper and sponsored by Nescafe brand, the contest concluded yesterday.

The organisers received more than 3,000 entries for the two categories: photography and writing.

Many freelance photographers and writers from abroad also sent their entries to the contest.

A story by HCM City-based Nguyen Che Quan, 30, on the love between mother and son as told from the lens of their shared habit of drinking coffee won the top prize in the writing category.

It's based on the author's life and his childhood memories, he said. — VNS