VietNamNet Bridge - John Ramsden is a diplomat but he has a passion for photography. From 1980 to 1983, he was sent to Hanoi as part of the British Diplomatic Service’s mission. Within three years, he traveled around Hanoi and the surrounding areas to explore the life here.

In the early 1980s, Vietnam was at the beginning of a difficult period following the war end. Amidst the post-war living environment, however, one could feel a sense of hope and a relentless fighting spirit of the Vietnamese people.

Ramsden went for long walks around the city of Hanoi, bicycled out to the surrounding villages and made trips during the weekends, always bringing along his camera. More than 1,800 photographs of Hanoi had been taken as a result between 1980 and 1983.

In 2010 he had a small exhibition of his photographs at the Museum of East Asian Arts in Bath, to coincide with the 1000 year anniversary of the foundation of Hanoi.

In early May 2013, a larger exhibition was held in London entitled "Hanoi: Spirit of Place". Today, July 26, John Ramsden will be in Hanoi after 30 years of no return. He will have talks at the Goethe Institute Hanoi about his photos and Hanoi in the 1980s.

It is expected that a photo exhibition by Ramsden will be organized in Hanoi later this year.

T. Van