The sun rising through haze over the rooftops of Bắc Giang.

Bắc Giang · Northern Vietnam

Nobody comes to Bắc Giang for the scenery.

I came to teach English and stayed because something held me here. These pictures belong to this place.

Pictures

An older Black Hmong woman in a traditional hat and embroidered jacket, stitching a piece of embroidered cloth. Black and white.

Series · Sa Pa

Mountain People

Farmers burn rice straw after the harvest. The Black Hmong come down from the hills.

Yến, a young girl in a black dress and green sash, dancing with a wide conical hat under stage lights.

Series · Temples & stages

Colour & Tradition

In Vietnam, performance belongs to everyone. Not self-expression but service.

A laughing toddler in a yellow T-shirt looking up at the camera and reaching towards it.

Series · Bắc Giang

The Street

A place becoming something new without quite knowing what.

About

A teacher who stayed

Today I work as a photographer and English teacher in Bắc Giang, a province in northern Vietnam where I’ve lived for the past several years. My photography is rooted in the community around me: the people, the landscapes, and the small, unhurried details of everyday life that visitors rarely slow down enough to notice.

Teaching gives me roots here in a way that travelling never could. It means I know my students’ families, their routines, their stories.

Writing

  • Students Who Shine, Students Who Sink

    Every teacher has favourite students. And although the same children tend to be favoured by everyone as they move through the grades, every teacher has different styles and…

    Students Who Shine, Students Who Sink
  • Cameras in the Classroom: A Double-Edged Sword

    I recently had to test my students’ speaking skills. Two years ago, Minh Anh, 12, could barely say hello. Now she can casually chat about basic conversational topics…

    Cameras in the Classroom: A Double-Edged Sword
  • The Myth of Teacher Magic

    I came into teaching public schools in a rather unusual way. After years training and working as an artist, my body staged its own retirement and it took…

    The Myth of Teacher Magic

Faces & Futures

Every print tells a story. Every sale funds one.

Fifty percent of every print sale goes directly into an education fund for the children I teach in Bắc Giang. I publish every transaction, so you can see exactly where your money goes.