Xuan Thuy National Park has a conservation area of over 7,100 hectares with a rich fauna, including more than 200 species of birds; especially during the migratory bird season, there are about 40,000 birds recorded by scientists . With a love of nature, many photographers have invested money, effort and time to create works of artistic value, contributing to propaganda and raising public awareness in protecting the natural ecological environment.
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| Photographer Tran Hung takes photos of wild birds at Xuan Thuy National Park. |
Photographer Tran Hung, born in the foothills of Giao Thien commune (Giao Thuy), has the opportunity to delve into the topic of coastal countryside. “Since I was a child, I have heard my parents talk about some species of birds that travel thousands of kilometers to stay at Xuan Thuy National Park. Proud to be born in a place where “good land, birds perch”, I have cherished the dream of preserving images of flocks of migratory birds here by reading many documents and learning about the characteristics of each species of bird”, said Mr. Hung. For photographers, to take photos of wild animals, the ideal is to use telephoto lenses with focal lengths from 300mm to 800mm. Previously, when he had not invested in “high-end” equipment, with a telephoto lens with a focal length of 70-200mm, Photographer Tran Hung had to disguise himself to get closer to the subject. Mr. Hung shared: “Birds coming to Xuan Thuy National Park are often very intelligent and sensitive. To get closer to the subject, the photographer must carefully prepare their costumes, using branches and leaves to camouflage their bodies and cameras. Along with that, they must prepare dry food and specialized balm to avoid insects…” Many works by photographer Tran Hung demonstrate his persistent artistic creativity, from “ambush” for hours, even soaking in cold water in the mangrove forest to deciding to press the shutter to “capture” every moment of the rare birds. Among them, many works about migratory birds taken in Xuan Thuy National Park helped him win awards at domestic art photography festivals. Typical works include: “Winter Afternoon in Xuan Thuy National Park”, “Confession 1”, “Confession 2”, “Spoonbill Stork in Xuan Thuy National Park”, “Prey Hunting”, “A Corner of Ramsar”, “Xuan Thuy National Park”… One of the memorable memories of photographer Tran Hung was at the beginning of winter 2009, when he discovered about 50 individuals of Grey Heron and Spoonbill Stork looking for food, from a distance of 30m, he lay down on the bank of the lagoon waiting for the opportunity to take the photo. At this moment, it suddenly started to drizzle. Determined to have a beautiful photo album, he soaked himself in the rain for hours and accepted that after taking the photos, he had to maintain the camera. As a result, he had dozens of satisfactory photos to add to the collection “Xuan Thuy National Park”. In 2010, his photo series “Xuan Thuy National Park” was awarded the Encouragement Prize in the 5th National Tourism Art Photography Contest with the theme “My Homeland Vietnam” organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. In 2011, his photo series “Spoon-billed Storks in Xuan Thuy National Park” won the prize for the photo series with the theme “Vietnam Forest” organized by the Vietnam Museum of Nature… Sharing his thoughts about the successes he has achieved in the past, Photographer Tran Hung always humbly admits that he has had good luck. He was fortunate to be guided by veteran photographers, to participate in creative camps and training courses in artistic photography, from which he gained new perspectives on photography. As an active member of the Provincial Literature and Arts Association, Photographer Tran Hung has shared many experiences in taking photos, choosing photos and creative themes to help young photographers confidently pursue the path of nature photography.
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| The work "Bird Sanctuary of Xuan Thuy National Park" by artist Tran Hung. |
Photographer Kieu Duc Chung ( Nam Dinh city) has a special love for wild and migratory birds. He has invested a lot of effort in modern and expensive photographic equipment to serve the need to photograph birds in Xuan Thuy National Park. Photographer Kieu Duc Chung said: "To take satisfactory photos, I bought a camera with high resolution, fast shooting speed, and weather resistance; besides that, a telephoto lens with focal length of 150-600mm is enough to get close to the subject...". Before each trip, in addition to camera equipment and lenses, he also prepares tents and specialized photo tarps so that he can take photos for hours. With his passion and knowledge of wildlife photography, he and his photography-enthusiastic friends regularly organize propaganda activities, mobilizing people to protect wild and migratory birds. To create a safe environment for the storks residing here, photographer Kieu Duc Chung got to know the owners of the ponds and talked to them so that they would prioritize the habitat of the birds; not to chase or hunt birds during the migration season. At the same time, through photos and real stories about wild birds shared on photography forums, Mr. Chung has contributed to raising community awareness in preserving and maintaining the natural habitat of migratory birds.
One of the encouraging signs is that more and more photographers are interested in the nature theme in Xuan Thuy National Park to participate in photo contests. Recently, the first bird photo contest held in Vietnam by Wildtour and BirdLife with sponsorship from Canon - Le Bao Minh Company took place in Ho Chi Minh City. In the contest, the first prize was awarded to photographer Le Duc Hien (Hanoi) with the work "Asian - European Spoonbill Exchange" taken in Xuan Thuy National Park. Mr. Hien said: "I took the photo in December 2022. At that time, many migratory bird photographers shared information that there were some European Spoonbills appearing in Xuan Thuy National Park. I went to find them and was lucky to meet them. What impressed me was that the pair of European Spoonbills were very friendly with the flocks of storks present in Xuan Thuy National Park".
In particular, from 2021 to present, the community photography project on climate change - Photovoice Xuan Thuy, coordinated by Xuan Thuy National Park with organizations GreenZoom and NGO MCD (Center for Marine Life Conservation and Community Development), has been gradually and effectively implemented. Participating in the project, people use photography as a means to express the community's observations on the impacts of climate change, as well as the efforts of people and local authorities in preserving natural ecology. After the end of the project, 800 photos taken by 15 representatives from the community and photographers were selected for display and exhibition purposes to promote biodiversity conservation in the National Park./.
Article and photos: Viet Du
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