Charming Hanoi and Hue at night on the lens of a French photographer

The night charm of Hanoi and Hue – the two most famous tourism centers in Vietnam – was impressively captured in a digital camera by Sebastien Laval (Facebook), a very well-known French photographer.

Sebastien Laval – a photographer from Poitiers city, in the west of France – has fell in love with Vietnam since the 1990s.

He started his career as a photographer from a very young age and his desire for this kind of art was inspired by his grandfather.

Laval came to Vietnam in the 1990s for the first time to study the lifestyles of ethnic minority groups in the northern region of Vietnam.

The oldest in the series of his photos was captured in December 2007. It was also the very first time he explored the streets of Hanoi with a digital camera.

Turned out that he had a chance to witness another Hanoi. So charming and romantic was it that he forgot a noisy and boisterous Hanoi in the day life.

It was a so sparkling, magical, and twinkling city looming in the colorful light illuminated from the houses, the stars, and the moon above the infinite sky.

Having visited Vietnam for many times, especially Hanoi and Hue, he finally finished his series of photos ” Hanoi 18h/6h and Hue 18h/6h”. These rare shots of Hanoi and Hue on the night charm were incredibly beautiful.

To create the collection, the French photographer captured the two cities in the period between 6 pm and 6 am, showing the surreal beauty of deserted alleys, railway lines and shops lit by streetlights.

The vivid photos bear unique light – no artificial light – and reflect cultural aspects of the two well-known destinations at night.

“Hue is the place where I grew up and I know it inside out. However, it was not until I saw Sebastien’s photos that I knew I had missed another hidden beauty of Hue” shared Phan Trong Minh, the CEO of a hotel in Hue.

“These photographs really inspire the guests who come to visit and enjoy, so they have a chance to explore Hanoi and feel its charm in a brand new way”. said Mr. Franck Lafourcade, the general director of a hotel in Hanoi.

Laval’s photographic works were displayed during the Hue festival in 2008, 2010, and 2014. During this year’s festival, he staged an exhibition coinciding with the publication of his new book, “Hue – City of Crying Stones”. It features photos, poems, and comments of Vietnamese scholars on the famous central city.

The photos were exhibited at the Art Vietnam Gallery in Hanoi, before being sent to another exhibition at MGallery La Residence Hue Hotel & Spa in Hue from April 29 to May 4.

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