Vietnam: Think Red
I traveled to Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, Vietnam, in April and May 2025. I hit Vietnam with my portable background and assistants to photograph the essence of patriotism. My goal was to be in-country during the annual country-wide celebration of Vietnam’s Reunification Day. This celebration takes place every year on April 30th. It marks the day in 1975 when North Vietnam and its country-wide allies defeated the American and South Vietnamese armies to reunite as one country. It celebrates the end of what the Vietnamese call the American War and the start of a new Vietnam.
Importantly, 2025 represented the 50th anniversary of reunification. It was a huge celebration, to put it mildly.
The idea of reunification is deeply personal for Vietnamese people - a day about freedom, unity, and healing after decades of division. As you will see, RED is the unifying color. Add the yellow star, plus red flags everywhere, and you have a country-wide patriotic fashion statement.
My Vietnam ethnographic series adds to my portable street studio work in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; Rajasthan, India; Selma, Alabama; and Venice Beach, California.
Many thanks to the many people who helped to make this series successful.
Best of all was the personal support, guidance, and assistance from Huynh Mee of Hum Travel.
