VICTOR TONTHAT NGUYEN. PHOTOGRAPHY.

Ha Ra

2010-02-21T02:11:00.000-08:00

Saigon, Vietnam - January 2009

Stuffed Leopard

2010-02-16T18:29:00.000-08:00

Reunification Palace, Saigon, Vietnam - January 2010

Presidential Car

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Reunification Palace, Saigon, Vietnam - January 2009

Temple

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Soc Trang, Vietnam - January 2009

Novice Monks

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Soc Trang, Vietnam - January 2010

Dorado

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Manuel Antonio Beach, Costa Rica - June 2006

Mt. Baldy

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View from Pantera Park, Diamond Bar, California - February 2009

Two Young Fisherman

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Cano Negro, Costa Rica - June 2006

La Fortuna Waterfall

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La Fortuna, Costa Rica - June 2006

McLean's Auto Body

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Santa Barbara, California - January 2009

Auto Advertisement

2010-02-03T20:54:00.000-08:00

Oxnard, California - January 2009

To Telescope

2010-02-03T20:51:00.000-08:00

Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles, California - March 2008

Uncle Sams

2010-02-03T20:48:00.000-08:00

Thousand Oaks, California - January 2009

Scene from a Tuk Tuk (Moto-Taxi)

2010-01-29T19:26:00.000-08:00

Phnom Penh, Cambodia - December 2009

Christmas on Monivong Blvd

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Phnom Penh, Cambodia - December 2009

Power and Telephone Lines

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Nha Trang, Vietnam - January 2010

Country Girl

2010-01-25T22:34:00.001-08:00

Road to Dalat, Vietnam - January 2010

Roadside Construction

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Road to Dalat, Vietnam - January 2010

The Conical Hat

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Dalat, Vietnam - January 2010

Perfume River Boat Captain

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Hue, Vietnam - January 2010

Cat on a Leash

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Dalat, Vietnam - January 2010

Competition

2010-01-23T20:41:00.000-08:00

Dalat, Vietnam - January 2010
It is not unusual in Vietnam to see groups of shops, food booths, and restaurants set up right next to each other offering nearly identical items with no differences in price. This photo was taken in the central market in Dalat.

Street Food

2010-01-23T20:34:00.000-08:00

Dalat, Vietnam - January 2010

Legos

2010-01-23T20:32:00.001-08:00

Dalat, Vietnam - January 2010

The "American War" Legacy?

2010-01-23T20:30:00.000-08:00

Saigon, Vietnam - January 2010

On the first day of my first visit to Ho Chi Minh City (still unofficially referred to as Saigon) I tried to find some sort of hint or visible clue to the legacy of the Vietnam War (or American War to the Vietnamese) and the first thing I stumble across is this image of an American soldier on a boy's outfit for sale in a shop window.

Royal Palace

2010-01-23T20:13:00.000-08:00

Phnom Penh, Cambodia - December 2009

Photo Essay: Tuol Sleng aka Security Prison 21 (S-21)

2010-01-20T21:59:00.000-08:00

Phnom Penh, Cambodia - December 2009

In December 2009, I visited Cambodia and Vietnam with Angelique. One of the sites we visited was the infamous secret prison Tuol Sleng aka Security Prison 21 (S-21) that was used by the Khmer Rouge to detain and torture victims of genocide between 1975-1979 under the leadership of Pol Pot. Today it is a reminder of the tragedy the Cambodian people suffered where 2 million people died through systemic killing and starvation. Sadly, the genocide was relatively unknown to the American public then and remains so today. Visiting the museum is an experience I will never forget.

For further reading: an article posted in gq magazine in 2009: http://www.gq.com/news-politics/big-issues/200907/cambodia-khmer-rouge-michael-paterniti

A cot used by the Khmer Rouge at S-21 to torture and execute victims.

Photographs taken by Vietnamese combat photographer Ho Van Tay following the Vietnamese invasion still hang on the walls of the converted museum. The Vietnamese discovered the prison by following the stench of rotting corpses.

Stairwell in building A. The white and mustard tiles are still stained from blood.

Photographs of prisoners taken by the Khmer Rouge hang in rows in building B. Of the thousands imprisoned from 1975-1979, only 7 survived.

A museum visitor inspects the photographs of victims.

A look inside a typical cell. Victims were chained and given a bowl for food and water and an ammunition box to store excrement.

View of a cell through a hallway door.

Forensic evidence of the executions. Though many victims were shot, most were killed using gardening tools to save valuable bullets.