"Sweetheart, You Ought To Be In Pictures!"

WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 2009

Out of the fog they come, dressed in their tribal costumes, either black or red, depending on their ethnic group. They appear out of wooded trails that connect with the main road to Sapa. And they are mostly women headed for the market, laden with freshly harvested vegetables or handmade souvenirs they plan to sell to the tourists.

And they were today's photo subjects.

This was not always easy because the colorfully dressed ethnic minorities of North Vietnam learned a long time ago that they could guilt many tourists into buying something in return for having their photos made. And today, we had to appeal to their mercantile sensibilities and trust to get their help in making good images.

My traveling photo companion, Long Ly, has the ability to pull a tiger out of a hat. Along the road, he spotted a trail that went up an incline into the foggy forest. He suggested we wait for awhile and when a couple of minority women came along, we could get them to walk up the trail and we could shoot them against the forest. It was a brilliant idea but no minority women were coming along the road. I suggested we go back down the mountain about a half mile to a roadside market and recruit some models.

So we arrived at the market, only to have a swarm of Red Dao women surround the car, hoping to sell souvenirs to tourists. Long jumped out and I stayed in the car, figuring they might want more money or be spooked completely if they saw an American was in on the deal. Long offered two young women 30,000 Viet Dong each, which is about $2. They demanded 50,000. And this negotiation over about $1 went on and on.

Finally, the two women said yes and it looked like we had our models. But then, mom stepped in. She wasn't letting her girls get in an SUV with a bunch of strangers.

"She thinks we might be kidnappers and that we will sell the girls in China to an old man looking for a wife," Long said. He tried to reason with them and then finally told them an American photographer was in the car behind the tinted glass. "And," he added. "Americans don't have kidnapping."

I rolled down the window, and five the women pressed against the car to see me.

"Where are you from," one demanded to know.

"The United States," I answered tentatively, always worrying about the reaction that might prompt.

"Want to buy a souvenir," she immediately asked.

After some more discussion, two slightly older women agreed to be photographed. I think they figured they were less likely to be kidnap material, having passed their prime. In any event, we drove them up the mountain and Long and I both got some good shots.

In the end, our driver, Tony, seemed to want to have the last word. He got a momentary scare out of the women by jokingly telling them there would be a 20,000 Viet Dong taxi fee to drive them back down the mountain.