Today, we’re featuring a beautiful travel story from film photographer Sasha Zheinova. Here is more from Sasha about capturing the magic of Vietnam on film…
This series of 16 images is all about the textures, contrasts, and little everyday moments that make up life in Vietnam. Shot in a documentary style, it focuses on the details that often go unnoticed but truly define the atmosphere. My goal? To tell stories through bold, vibrant colors that, to me, perfectly transcend the energy and pulse of the country.
Spending over a month in Vietnam was a perfect way to reset my eyes as a photographer. Living in Paris – no doubt, a beautiful city – can feel visually sterile when it comes to contrast and boldness. I was craving adventure, color, patterns, and authenticity. So, I packed four rolls of Kodak Portra to train my eye in documentary style and to immortalize every little detail I’d love about Vietnam.
I mostly brought Kodak Portra 800, simply because I love its flexibility. The fact that I can still get well-exposed frames even in tricky lighting conditions is priceless. The grain is obviously there, but honestly, I don’t mind it, it adds to the texture of the story.
Analog cameras and films used: Nikon F80 (Find at KEH Camera or on eBay) | Kodak Portra 400 (Find on Amazon), Kodak Portra 800 (Find on Amazon)
Connect with Sasha: Website | Instagram
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solly Khan
June 22, 2025 at 8:36 pm
Thank you for posting these really beautiful images of Vietnam, the color rendition is very realistic, i think the Camera and settings can often help or inspire us all to do likewise, as in the old times when film was the only medium, we were all used to ,Camera, lens, aperture, shutter speed and of course the film of choice, and i very much miss all that technical jargon that accompanied the earlier historical landscape of analog photography. perhaps it’s long overdue that we all restart that traditional logging of technical details, Anyone ?
Julie
July 6, 2025 at 11:16 pm
Yes I agree