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Film Photography & Cultural Heritage | Vietnam & Global

@castorie

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🪷 elopement — archival film @emoi.studio
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“Le Génie du lieu”

As a photographer, I have been granted the ability to see the world deeply and patiently. There is this specific, strange feeling that I have been trying to convey through my photography — the connection between the invisible spiritual world and the real world of the living in Hanoi.

A Hanoian born and raised, I remember reading eagerly all the tales of Hanoi from the Thăng Long era. When the dragon flew up to the sky, hence the name Thăng-Long (the city of ascending dragon), or when the godly turtle messenger returned the magical sword. The white-horse Founding God of Hanoi. And so on. These stories shaped my entire world view. I always feel like I am somewhat dreaming, or I am floating in a distant reverie. I can imagine vividly those scenes from a thousand years ago in the remaining architecture of Hanoi. In those rusty temples, on the sparkling lakes.

Does this spiritual world of Hanoi truly exist? I don't know, but I also cannot explain why I always feel a sense of peace when I enter these places.

My photos are the love letters devoted to this once ruined imperial citadel, now the capital city, Hanoi. And I hope I could share part of this hidden world of Hanoi with you.

Shot on 35mm. Seen in Hanoi, 2025-2026
(n.) Le Génie du lieu (Genius Loci): The Spirit of a place. This term describes the distinctive, spiritual, sacred soul of a place by @castorie

Super-8 film | For the couples who value privacy, intimacy, and the art of craftsmanship.

Currently based in Vietnam and France, our approach to still-and-moving-image is that we believe it is a portal of the hearts. We document the quiet reality of the day.

To see more of our work, please check out the website on our bio — emoistudio.com.

Videographers: @emoi.studio | @hanh_diaz @_hanhdiuniverse_ @castorie
Editor: @emoi.studio | @_hanhdiuniverse_ @hanh_diaz
Wedding planner: @theplannersvn
Venue: @l7hotel_westlakehanoibylotte by @castorie

Moments that last forever

Life is full of surprises. As a photographer, I have been very lucky and able to meet the loveliest people. Your joys, your tears, your smiles, your looks, your genuine thoughts – all of these little things that you are sharing with me, are so precious and beautiful to me. If only I could make these moments live on, it would have been enough.

It might be so irrelevant, but I have always asked myself, what is the meaning of what I am doing, or if there is any? I think this year I am finally able to answer that question —

I am celebrating all of those beautiful tiny seconds that made up Life along with you all. Those fleeting moments, though might not last forever, will still live on in our hearts. Those little whiles where no one could hide their depth of feelings and happiness. Those moments that feel like you are coming back home.

I want to treasure them all, and I believe you are feeling the same way. And I am thankful for that, truly I am.

These are sneak peeks from one of the most intimate, blissful and cozy engagements that I was so lucky to take part in. Cảm ơn hai em Ngân and Việt Anh for letting me into your world and capture these moments. by @castorie

“Trong thuận cảnh nghĩ đến vô thường. Trong nghịch cảnh nghĩ đến nhân quả.
Thuận cảnh không sanh tâm tham luyến, nghịch cảnh không sanh tâm sân hận.”

Meaning:
When we are enjoying prosperity, remember everything is fleeting and impermanent.
When times are hard, let yourself be humbled and surrender to karma.
Instead of becoming greedy, let yourself remain unattached in comfort,
and free yourself from being bitter when facing hardships. by @castorie

Inspired by Vũ-Cao Đàm’s « Divinité » blue paintings 💙

According to Vietnamese astrology, my birth year’s element is a “silent, hidden, crystal-clear stream, flowing quietly beneath the earth”.
It means that it might not have much power, but it can nurture life.
I think my lesson is learning not to be too hurried all the time, to appreciate the little things that made up life, and to accept everything as it is without forcing them to change.

In “Tiên Du Tự”, Nguyễn Trãi wrote:
“Hoa lạc giản lưu hương”
(花落澗流香 — The petals fall, and the stream carries on the fragrance — Hoa rụng, suối lưu hương).

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Outfit — The “Starry Night” by @dongphong.vn
Film photos by em @april.but.not.foolish
MUA @ohmaigod___ @maimakeuphouse by @castorie

Hôm nay, cuối cùng cũng học được chữ “buông”.
Yêu thương mà không dính mắc, nghĩa là nghiệp đã hoá thành duyên.

Những bức ảnh tôi chụp ở “nơi tận cùng thế giới” — Cabo da Roca, cực Tây của lục địa châu Âu già cỗi. Đứng ở nơi ấy giống như đối diện với chính mình, bởi phía trước là Đại Tây Dương trải dài tới tận chân trời không có điểm dừng, tới mức gần như vô thực. Không còn điểm neo đậu nào. Hồi còn trong độ tuổi 19-20, tôi nghĩ sự tự do ấy thật tuyệt vời, chẳng có điều gì níu kéo mình lại. Bây giờ, tôi cảm thấy do dự hơn, có lẽ khoảng không vô định ấy khiến tôi sợ hãi, như một cánh diều đứt dây biết nó rồi cũng sẽ rơi xuống vì chẳng có gì giữ mình lại. Nhưng có lẽ việc được bay lên, được trải nghiệm, được yêu, hi vọng và thất vọng đều là những điều quý giá.

Seen at Cabo da Roca, Portugal, 2015. Shot on 35mm film. by @castorie

A day in the ancient capital, Huē. 2026

Huế welcomed us with a spring rainfall. You could smell the scent of the Earth. Every corner was so quiet, like a forgotten city. Huế is mysteriously graceful.

Invited on this trip by Ánh and Thái to capture moments before the actual wedding was such a blessing. I asked Ánh why did they choose Huế? She said it was just her quiet intuition. They loved Huế and that's all the reason they needed. I didn't really understand, until I saw them in Huế, in the old, ruined citadel. They were made for this place, and this place was made for them.

It was a whisper, sort of, saying that if your heart is a calling for a place, it might have a meaning behind. And you should go for it. I like to believe that above this ordinary wonderful life, there is a reason that we visit a place and instantly feel connected to it, even if it is not where we are originally from.

We witnessed four seasons in just one day there. It was so sunny in the morning, and then suddenly a big rainfall in the afternoon. As if Huế wanted us to accept all of her. I read somewhere, a poet from Huế named Hoàng-Phủ-Ngọc-Tường said that to truly know this place, you have to see it in the rain, so that you can feel the melancholy coloring this landscape, and the depth of sentiment of Huế people. Ánh and Thái walking together through four seasons in just one day, holding hands and making each other laugh, was probably the best thing I have seen.

I pulled out my film cameras and the tripod, with the help of @_hanhdiuniverse_, and the amazing floral design by my favorite florist @bean.florist (it was a very last minute request from me), I was able to capture their full day being in love. All the good meetings, at the right time.

“Những chiều Bến Ngự dâng mưa
Chừng như ai đó mơ hồ gọi tôi!”
Có lẽ là những mối duyên lành. 💙

Florist @bean.florist
Silk dress @nousea.vn
Seen in Huế, Vietnam. Shot on 35mm, 120 film and digital by @castorie

Don’t Hesitate

If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy,
don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty
of lives and whole towns destroyed
or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often
kind. And much can never be redeemed.
Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this
is its way of fighting back, that sometimes
something happens better than all the riches
or power in the world. It could be anything,
but very likely you notice it in the instant
when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the
case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid
of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb.

— Mary Oliver by @castorie

Study of light and mist in the northern part of Vietnam

When I first started photography, I know that it is the art of light. It means, in the simplest way in my mind: The clearer and brighter the light, the better. I admired photos where the light is so harsh you can see the border of the shadow and the highlight. There is no confusion - what you see is what you get.

But Vietnam is a country with diverse climates. The North of Vietnam, the « Tonkin » that so many French writers had written about, is a place with ever-changing monsoonal weathers. The light is harsh but also very misty during the summer, thanks to all the rains and storms and all the previous humid days building it up. Then comes the very short dry autumn with contrasting light, it makes you feel so lucky to be alive; and again, following by a(nother) highly humid spring that you can smell the scent of the Earth almost every day. The overcast sky looks like a monochrome grey or white canvas. The days of clear bright light with blue sky can be counted on one's fingers.

But while researching about the styles of Vietnamese artists such as Lê Phổ, Mai Trung Thứ or Nguyễn Phan Chánh, I realized they took a heavy inspiration from the light of this land. Unlike the dramatic lighting (Chiaroscuro) of Western art, the lighting in Indochinese paintings is often more "expressive" than "descriptive". The light in silk paintings of these renowned artists often lacks a defined source (ambience light). It seems to inspired by the silk texture itself, a hazy, dream-like feeling, with no harsh shadows. I finally understand this subtlety. It is so soft that it blurs the shapes of things. There is no borders, no limits. It blurs away reality, bringing you to the dearest, deepest place in your heart where you were yearning for.

Seen in Ninh Binh, 2025.
Video without any filter by @castorie

A day in the life of an artist.

Featuring Hien Vu (@hoalaco_vn), an artist experimenting with different types of soil and clays. She combines her background in a scientific field - biology, with her passion in book-binding.

Her creative process begins in the field. First, she would scout places, and then go and hand-collect distinct soils, clays, plants and fibers. From there, she classifies them and turns those raw earth elements into pigments, papers, fabric and plant-dyed fibers. Her house is full of plants she collected from various parts of Vietnam.

Her work is made entirely by hand. It is a long and slow process. I think because of course, you cannot speed up what is made from your hands and your heart.

The request for this photoshoot was simple: Hien just wanted to be present as herself, in an ordinary morning like every other morning in her artist's life. So I arrived at her studio at 5am, enjoyed the breakfast and a cup of homemade mulberry tea offered by her, and spent the whole quiet, beautiful morning with Hien and her two little cats.

Hanoi, 2025
Shot on 35mm & digital by @castorie

Hồi đi du học mình vô cùng may mắn, vì mình được làm bạn với nhiều người tốt ở những nền văn hoá khác nhau.

Họ giúp mình mở rộng thế giới quan, dạy mình về sự khác biệt, và khiến mình tò mò những điều đẹp đẽ ngoài kia.

Bạn mình là một chị senpai người Nhật khoá trên vừa dễ thương lại học giỏi, là các bạn người Hàn Quốc vui tính nấu ăn ngon và thích uống rượu một mình buổi đêm. Là cậu bạn người Bồ Đào Nha phòng bên (học sinh ưu tú) ngành dược, lâu lâu sẽ cho mình ăn ké món mẹ cậu ấy làm. Là chị cùng bàn, một nhà toán học người Iran coi mình như em gái ruột, tết tóc cho mình, mời mình về nhà chị chơi và khoe với mình tủ trà trăm vị.

Rồi mỗi lần đi phượt một mình ở châu Âu, mình lại được kết nạp làm em gái ai đó. Là hai anh chị người Mỹ lo lắng cho mình ở sân bay Charles de Gaulle (vì thấy mình nhỏ xíu xiu). Là bạn nữ người Thái (một mình tới châu Âu để thăm người yêu) mình gặp được trên chuyến xe flixbus từ Áo sang Séc, bắt chuyện với nhau vì cả hai xuống cùng bến xe. Là anh trai người Úc hay đùa và anh người Thổ Nhĩ Kỳ chơi ukulele rất giỏi.

Và, mối tình đầu mình may mắn gặp được ở Vienna nữa.

Trước đó mình chưa từng nghĩ bản thân sẽ tò mò tìm hiểu về chữ viết, hay mở lòng với nền văn hoá hoặc tôn giáo quá khác biệt.

Càng không tưởng tượng được rằng mình có thể đau lòng khi theo dõi thông tin về đất nước vốn chẳng liên quan tới Việt Nam như Iran hay Thổ Nhĩ Kỳ.

Nhưng hoá ra trái tim có thể trở nên nhạy cảm đến vậy, chỉ vì ai đó đã nở nụ cười với mình, đã tết tóc cho mình, đã chơi đàn cho mình nghe, hay cùng mình nói chuyện 1 giờ đồng hồ về thế giới này...

Mình học được nhiều thứ tiếng. Nhưng chẳng phải mình giỏi. Thật ra, động lực của mình là những kỉ niệm trong trẻo và sự ấm áp của ai đó mình đã nhận được trên đường, vì không muốn đánh mất chúng, vì mình sợ sẽ quên đi những kết nối với một người bạn nào đó ở nền văn hoá rất xa xôi. by @castorie

A Moveable Feast
Throwback to the time I just turned 20 and happened to be in Paris.

Me in my 20s was a shy, young student majored in linguistics and literature, who loved fine arts and photography with a naive passion. To be in Coimbra, then Vienna, then Berlin, and finally Paris at that pivot moment was enough for me to shape my worldview, setting the entire theme of my 20s. I was lucky to visit the Maison de Balzac, Maison de Victor Hugo and so on. And reading A moveable feast, all the while being in Paris, I felt like I was being delirious with joy.

To quote Ernest Hemingway, from his strangely lovely book I was reading on the balcony of my appartement:

"If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast". by @castorie