On Lunar New Year's Eve in Hanoi, the entire city erupts with activity in preparation for the festival.
As the entire city shuts down in the days following (the only time of year this happens), everyone flocks to markets to buy their fresh ingredients while they can.
Scooters and mopeds are washed to bring good luck for the new year, families gather for photos and clothes shopping, lucky money and other objects are burnt as offerings for ancestors, and fresh flowers – especially peach blossom branches – are purchased as gifts and as symbols of good luck.
Needless to say, it's chaos in a less-than-orderly shopping environment. Come with me as I document the people and moments of Hanoi during these festive preparations.
I captured these scenes using my Canon R5 with a 24-70mm f/2.8 lens and a GoPro atop it. All images were edited using CaptureOne.
To help make documenting your city and the destinations you travel to through street photography rewarding, I invite you to check out my tips on overcoming the awkwardness of street photography.
This is the third part of a five-part series on Hanoi: the first documents how life is on display in the streets of Hanoi, the second shows what a realistic day of street photography looks like in Hanoi, and the fourth shows Hanoi’s craziest Flower Market on Lunar New Year’s Eve.
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Below the video, you’ll find my digital zine, designed to be scrolled, of my favourite images from this set on Lunar New Year’s Eve.
This video is part of my five-part series on Hanoi, Vietnam, during the Lunar New Year (Tết). Subscribe to my YouTube for more street photography videos and POV content to come from all over Asia including Japan, Thailand, and South Korea.
I’m a street photographer who has recently settled in London, England since I filmed these scenes in Hanoi. If you’re into street photography and want to shoot, please don’t hesitate to reach out!
