Vietnam Landscape Photography Workshop

We begin at Ban Gioc Waterfall as the first light reaches the cascades and mist rises above the Quay Son River. This is an ideal session for working with shutter speed, flowing water, foreground placement, and the relationship between the falls and surrounding limestone mountains. Later, we visit Phat Tich Truc Lam Ban Gioc Pagoda for wider views across the border landscape. In the afternoon, we continue to Phong Nam Valley, where rivers, rice fields, villages, and karst formations provide layered compositions in softer light. We remain through sunset before returning to Cao Bang.

We begin early in Ngoc Con Valley, photographing the winding Quay Son River, limestone peaks, villages, and rural landscapes in soft morning light. Later, we continue to Mat Than Mountain, where the natural opening through the limestone peak creates a distinctive focal point above the broad valley. When conditions are suitable, we also photograph nearby Nam Tra Waterfall. The day finishes at Co La Waterfall, working with its multi-tiered cascades, surrounding mountains, and flowing water in the warmer evening light.

Our final morning in Cao Bang begins among the limestone highlands before we start the journey back to Hanoi. Along the way, we make selected stops at mountain passes, villages, and viewpoints when light and conditions offer worthwhile photographic opportunities. The drive also gives us time to review recent images and discuss composition, image selection, and processing decisions. We arrive in Hanoi in the afternoon, followed by a relaxed group dinner before continuing west the following morning.

We begin the day around Hoan Kiem Lake as Hanoi wakes, photographing morning activity, reflections, street scenes, and the subtle light around the old city center. We then travel northwest to Phu Tho, where the rounded tea hills of Long Coc create a very different visual landscape. In the afternoon, we work with repeating shapes, layers, curves, and longer focal lengths to simplify the rolling terrain as the light begins to soften.

We start before sunrise among the Long Coc tea hills, looking for mist, layered ridges, and the first light moving across the plantations. The session focuses on depth, tonal separation, repetition, and using small human elements within the wider landscape. We then continue into the Hoang Lien Son mountains toward Tu Le Valley. By late afternoon, the group photographs rice terraces, winding streams, and mountain layers in the warmer sunset light before continuing to Garrya Mu Cang Chai Resort.

We begin at Mam Xoi viewpoint for sunrise over the circular rice terraces, working with changing light, mountain mist, and layered telephoto compositions. Later, we explore Lao Chai and La Pan Tan, where steep terraces provide opportunities to study scale, rhythm, lines, and the relationship between people and the cultivated landscape. In the afternoon, we move to the Horse-shoe terraces, using the sweeping curves and late light to create stronger graphic compositions before finishing with sunset.

We begin with one final sunrise session among the Mu Cang Chai terraces before continuing north toward Sapa. The route passes through Than Uyen and Tam Duong as we climb deeper into the Hoang Lien Son range. In the afternoon, we photograph around Chu Va and O Quy Ho Pass, working with mountain layers, cloud movement, changing light, and compressed telephoto views across the valleys. We remain in the mountains through sunset before returning to Sapa.

Before dawn, we head into the mountains around Sapa in search of mist-filled valleys, cloud layers, and distant peaks emerging in the early light. Cooler November conditions often produce strong atmospheric separation, making this an excellent session for telephoto landscape photography. After breakfast, we continue to Dragon Waterfall, photographing moving water within the surrounding forest and mountain terrain. The afternoon location is chosen according to weather and cloud conditions, with the aim of finishing from a high viewpoint at sunset.

Our final morning begins before sunrise with one last session in the mountains surrounding Sapa. Depending on the conditions, we look for mist moving through the valleys, layered ridgelines, or early sunlight reaching the higher peaks. After breakfast, we begin the journey back toward Hanoi, descending from the Hoang Lien Son range into the Red River Delta. We continue directly to Noi Bai International Airport, where the ten-day workshop concludes.