The Red Dzao, a photo from Lao Cai, North East

Photographer's Note

The old French hill station of Sapa has been for sometimes a popular destination for vacationing Vietnamese seeking to avoid the lowland heat. Most of the people who live in town are ethnic Vietnamese, but during the day we would see many local ethnic minorities coming into town to do business. These hill tribes can easily be identified by the variations of their colorful clothing. The two dominant ethnic minorities around Sapa are the Black Hmong and the Red Dzao.

The Red Dzao women stand apart than the entrepreneurial Black Hmong. The women wear some of the most colorful and diverse costumes of all ethnic groups but can be identified by their black indigo trousers richly embroidered with flower or small star patterns. Their black tops are embroidered, often with flower motifs and the ensemble is topped by red scarves and the elaborately hugh shaped red turban. In addition, they shave off their eyebrows and foreheads as this is traditionally regarded as a sign of beauty.

This is a portrait of Red Dzao woman, shot taken at Tha Pin village north east of Sapa on a cloudy cool morning. In the rapid global uniformization of today's world, it is refreshing to see this untouched beauty in humanity. But whether this hill tribe culture will survive into the 21st century is unclear. No one would want to deny them progress, or a better standard of living, brought by the introduction of electricity, education and tourist revenues. However, it would be sad that as in other countries, progress could only be gained by cleansing the tribes of their age-old traditional culture.....

lousat, krzychu30, Suppiluliuma, CLODO, SnapRJW, Budapestman, bayno, delpeoples, mayjayne, maria-v1981, eldancer1, ourania, adramad, marabu61, ACL1978, jhm, bukitgolfb301, Cricri, josepmarin, siolaw, aliabazari has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

lousat (139298) 2012-09-27 4:21

Magnificent portrait,there is a magic light inside very well managed,i like the fantastic details and colors in a original black background.Have a nice day and thanks,Luciano

krzychu30 (15512) 2012-09-27 4:39

Hello Abmdsudi,
you know exactly how to take an excellent portait picture.This one is great!So clear and expressive in its message.Although I prefer portraits in B&W I must say this one suits really well in color.Excellently composed and framed image.I like these strong,contrasting colors.Well done!
Have a nice day
Krzysztof

Suppiluliuma (3931) 2012-09-27 4:45

The details of her dress and accessories are eye-catching. The narrative is rich as usual, which tought me new things on a subject I believed I know a bit.

The cloudy day seems to have a resulted in a difficult light, but you managed it well.

TFS.

Erdem

sevy (58) 2012-09-27 5:01

Hello,

I like a lot this portrait: the lightning is beautifult and the dark suit with the dark background is making the reader naturally focusion on the face and the red hair cap.

Yves.

dekanski (9365) 2012-09-27 5:36 [Comment]

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federico (6109) 2012-09-27 5:55

hi abmsudi, great portriat here, the light is just superb, and you managed to capture so well a kind of natural expression on her, very interesting also her dress and decorations
regards
fred

Janusz1974 (795) 2012-09-27 6:55

Hello Abmdsudi,
Great shot again !
Very impressive shot but your own style as usual.
Congratulation on your super job!
Thanks for sharing and best regards

rbellemare (2109) 2012-09-27 7:05

Hello Abmdsudi,

Very nice portrait of yours. Great subject and great colours.

Nicely done.

R駛ean

CLODO (45116) 2012-09-27 7:18

Hello Abmdsudi

A good woman portrait with a general diagonal line. The black areas (cloth and background) enhance the skin color and the red hues. The white dots in her eyes give more life to this portrait. She feel comfortable in frot of your lens, we can feel it.
Best regards
CLODO

yquem46 (38752) 2012-09-27 7:39

hello abmdsudi
An excellent close up portrait with a very nice side light
Much delicacy and intimacy in this shot
Bravo, another good one
Best regards
Patrick

Bluejeans (64251) 2012-09-27 9:33

Ola Admdsudi ,
Um belo retrato desta mulher, gostei muito dos detalhes da roupa , boas cores , parab駭s!!
Um abra輟 Gon軋lo

SnapRJW (31631) 2012-09-27 9:49

Hello Abmdsudi - This is excellent. I love the composition in which the dark BG and black jacket play an important role. They allow the softly lit face and the decorative embroidery to come to the fore without distraction. The red scarf and touch of red at the throat add a perfect colour contrast and are nicely balanced within the whole. Very good focus on the expressive eyes. Really this is excellent. Your note too is informative and I hear what you say about progress and culture degradation, a dilemma we face here too.

fabbs99 (17179) 2012-09-27 10:19

Hello Abmdsudi,

Very sharp portrait of the lady with colorful attire.The expression on her face is wonderful.She seems to be surprised.Fine natural colours and good composition.Nice work.

Best Regards
Farhat

leo61 (0) 2012-09-27 11:13

Hi Abmsudi!
Great portrait!
Love her facialexpression and the dark background.
Regards,Leo

Fis2 (170807) 2012-09-27 12:32

Witaj Abmdsudi!
Curious face.
Excellent portrait.
I like frame and colors.
Well done.
Best regards
Krzysztof

ciakgiak (30) 2012-09-27 15:20

Ciao Abmdsudi,
Gran bel ritratto, splendido, con una luce meravigliosa e con una emozionante espressione del viso, molto intenso ed espressivo... Complimenti.
Un caro saluto
Giorgio

siamesa (28231) 2012-09-27 16:29

Boa noite Abmdsudi

I learned how to recognize your photos before seeing your name. They are specials.Perfect portrait .
Abra輟s
maria

Budapestman (82620) 2012-09-27 18:24

Hi Abmdsudi,
a beautiful portrait with superb composition and very attractive details, great quality and splendid lights, Tfs! Have a nice week! Kellemes hetet k咩疣ok!
Gygy

bayno (18348) 2012-09-27 23:19

Hello Abmdsudi,
I see that the woman has collaborated giving you a natural expression and an intense gaze, the black background emphasizes the subject and colors, beautiful details of the traditional dress...super portrait..
regards,
Valter

mauro61 (53429) 2012-09-28 0:34

ciao Abmdsudi,
la luce � perfettamente distribuita su tutto il ritratto e il soggetto � ben collocato all'interno dell'inquadratura.
Ben colta l'espressione della donna,
buona giornata
maurizio

dkmurphys (79209) 2012-09-28 1:28

Hello,
What an attractive portrait! I love the colors and the design elements of woman's coat. Well taken, enjoy a fine weekend.

Daniel

COSTANTINO (116542) 2012-09-28 3:15

Hello
great work my friend,the face of this shot looks
so alive and the framing like a window...
shot with great lightness and sharpness
the colors are very vivid creating a
particular atmosphere,
have a nice weekend
Costantino

delpeoples (60342) 2012-09-28 3:55

Hi dear Abmdsudi

The light here is what's key to the beauty and technical quality of the photo. I love the stark colours of the red and black and white. But I just keep coming back to the light on this lady's beautiful face and skin. She's just luminous. Her look is very natural and once again, the good rapport between photographer and subject is obvious. Thanks for sharing, have a beautiful Friday.

Warm regards
Lisa

mayjayne (7204) 2012-09-28 4:05

Dear Abmdsudi,

Nice portrait, good natural light management. The red accents stand out well against the dark background.

TFS,
May

maria-v1981 (10966) 2012-09-28 4:13

Hello Abmdsudi,
Absolutely beautiful. What a special portrait. Beautiful texture and use of that woman's look. Super intense, i love it.
Have a nice day,
Regards,
Maria

chrisvek (7003) 2012-09-28 5:01

Hello Abmdsudi

Very good portrait with special details and unique expression.Also very good framework.Well done!

Best Regards
Chris

eldancer1 (36343) 2012-09-28 9:04

Awesome portrait of this lovely lady! Great use of available lighting and good use of the dark background to bring out your subject. Good dof with sharp details especially the eyes and wonderful colors. Very well done, tfs.

ourania (51103) 2012-09-28 10:43

Hello Abmdsudi,
an excellent portrait that impresses with the elegance and effectiveness of the composition and the warmth of the subject's expression. I like very much the diagonal placement of the elegant lady in the frame that exalts both the embroidery of her V necked top and her lovely face and expression. Her eyes are sparkling and the eye contact seems meaningful and intriguing. Your lighting is exquisite juxtaposing a suggestive darkness with the warmth and luminosity of her face and scarf. Beautiful work, congratulations and thank you!
All the best, have a great weekend,
Ourania

adramad (73004) 2012-09-28 12:55

Hello Abmdsudi.
A superb portrait of this woman, the dark background and black suit, makes your face and dress ornaments stand and 3D., The sharpness of the image allows us to see every detail and textures of both the face and embroidery .
A vivid expression with that look that seems out of the picture.
Fantastically well done.
Have a nice weekend.
Best regards.
Luis.

marabu61 (11587) 2012-09-28 13:32

Hello Abmdsudi
Thank you for your informative note. It is at the same a good thing for those people to progress in modernity and a bad thing that their customs get lost in the process.
Your portrait of the women is splendid. Set against a black background she stands out beautifully.
have a good weekend
Daniel

ACL1978 (7511) 2012-09-28 13:56

Another of your brilliant portraits, Abmdsudi - always wonderfully lit, beautifully presented. In this one, her clothes and the background seem to meld together, isolating her face and the designs down the shirt in a really attractive way. Great rich reds as well. Thanks also for the very informative note!

Andrew

jhm (211736) 2012-09-29 1:15

Hello Abmdsudi,

Congratulations for this technical perfect picture, the one eye perfect in middle of the picture, also the hight is perfect.
This everything against a lovely black background.
Very well composition, well done, TFS.

Have a nice weekend,
John.

bukitgolfb301 (54014) 2012-09-29 2:10

Hello dear Ambmdsudi YTH

Ya great RedDzao woman's portrait shot.
Your Vietnam sereis so good so I would like to follow you and will up some shots of Vietnam from my old stocks. Great sharpness and perfect framework as usual. Thank you for your sharing and have a good wekend!

Takero from Tokyo

Cricri (176) 2012-09-30 1:15

Hi Abmdsudi
Le fond sombre, le contraste du rouge et noir de ces v黎ements, avec une belle lumi鑽e sur on visage , en fait un portrait magnifique, expression a la fois un peu 騁onn馥 et souriante
Bon dimanche
cricri

mesutilgim (0) 2012-09-30 1:38

Hello Abmdsudı,
Amazing portrait from Vietnam.
Perfect pov and layout, very good sharpness. Many interesting notes.
TFS and best regards
MESUT ILGIM

siudzi (34141) 2012-09-30 1:58

Hi,
Amazing portrait picture of this beauty. Love her expression full of emotions. Perfectly executed and composed. Thanks for sharing.

Warm regards,
Malgorzata

josepmarin (59385) 2012-09-30 4:22

Hi Abmdsudi,
I have few words to comment and to value this photo, because I believe that it is a perfect portrait, impeccably executed, with a great control of the light and of the field depth, as well as with a great sharpness.
Simply extraordinary, my friend.
Congratulations!
Best regards,
Josep

jemaflor (147184) 2012-10-03 10:59

Hi A,
Excellent portrait perfectly managed, light is nice as the attitude of the lady and expressive glance, good contrast with the black clothes.

siolaw (38294) 2012-10-11 7:19

Hi Abmdsudi
A straightforward portrait with perfect framing and good use of available light.
No distraction from the neutral and dark background.
And above all an excellent subject in this fine lady.
Good job!
Greetings
Laurent

Waylim (25436) 2012-10-12 16:32

Hi Abmdsudi,

Not if but when I make it to Vietnam one day, this would be one of the area I want to visit for the interesting ethnic tribes.

This is an excellent portrait shot. Something one expect to see on cultural magazine or museum. Great shot.

Way

aliabazari (22233) 2014-09-03 20:58

Hi abmdsudi
She looked very beautiful portrait. The facade is very attractive choice. Regards ...