Bui Xuan Viet of southern Dong Nai Province has crisscrossed Vietnam to document sunrises, drawn to the contrast and colors that appear when night gives way to day.
For him, every photograph carries a story.
One such story began in Lao Chai Town, Lao Cai Province, in September 2019 (pictured).
The northern mountainous village was still remote and short of creature comforts, but a local family welcomed him with a meal and refused any payment despite his insistence.
Another memory is from Sa Pa Town, where in December 2019 he photographed oolong tea hills at dawn during cherry blossom season. To catch the blooms he followed travel groups for updates, and rushed to shoot before the flowers faded.
This photo was taken in Ngai Thau Ha Village in Lao Cai Province, in August 2019. The village is famed for its landscapes, and he saw smoke rising from a house, creating beautiful rays of light. But the frame felt empty at first, lacking emotion, and so he waited.
"Suddenly, a mother and child walked hand in hand into the scene, and the gift I received was this photograph," he says.
Viet dreams of completing a full sunrise series across Vietnam.
In Hoang Su Phi Town in Tuyen Quang Province, in September 2022 he photographed terraced rice fields from a hillside homestay built for sweeping views.
But sometimes nature resists. In Chu Va village in Lai Chau Province, in September 2020 rain clouded his week-long trip. Staying with locals, he joined them for fishing every day waiting for the sun to show up again.
In Cao Bang City in October 2020 he managed to get only one sunrise photo from three visits. Sunrises in Cao Bang and Lang Son provinces have left among the strongest impressions on him, but he has yet to capture a satisfying shot.
"The weather hasn't been on my side, so I hope next time I can try again without regret."
A popular spot with photographers, Rai Cave in Khanh Hoa Province, was where Viet went in January 2018.
He noted that the challenge was not finding a good angle, but waiting for nature to oblige. From November to February, when the waves are at their strongest, the view is at its most dramatic. At low tide and sunrise, the stone shelf reveals itself, and waves crash over its surface. As the water cascades down the ledge, it flows back into the sea like a waterfall under the morning sun.
On Phu Quy Island in January 2021 gales gusting at around 70 km per hour left both passengers and the crew of the boat he was on seasick.
"Despite the exhaustion, the storm gave me the shots I wanted," he says.
At Co Thach, 100 kilometers from Phan Thiet Province, he shot a moss-covered beach at dawn in February 2020. Visitors have to rise by 5 a.m. to capture beautiful shots here, Viet says.
He left for Klong Klanh Pass, 50 kilometers from Da Lat City, at 2:30 a.m. to photograph the sunrise over a sea of clouds.
Success required precise conditions: rainfall a few days earlier followed by sunshine, a cool night to form mist and winds to keep clouds in place.
