Family photo shoot on Tet holiday

I remember the old days, every time Tet came, when the whole family was together, my mother would call Uncle Sau to come take pictures. At that time, his shop was the only photo studio in the area. Every year, the image of us growing up, the whole family gathering together was recorded through those dear photos.

Girl and Spring - Photo: Trinh Hoang Tan

When receiving the photos, my mother would stick them in a large frame, where other photos were kept. Now that I think about it, many people did the same thing in the past. When you enter a house, you will easily see a photo frame hanging on the wall. Some houses put the photos on a glass plate under the table, so that guests can easily look at the photos, ask questions, and discuss them, as if it were a very intimate and natural way to start a conversation.

I am often moved by black and white photos because of the feeling that time has passed, leaving many traces. The signs of aging are etched on the faces and figures of grandparents and parents. The innocence of children has faded, everyone has grown up with worried, thoughtful and somewhat cautious faces. Looking at the photo, I know the power of time is truly terrible, especially when there are so many people in the photo, some still alive and some gone. I hear impermanence calmly nearby.

At that time, photos were taken with film so it took a long time to develop, during peak times like Tet, sometimes it took more than a month. The feeling of waiting to see the photo I had taken was also very exciting. There were few opportunities to take photos so looking at every photo, I saw shy, slightly forced smiles, unlike now, where from children to adults, everyone knows how to "act" in front of the lens. It's not a comparison, but I appreciate old photos because they are genuine and have depth, not the "industrial" style like now.

Back then, the shooting motifs were mostly directed by photographers, so sometimes the Tet photos of each family looked similar. Families sat at tables and chairs, looked at the camera and smiled, sometimes held glasses to toast, or stood next to flower pots placed in front of the porch. Nowadays, there are many props, settings, and backgrounds, the photos are beautifully polished, the people in the photos are perfect from skin to figure. Those differences are obvious, but it seems that the excitement and eagerness have also diminished a lot.

The Tet holiday photos back then were valuable because it was the occasion for children to have new clothes, adults to be neat and tidy, and the house to be neat and beautiful with a few pots of marigolds or peonies. Unlike now, we have more things to do, clothes can be bought all year round, and the appearance of the house is more important. The eagerness to gather and take a family photo seems to have become unnecessary.

Taking photos is not difficult now, with a smartphone in hand, anyone can record any moment they want. Those countless photos are rarely printed. We have more tools to save and “display” from social media platforms. However, we show others more than we see ourselves.

Some people take a lot of photos of themselves, of food and drinks, of random landscapes. However, they forget to take photos with their loved ones, especially their grandparents and parents. Like my friend, one day his father suddenly passed away, he was shocked when he could not find a single photo of the two of them together. Luckily, when he looked through an old album, he found a faded photo taken when he was five years old, his father holding him in his arms. The photo could not contain all the sadness and longing for his father, but it helped him realize that moment had become forever.

Nowadays, at spring travel destinations such as parks or tourist attractions, photographers are ready to serve customers. We can save images of our family enjoying the spring, but I still love photos taken at home. To remember when I was this old, my house was like this, this corner of the table, this window frame because who knows, over the years, those things will no longer exist, even me and the person next to me will change in the blink of an eye. It is not true that a hundred years of life can be framed in a lifeless photo, the value of memories is when they are gone, we will see how precious and regretful they are.

This Tet, don't forget to take pictures with your family!

Miraculous Love

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