The journalist Viet Van Tran of the Vietnamese newspaper Lao Dong won two Silver Awards at the 2022 New York Photography Awards for his two works: “Connection” taken in the province of Dak Lak in the Black and White – Travel category, and “Woman with a tattooed face” taken in Burma in the Fine Arts – Expansion category.
Connection
For this boy, the elephant named Y Khamsen is a great friend. The boy is the son of Y Vinh, who is a M’Nông ethnic minority, living in Dak Lak province (Central Highland, Vietnam). Y Vinh is one of the 14 mahouts of Lak, he has been caring for an elephant named Y Khamsen for 28 years.
Woman with tattooed face
The character in the photo is Pwethang, 72, who lives in Kanpetlet (Burma). He started getting tattoos on his face from the age of 15. The process took five years and the eyelid tattoo was the worst part of the process. The tattooed Chin women living in the remote hills of Chin State are over 70 years old. The tattoos on their faces are gradually disappearing with the tattoo tradition having been abandoned by the Burmese government since 1960.
The competition saw the participation of photographers from more than 50 countries, with around 3,500 works, which were examined by an international jury.
The New York Photography Awards honor, recognize and promote outstanding photographers from around the world.
