North East Vietnam - The Hilltribe Photography Tour.

The Tour.

Join us for a photography tour of North East Vietnam, bookended by Hanoi and focused on three main highlights: vibrant ethnic minorities, bustling markets, and breathtaking landscapes.

We begin in the heart of Hanoi's Old Quarter, capturing the city's lively streets, local vendors, and daily life. Walking the back streets, we practice candid street photography among conical hats, soup vendors, and peddlers, before photographing students at the red doors of the Temple of Literature and the street where the railway tracks run past people's front doors. At sunrise the next day, we photograph locals practicing tai chi beside Hoan Kiem Lake.

From there, we journey to the stunning rice terraces of Lao Cai and Ha Giang provinces near the Chinese border. Timed specifically to coincide with two weekend markets and the annual rice harvest, this route offers incredible opportunities to photograph cascading, colourful hillside terraces alongside local hill-tribe communities, including the Flower Hmong and Red Dao.

At Can Cau's Saturday market, Flower Hmong, Black Dzao, and Tay people in traditional dress trade livestock, fabrics, and food, while Bac Ha's Sunday market is on our doorstep. In Hoang Su Phi, we visit a Red Dao family we know well, and shoot both sunset and sunrise over the terraces.

In Ha Giang, the scenery transitions to limestone karst mountains. Here, we visit villages of the Tay, Nung, and Lo Lo people and photograph dramatic mountains. Highlights include the Heaven's Gate viewpoint over the Tam Son Valley, the Hmong village of Lung Cam with its traditional houses and hemp weaving, and the Ma Pi Leng Pass, regarded as one of the most beautiful panoramic viewpoints in the country.

On Ba Be Lake, we take an extensive boat trip to witness the tranquil scenery, local fishermen, and lakeside villages. We arrange to photograph a fisherman casting his net, continue down the lake to Dau Dang Waterfall, and return to a Tay village for lunch.

Led by Nathan and an experienced local guide, this tour is designed to help you elevate your photography while experiencing the best of Northern Vietnam. We also make many unscripted stops whenever unique scenes arise, so you can capture authentic, intimate moments. Meanwhile, an optional pre-tour technical workshop and Lightroom post-production sessions help you get the most from your images.

Tuition.

On any of our tours, stunning photography is the name of the game, and our objective is for you to leave with a collection of images that you'll be proud to show off. Indeed, many of our past participants have gone on to win awards and competitions with photographs taken on our tours.

Nathan’s teaching approach is very hands-on, as he believes in learning by doing. He will guide you through technical challenges, provide artistic inspiration, and lead by example in approaching locals for great portraits. You'll be amazed at the striking and authentic images you'll be able to capture.

We also offer Lightroom workshops during our tours, where we cover workflow management and picture processing. We'll show you the tools to take your travel photography to the next level and provide tips on saving your pictures for various outputs like social media, e-books, and printing.

If this is your first tour with us, you can also join Nathan’s pre-tour workshop, designed to equip you with essential skills for travel photography. Covering technical competence, creative observation, and ethical responsibility with a focus on people and culture, this workshop is perfect if you’re new to travel photography or need a refresher. The workshop runs on the first day of the tour from around 2-5pm. Enhance your photography skills and capture breathtaking moments to treasure forever. Apply via our tour request form and prepare to take your photography skills to the next level.