2020 is showing itself as a very tough year for Viet Nam heavily burdened by unexpected situations both sparked by COVID-19 and natural disasters. Many professional and amateur photographers in Da Nang made a great dedication to capturing moving images of these unprecedented times.

A photo taken by photographer Huynh Van Truyen at the scene of the Tra Leng landslide in Nam Tra My District, Quang Nam Province.

Photographer Huynh Van Truyen, a member of the Da Nang Photographers’ Club under the city’s Association of Photography, had an unforgettable trip to the shocking remnants following the 28 October deadly disaster in remote mountainous Tra Leng Commune, Nam Tra My District, Quang Nam Province.

In haste, Truyen pursued a tough trip on a long dangerous road to the landslide scene, heading towards the unfortunate fates of the natural blow.

A collection of photos taken by the dedicated photographer was born then, vividly and authentically depicting the haunting images of dangerous roads leading to the landslide scene, everything buried in the mud, faces of grief and loss, and rescue missions racing against time.

In Truyen’s point of views, taking photos of such disasters may not sit well with everyone, but these photos serve a lot of purpose. For some, they are a reminder of an experience they do not want to go through again. For others, disaster photos can be used to get support and relief for the victims and survivors. Newspapers and other printed publications use disaster photos to show people about the depth of calamity and devastation.

Each news photo represents a chance to maintain public awareness of how the victims get through the incident, and what we do to support them and prevent such similar event in the coming time.

In addition to covering the images of natural disasters, Truyen has taken 20 sets of photos on the two coronavirus waves raging in Da Nang. These photos help the public gain deeper insights into how the city strived to effectively respond to the deadly virus. 

There are many memorable images of frontline staff being on duty around the clock at quarantine checkpoints, coronavirus testing processes, and vehicles bringing straded immigrant workers home from Da Nang amidst their fears over infections at that time.

Like Truyen, another photographer, An Binh from the Song Han Artistic Photography Club now still keeps in his mind the moments when she and her colleagues getting dressed in very stuffy personal protective suits for up to four consecutive hours whilst doing the photo shootings at the testing areas of the Da Nang Centre for Disease Control, the Da Nang Lung Hospital and 115 Emergency Centre.

Binh herself has always cherished the dream on a set of photos which capture images of people serving in the frontline in Da Nang’s combat against the pandemic, including healthcare workers and ‘field’ reporters and journalists report from the frontlines.

“There was a trip that I and other photographers could not to compose any images as usual, because the scene in front of us is so pitiful, so painful”, Binh said with referring to the Tra Leng incident.

According to information from the Da Nang Artistic Photography Association, since the beginning of this tough year, many members have actively participated in the composition work under the harsh conditions to take as many valuable photos as they can, especially on Da Nang’s fight against COVID-19. 

Encouragingly, the Association's members reaped a total of 60 awards at municipal and international –level photo contests.

By XUAN SON- Translated by A.T