Brendan Bartlett, Thoughts in Hoi-An (SINGLE SHOT 2025)

When I'm away I find it awkward staring at people, but it is so interesting and one of the most memorable things to do is photograph locals. Obviously many are entwined in the tourist trades, but occasionally you can get a glimpse of it from the perspective of it being as daily life. On the afternoon of Friday 16 August 2024 in Hoi-An, Vietnam I was lucky enough to gather 4 shots in 4 very hot hours, this one I have entered into the single shot category. In each one you can imagine the thoughts of each person. The lantern seller’s thoughts are floating off with the lanterns as he is immersed in his phone. Perhaps he was messaging his family, or just getting the news of the day. Nothing is distracting him as he waits for the next tourist and the next sale – and when I walked over his look of concentration changed to a huge smile when seeing the shots.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.