Hi folks -
Though I am a bit new to the forum, I am not exactly new to photography. I would have joined sooner - - but I was out of the country. You see, for the past 1 1/2 years, I have been living in the city of Hue, Viet Nam.
My question has to do with the viability of organizing photography tours to Viet Nam. I don't mean workshops - I mean tours for advanced amateurs and maybe even a pro who wants to do something different.
I would work with one of the major travel agecies in Viet Nam - a group I have worked with before and know they are professional. It is a requirement to use an agency because to get into some areas of the country requires a licensed tour guide.
Next, I would have Mr. Phan Cu come along as the resident pro. Cu does photography in Hue and you can find his work at
www.mrcu-mandarin.com. He is a master at shooting people at work and could help set up shots a non-Vietnamese photographer could not do. My job would be strictly as a marketer and organizer. In fact, I am retired and want nothing more than to have my expenses paid for a trip.
I envision a two-three week tour, starting in Saigon. I would include Saigon itself, a daytrip into the Mekong Delta, another daytrip to Tay Ninh to see the Cao Dai Temple and the Cu Chu Tunnels. I won't bore you here with an entire itinerary, but suffice it to say the trip would include all the usual photogenic highlights as well as some different places and people. Ha Long Bay, Sapa, Hue, Hoi An, the central mountains, the countryside - all that stuff.
I envision traveling comfortably, staying at four star hotels and eating at nice places. Travel would be in air conditioned vans and by airplane. Each afternoon, after a day of shooting, I would collect the memory cards of the shooters, then put together a slide show to be watched over a nice private dinner. Folks could compare shots and discuss ways to improve. Mr. Cu could offer advice for shooting in Viet Nam. (By the way - he speaks excellent English.)
I could not count travel to and from Viet Nam in any price quotes, as that would vary according to the photographer's home, but such a trip would probably be in the $2-$3 thousand range.
Why would someone want to take such a trip? The answer came from a Canadian professional photographer I ran into during Festival. By taking such a tour, the photographer is led to where the good shots are. S/he does not have to spend 2 days in a locale asking around. In other words, the tour would mean time is spent doing photography, not looking to do photography.
Whatcha think, folks? Viable idea? Worth pursuing? Other ideas to throw in?
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