See the strange camera museum next to Dong Da hill

That house belongs to Mr. Pham Cong Thang, 70 years old, originally from Thua Thien - Hue but born in Thanh Hoa , who used to work at a photography company before becoming a journalist and photographer. A few years ago, he came up with the idea of ​​collecting old cameras from friends and colleagues to make a personal exhibition, now known to many as a camera museum.

Museum owner, photographer, journalist Pham Cong Thang and an antique wooden camera with a German Schneider-Kreuznach lens. According to the introduction, the camera was made in Saigon by a Chinese inventor, To Vinh Ky. In 1950, a French officer stationed in Son Tay (now Hanoi ) bought the camera to take photos for soldiers. After 1954, the camera was kept by the warehouse keeper in the station. In June 2023, this person's family gave it to photographer Dang Ngoc Thai (Hanoi), who then gave it to Mr. Thang's museum.

Being sociable, taking good photos, being the owner of a photo lab, writing well, singing well and being loved by friends, right from the beginning, Mr. Thang's idea of ​​collecting cameras was supported by many photographers and journalists who sent him valuable artifacts. Many people who only knew him through the internet also quickly sent him their personal cameras, some brought money as gifts, some transferred money to support.

After a short time, Pham Cong Thang's camera museum had up to thousands of artifacts, including about 400 cameras, along with enlargers, tripods, books, and photos. Many artifacts in the museum are no longer in use, due to their "old age", but they are still special because they used to take famous photos or are associated with the name of the owner.

There were about 300 journalists and photographers, many of whom were famous, such as Trieu Dai (the late photographer who took the photo of the Flag Raising on the roof of the De Casteris bunker during the Dien Bien Phu victory), Nick Ut (author of the world- famous photo of the Napalm Girl ), Tran Mai Huong (author of the photo of tank 846 entering the Independence Palace on April 30, 1975), Chu Chi Thanh (who took a series of photos of the prisoner exchange in Quang Tri in 1973 and many photos of the battlefield and just received the Ho Chi Minh Prize for Literature and Arts)...

Pham Cong Thang said that in order to preserve so many artifacts, he had to constantly redesign the cabinets, shelves and display boards in a formal manner. Despite the expense, he was determined to build this collection for future generations and affirmed that his daughter would be the successor.

Let's take a look at the special cameras in Pham Cong Thang's camera museum:

The American Bell & Howell movie camera, manufactured in the 1930s, was given by Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tung, former Director of the Senior Citizens' Club radio program of the Voice of Vietnam . Mr. Tung said he inherited the camera from Mr. Viet Hung, one of President Ho Chi Minh's bodyguards during the resistance war against France. When transferring it to Mr. Tung, Mr. Hung revealed that the camera originally belonged to an American officer who parachuted into Viet Bac to support the Viet Minh. When it was under Mr. Viet Hung's management, the camera had filmed several clips of the Autumn-Winter 1947 campaign as well as several images of Uncle Ho during the Border Campaign of 1950.

Nikon D200 digital camera of Mr. Tran Lam, former Vice Chairman of Kien Giang Provincial People's Committee. As a famous photographer, Mr. Tran Lam used this device to take a photo of Uncle Ho's Mausoleum titled " The Sun in the Mausoleum Shines Brightly" , which was signed by President Nguyen Minh Triet and purchased by a business for 1 million USD. Mr. Tran Lam used this money to perform 500 surgeries for children with heart disease.

Pentax camera of photographer Hoang Kim Dang, former specialist of the Department of Culture and Arts, Central Propaganda Department. Mr. Hoang Kim Dang used this camera to take pictures of historical figures and famous people such as General Vo Nguyen Giap, musician Van Cao, writer Nguyen Tuan, photographer Vo An Ninh...

A medium-sized German Rolleicord film camera (6 x 6 cm) owned by photographer Bang Lam, a former officer of the Navy Command. Mr. Lam brought this camera to Truong Sa archipelago 8 times and recorded many images of documentary and artistic value.

The Pentax and Epson cameras are artifacts of world-famous photographer Nick Ut. Mr. Ut said that the Pentax (left) was the first camera he used when working for the American news agency AP, in 1966, in Saigon.

German Voigtlander camera (middle), produced in the 1950s, owned by journalist and photographer Ngo Minh Dao, one of the veteran reporters of the Vietnam News Agency . Mr. Ngo Minh Dao is the one who took photos of leaders Le Duan, Do Muoi, Vo Van Kiet... and also set a record for taking photos from an airplane in Vietnam.

The old Polaroid camera (USA) of screenwriter Le Nguyen Sinh (Hanoi), who edited the films Canh Dong Hoang , Ve Noi Gio Cat ... His son, famous painter Le Thiet Cuong, sent this camera as a gift when he learned that Mr. Pham Cong Thang opened a museum.

A Praktica camera made in East Germany, used by photographer Hoang Thach Van in the 1990s. This "was also a means of supporting his family by taking service photos during the difficult years" in Ho Chi Minh City, Hoang Thach Van wrote in his autograph book. This photographer passed away last June, while he was Vice President of the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists, leaving behind grief among his colleagues.

The artifacts of another Vice President of the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists, Mr. Ho Sy Minh. These are Nikon and Canon cameras "associated with a period of journalism and artistic photography with many emotions" of the owner.

And here is the once-huge digital camera (Canon EOS 1D mark III, priced at nearly $7,000 in 2007) of photographer Dang Ngoc Thai. As a sophisticated Hanoian photographer, Mr. Thai always uses the best cameras to take perfect photos.

Just as elegant and "luxurious" as Dang Ngoc Thai, photographer Nguyen Hoai Linh (living in Lam Dong) sent an old Nikon F camera "from the early days that led me into the photography profession with burning desires". Nikon F was born in 1959 and went down in photography history when it made the name of the Japanese camera company Nikon during the Vietnam War.

Another Nikon with the trade name Nikkormat, an artifact of journalist Trung Hien. As a member of the organizing committee of many Miss Vietnam contests of Tien Phong Newspaper, Mr. Hien used this camera to take pictures of many beauty contestants from 1990 to 2014, many of whom became Miss Vietnam.

The Nikon F801s belongs to nude photographer Nguyen Thai Phien (HCMC). According to Mr. Phien, this camera has taken many nude models, many of which have been printed in the nude photo book Fairyland . The Nikon F801s is an automatic film camera manufactured in 1988 and is popular with many Vietnamese photographers. In the photo, the camera is equipped with a Tamron lens, a very famous Japanese lens manufacturer.

Of particular interest is the Zenit camera with a 300mm Tair telephoto lens that looks like a gun. This system was manufactured in the Soviet Union in the late 1960s, and the photographer could hold the camera like a gun with the stock resting on his shoulder to prevent shaking and pull the trigger to take a picture like a gun. Mr. Thang bought this device from photographer and photography theory critic Vu Huyen (former Vice President of the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists) when Mr. Huyen brought it back from the Soviet Union. After using it for many years, Mr. Thang now puts the "gun" in the museum.

In addition to many types of lights, tripods, camera cases, film developing and photo making equipment, Mr. Thang's camera museum also has many books and photos donated by photographers.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/xem-bao-tang-may-anh-la-ben-go-dong-da-185231204190627769.htm