Happy with children. Working in the leek field. A bride on the white sand dune in Quang Tri. The sun of mother. “Vietnam Moment” is the title of a photo book featuring Vietnam by Korean American writer and journalist Brenda Paik Sunoo. The photographs are illustrated with poems and proverbs full of Vietnam ’s cultural traditions by Ton Thi Thu Nguyet, a lecturer of English at Vietnam National University in Hanoi . The photo book is published in Vietnamese, English and Korean languages, helping foreigners understand and know more about Vietnam and its people through simple daily activities. Brenda received her Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology at University of California, Los Angeles and her Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing degree at Antioch University . In 2002 she followed her husband to Vietnam to work. Teacher Ton Thi Thu Nguyet taught Brenda Vietnamese and their friendship was cemented by their love for painting, literature, poetry and tourism as well as their overall feelings about life. They used to travel together and at each place Brenda took photographs of everything, featuring even small details. Being a sensitive and friendly woman and having practical knowledge and experience Brenda quickly integrated into the activities and culture of Vietnam . Through her camera lens, normal daily activities of the Vietnamese people are depicted naturally, for instance, an old woman in a yellow rice field in Soc Son, Hanoi; half-naked Dao ethnic children bathing in a stream in Lao Cai Province ; a farm couple rowing a boat to fetch water-ferns. The most impressive photo features a little girl embracing a buffalo’s back on the dyke, creating a lovely and pastoral scene. Many Vietnamese are interested in the photo because the images of a rice field, dyke and buffalo are closely connected with their childhood. Brenda usually selects typical details to portray Vietnamese people. Some of her photographs feature only the hair of a Mong ethnic woman; farmers putting down fertilizer and sowing rice seedlings, with their feet and hands dirtied with mud; an old woman sitting on the veranda to warm herself in the sun with her smile and her scraggy hands highlighted. There is a simple but humane photo taken at a martyr’s cemetery. It features an incense burner and several incense joss sticks planted on the ground near a sprouting bud. The photograph conveys a message that death is a law of nature while life continues to grow. The book consists of over 100 photos selected from 20,000 photos of Vietnam taken by Brenda from 2002 to 2008. It serves as a message sent to people throughout the world, helping them know about Vietnam which has experienced many changes, and the peaceful but friendly life of Vietnamese people. The book reflects the passionate love of a foreign photographer for Vietnam. Hopefully, the images of Vietnam will be familiar to an increasing number of people .   Brenda (left) and Thu Nguyet, the authors of the book “Vietnam Moment”. The photo of this buffalo girl reminds of the sweet childhood memory in rural area. An elder on the veranda. Fetching water-ferns on the pool.    Doing a handstand on the sand dune. The hands of a Dao ethnic woman. Story by Bich Van - Photos by Nam Suong – Files