Hanoi Panoramas

March 8, 2006 3:39 AM

Hanoi Panoramas
Beautifuly atmospheric 360 degree photography in the streets of Hanoi, by Vietnamese photographer Thinh Le. Also black and white panoramas of Downtown Saigon and Chaudoc. A little info on the camera and technique.
posted by MetaMonkey (11 comments total)

Love this stuff - thanks, MetaMonkey!
posted by carter at 5:31 AM on March 8, 2006

Sorry for the derail, but it seems as proper to refer to Ho Chi Minh City as "Saigon" as it is to call Mohammad Ali "Cassius Clay." These are modern photos of Ho Chi Minh City - Saigon is a place that exists only in history books.
posted by three blind mice at 5:40 AM on March 8, 2006

I'm as critical of most photography as the next guy (if he's especially cranky), but those are beautiful panoramas. Especially of a place so important to America's last 55 years, which most of us will never see in person. Thanks MetaMonkey. (I was just out at sunrise taking a 145° shot of the Adirondacks and Lake Champlain, and it came out pretty badly, so I was happy to return home and find that at least somebody was taking excellent photos.)

p.s. If you're going to derail things, t.b.m., you could spell Muhammad Ali's name correctly.
posted by LeLiLo at 5:52 AM on March 8, 2006

Thanks for the great pictures! VN is a photographer's paradise.

TBM: Saigon is a place that exists only in history books.
Except that lots of people, even local ones, still refer to it as "Saigon" in everyday life (my father was born there). I was at a Tet festival in Paris recently and was suprised to see "Saigon" banners along with "Hanoi" ones even though the event was largely official. The reason given to me was that this "Saigon" was actually a reference to a larger administrative division, and using it was a smart, official way to use the old name... I wouldn't be surprised to see the Ho Chi Minh City name go the Leningrad way in a few years.
posted by elgilito at 5:57 AM on March 8, 2006

I really like the extreme letter-box format - it frames and presents the scenes in a very nice way.
posted by carter at 6:09 AM on March 8, 2006

wow, cool!
posted by obeygiant at 6:33 AM on March 8, 2006

Neat stuff. I wonder how hard it would be to modify a Holga to do something similar?
posted by klangklangston at 8:49 AM on March 8, 2006

Cam un, Dep Lam photos.

FYI: Saigon does still refer to District 1.

Like Paris, HCMC is organized into districts similar to arrondisemonts for administrative purposes. District 1 is Saigon.

My apologies fo any misspellings, I speak neither Viet nor French.
posted by tzelig at 9:49 AM on March 8, 2006

ha! i was looking for a 360 degree weathercam. his camera maker, roundshot, has just the thing. thanks!

really great street scenes of vietnam. captured the feel perfectly.
posted by 3.2.3 at 11:03 AM on March 8, 2006

Nice stuff. One wonders about exposure variations. Seems there would be a sunny side of the street, 360 and all. Such even rich lighting. He must have shot on overcast days, or maybe there was some sort of digital balance.
posted by BillyElmore at 9:13 PM on March 8, 2006

Beautiful.
posted by Termite at 10:22 PM on March 8, 2006