I was born in 1949 in Ha Noi, Viet Nam. Both my elder brothers were students at a movie school, where I also studied. After graduation, I worked as a cinematographer at a Vietnamese film company. When shooting a film, we often went to the countryside. Sometimes, we were there for several weeks. I realized that the script that we followed was far removed from the reality of those villages. I was not the script writer, nor was I a director. I could not shoot a film according to my ideas. That was when I thought about the camera.

In Vietnamese contests they like pretty pictures. Many smiles are awarded. My 'concerned photographs' would never get awarded. Neither have I participated in any of those contests.

Women in the countryside work hard in the brick kiln, but are still considered to be inferior labourers, and paid only a dollar a day. I only saw their hats on the heads, which reinforced their image as objects rather than human beings.