The famous old man with the "fish eyes" and the whole village making "mu-do" (traditional Vietnamese craftsmen)

A 70-year-old man who works as a fisherman on the Thu Bon River in Dong Binh hamlet, Nam Phuoc commune (formerly Duy Xuyen district, Quang Nam province), Da Nang city, suddenly became famous online with a photo of him holding two fish to cover his eyes.

Mr. Mười looked at the portrait he had just won a major award for, but to this day he still doesn't know who the photographer is because thousands of people have taken his picture - Photo: BD

Sophia Spurgin's photograph, "Fish Eyes," by a retired teacher with a passion for travel and photography in the UK, has just beaten over 14,000 other entries to win the recently concluded LCE Photographer of the Year 2026 competition in the UK.

Meet the 70-year-old model.

In his house in Dong Binh village, Mr. Do Van Muoi has rarely gone far these past few days because he has been constantly receiving modeling gigs from photographers and tour groups.

"I get 5-7 photo shoots a week, fewer in winter. In summer, tour groups come constantly; I pull the nets from dawn until around 8 am and get paid between 300,000 and 700,000 dong. If there are many customers, they give extra," Mr. Muoi said.

The 70-year-old fisherman said he has been posing for tourist groups for nearly 15 years, but lately he feels he's been the most "famous" because tourists from far away, photographers, and journalists have been coming to ask him questions, and his children called to tell him that a photo of him had won an international award.

Mr. Mười works as a model for photographers - Photo: HUỲNH HÀ

Because he has modeled for so many tour groups, he still doesn't know who took the "fisheye" photo, only that it was taken around 2025.

Mrs. Pham Thi Muoi - the wife of this old fisherman - is also a model in photos taken when her husband goes to check his fishing nets. The image of the two elderly people, early in the morning, carrying baskets of fish to the riverbank and pedaling the nets with a creaking sound in the early morning mist to lift the large, square nets, as big as a house roof, out of the water creates a beautiful scene.

Photographer Mai Thanh Chuong – who "discovered" the beauty of Mr. and Mrs. Muoi 10 years ago – recounts that in 2016, while wading in a boat into the small waterways flowing into the Thu Bon River, at 4 am on a day in early spring, he accidentally saw Mr. Muoi and his wife setting fishing nets along the riverbank.

"The stretch of river right behind Mr. Binh's house was very calm, the scene of water coconut trees and tiled houses shimmering in the early morning mist was like something out of a painting. I steered the boat closer, stood choosing a good angle for the photo, and discovered that Mr. Muoi's vantage point was perfect; he was pulling his fishing net out of the water, with the village and boats sailing towards the old town behind him."

"From then on, my fellow photographers and I would ask Mr. Muoi to be our model every morning for our photoshoots. Later, as more and more tourists came to Hoi An, and many of them liked to have their pictures taken, we organized photo sessions for them," Mr. Chuong recounted.

The whole village makes "mo do" (a type of traditional Vietnamese toy).

In the villages of Nam Phuoc commune on the other side of the Thu Bon River, many people living along the riverbanks work as "photo models," like Mr. Muoi. The peaceful, rustic village atmosphere, the gentle people living along the river, and the houses nestled among the betel nut trees create a vast artistic space for film crews, photographers, and tourists.

Mr. Mười was simply a "lucky" model because his photo went viral and won a high prize. For decades, as ecotourism in rural areas has attracted international visitors, many families in riverside villages like Trà Nhiêu and Đông Bình (Nam Phước, Da Nang ) have found additional work as photo models to supplement their income.

A group of foreign tourists, brought by photographer Mai Thanh Chuong, took photos at the Co Mot tourist service - Photo: BD

But not everyone can do this job well. Take Mr. Mười, for example. According to photographers, he has very bright eyes, a well-proportioned face, a good physique, and especially a body that "ages very evenly." Every wrinkle on his face and the roughness of his hands perfectly match the photographic image.

"The models just need to stand in the space where they earn their living and do their work, moving skillfully and gracefully. The photographer will then capture the perfect moment. We have the contact information of dozens of local people who specialize in modeling to take photographers on their creative trips, as well as international tour groups who specialize in photography," said Mr. Mai Thanh Chuong.

A "studio" right in your own backyard.

Along the village road leading to Tra Nhieu hamlet, Nam Phuoc commune, there are many signs advertising tourism businesses. Most of these signs bear the phrase "offering photo and film modeling services." The Co Mot basket boat tourism service, run by Mr. Pham Minh Tam and his wife Ho Thi Van for over a decade, specializes in photo modeling and taking tourists on tours of the countryside.

"I bought a fishing net set and built a small hut out of bamboo and coconut leaves so my wife and two sisters from the neighborhood could weave nets every day for tourists to take photos. Each time we take photos like that, we earn a little money. The work isn't hard, and it's fun to see our photos 'appear all over the world '," said Mr. Pham Minh Tam.

THAI BA DUNG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/ong-lao-mat-ca-noi-tieng-va-ca-lang-lam-mo-do-2026033110292439.htm