The Camerman Cares

WHEN TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHER RÉHAHN TAKES A PICTURE OF A VIETNAMESE VILLAGER, THAT’S NOT THE END OF THE ENCOUNTER.

They say every picture tells a story, and that’s certainly true of the images made by travel portrait photographer Réhahn. One click of his camera can offer an arresting glimpse into a subject’s life, experiences and culture. But there’s more to it than that for this particular cameraman. In return for the stunning images he’s made—images that have won him worldwide renown—he figures he owes something to the people he’s photographed. So he often returns to the scene of his pictures to offer a helping hand.

Réhahn, 41, is originally from Bayeux in Normandy, France. His work blends the techniques of fine art photography and documentary. In 2018, Wanderlust Travel Magazine said he “captures the souls of his models.” After traveling the world and visiting more than 35 countries, he made his home in Hoi An, Vietnam, in 2011. His first book, Vietnam, Mosaic of Contrasts—a collection of 145 of his best images—was a bestseller in 2014, and he followed it with two more volumes on Vietnam and The Collection, Réhahn: 10 years of Photography in 2018. Réhahn’s work has appeared in publications such as The New York Times, National Geographic and South China Morning Post; on the BBC and many other television venues; and in more than 500 articles and interviews.

With his success, Réhahn takes pains to give back to the people who made his career possible: his subjects. “I don’t think it would be fair to make a living selling photos without trying to help the people that I photograph,” Réhahn told Adventure.com in 2018. “As a photographer specializing in travel portraits, I wouldn’t be here today without these people. For me, it’s totally normal to give something back.”

For Madam Xong, the subject of one of his most famous photos—which was selected for the cover of his first book and is part of the collection at the Vietnamese Women’s Museum —he purchased a new rowboat to replace her old, worn-out one. The new boat enabled her to continue transporting tourists around Hoi An and making a living. Réhahn’s conversations with Madam Xong planted the seeds for what he calls his Giving Back Project.

The key to Réhahn’s creative process is building strong connections with the people he photographs (some of whom are reluctant subjects at first) and establishing mutual respect. He has explained that the concept of karma has weighed heavily upon him—especially since he became a father—so that even after a photograph is framed and displayed, he will go back to the scene and try to give back. What that looks like can range from providing funds for medical care and education to furnishing equipment for the subject’s trade. Through his Giving Back Project, Réhahn closes the circle of karma.

The photographer’s most ambitious undertaking has been The Precious Heritage Project, an initiative that began after his first encounter with Vietnam’s Red Dao and Hmong tribes. For nearly nine years after those meetings, Réhahn journeyed throughout Vietnam with the goal of documenting each of the country’s 54 ethnic groups. Much to his surprise, little to no information was available to the public about most tribes beyond the few advertised in travel brochures. In August 2019, Réhahn completed his quest when he met the Chut tribe.

Réhahn does not consider himself an ethnologist; he says his project was not about recording facts and figures. Instead, he sought to celebrate the people he encountered, and their culture and history, through his art. “I want to honor the beauty of the ethnic tribes, to reveal their strength, their differences, their pride,” he told My Modern Met in 2019. The results of the project, including both photographs and traditional costumes collected by Réhahn, can be viewed at the Vietnamese Women’s Museum in Hanoi. Through all of his projects, Réhahn’s care for the people he photographs is clear with every click of his camera.

Whether they’re filled with joy or timidity, Réhahn’s portraits of children in Vietnam show what life is like in that country.

Travel photographer Réhahn goes the extra mile to connect with the people he photographs and uses natural features like human hands to tell a story. This page, aged hands cover Madam Xong’s playful smile in one of the photographer’s most famous images, taken in Vietnam. Opposite page, he found a similar response from a naturally playful child he encountered in Vietnam.