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Another year is in the books, and I think it’s been a pretty good one! Here’s a little (bit long) rundown of some of the different stuff that I got in to this year.

One of my first assignments of the year was a portrait for The New York Times. I’ll go on to do a number of others this year, as you’ll see below

HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM - FEBRUARY 14, 2017: A portrait of Do Thi Minh Hanh, a labor activist in Vietnam. Her efforts to better the conditions of factory workers earned her arrest in 2010 and a seven year sentence, of which she served four years before being released in 2014. Quinn Ryan Mattingly for The New York Times (Quinn Ryan Mattingly)

(click to read the article)

Not long after that was another one, looking at fake art in Vietnam.

HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM – JULY 18, 2016: A portrait of Vietnamese artist Thanh Chung with his painting, “The Abstract,” which he says he created in the 1970’s. The piece, part of exhibition in Ho Chi Minh City, Thanh Chung says, was altered, reattributed to another well-known Vietnamese artist and dated decades before he created it. (Quinn Ryan Mattingly)

(click to read the article)

I also started running photo tours much more this year via Saigon School of Imaging, which is my workshops and tours side hustle, if you will.  While exploring possible locations one day early in the year, I met this guy, Mr. Tai, who has a pretty wild pet monkey. He’s usually a hoot (both him and the monkey) and is now on of the frequent stops on my tours! I’ve already got a few tours and workshops booked for this week, so come join me sometime this year!

Here are just a few of my other favorite shots from various tours over the year.

Sometimes you find yourself in the belly of a cargo boat…in Saigon! Great tour this morning with @george_of_dubai @saigonphototours (Quinn Ryan Mattingly)

My how time passes us by…Myself and my son in 1972 in Hanoi. From another great photo tour yesterday. @saigonphototours (Quinn Ryan Mattingly)

Another of my fairly frequent stops. Mrs. Thi holds a picture of herself and her son, taken in 1972 in Hanoi.

 (Quinn Ryan Mattingly)

Faces in the market crowd from a recent photo tour. We’ll be out again on Friday morning if anyone wants to join! (Quinn Ryan Mattingly)

 

 Next up in late February was an on location fashion/product shoot for local client Punda Milia, who make high end handbags. We shot on the beach and sand dunes in Mui Ne, and I really loved some of the images we created!

 (Quinn Ryan Mattingly)

and a few shots for myself while I was there…

Visitors to the red sand dunes just outside of the (in)famous Mui Ne hotel strip take in the sunset as close to one another as they can. And the weird thing, people were gathered in the same spot the next morning for sunrise, which of course comes up on the other side. Notice I and my camera were nowhere near such shenanigans! PS, zoom into the bottom right and there’s a little surprise for you :) (Quinn Ryan Mattingly)

At sunrise on a quiet beach near Mui Ne, a tourist takes in a morning run while a local man drags the shallow water for snails. I found the different uses of the morning light, for each of us, to be fascinating. Image by @quinnryanmattingly (Quinn Ryan Mattingly)

In March, I was commissioned for a few editorial shoots by Ink Publishing, one for Etihad Airlines magazine, and one for Tiger Air magazine. You can see more on this blog post, and here a few of my favorite shots

 (Quinn Ryan Mattingly)

The riverfront just outside of Can Tho city plays host to a range of activities early each morning. Image by @quinnryanmattingly (Quinn Ryan Mattingly)

 (Quinn Ryan Mattingly)

In late March I embarked on a 2 week assignment for The Global Fund in Cambodia and Myanmar. The focus was Malaria treatment and eradication projects. Here are a few photos and a video.

A boy is being screened for Malaria in Bosaum Village, Battambang Province, Cambodia. (Quinn Ryan Mattingly)

U Saw Zar Li, an ethnic Karen village health volunteer, in portrait in Taung Kalay village, Kayin State, Myanmar. (Quinn Ryan Mattingly)

(click to watch the video)

A day or few after returning from the rural countryside of Myanmar, it was time to switch gears completely and shoot 2 weddings back to back, one in Saigon and one in Nha Trang. Here are a few of my favorite shots from each…

 

 

 

The next notable thing I think happened was not an assignment or shoot persay, but having some of my work featured by Photoshelter. They started a series called One Photo, where photographers share one image that means a lot to them and the backstory behind it. I was honored to be included among a few other very notable photojournalists in the industry. Here is my one photo and a little video as well.

 

Switching gears completely again, as it seems my job does alot, I was in the studio/kitchen to create some images of intricate pastries created by a friend of mine. Here’s just one, and there are more in a blog post here.

 (Quinn Ryan Mattingly)

In May, I again joined my friend Etienne on a 3 day tour of central Vietnam, a highlight for me every year! Here’s one of my favorite images and a few more in a blog post here  We’ll be doing it again March 2nd-4th this year, come join if you can!

 (Quinn Ryan Mattingly)

A month or two later I was back in the central for a little trip. I think we set out to photograph the salt fields, but the weather didn’t cooperate, so the next best nearby thing was a shipyard, which actually turned out to be more fun I think! Check out more in this post.

 (Quinn Ryan Mattingly)

Over the summer and fall, the photo editors at The New York Times kept me pretty busy. here are a few images and links from various stories and assignments.

PREY NOKOR KNUNG, CAMBODIA – SEPTEMBER 10, 2017 A novice monk on the grounds of a pagoda built in 2006 and donated by Prime Minister Hun Sen. The grounds that are believed to be to be the ancient capitol of 16th century king Sdach Kan. (Quinn Ryan Mattingly)

One from rural  Cambodia

HANOI, VIETNAM – JUNE 29, 2017: A portrait of Nguyen Anh Tuan, 27, a human rights activist and supporter of freedoms of expression in Vietnam since 2011. He works with VOICE, Vietnamese Overseas Initiative for Conscience Empowerment, a group working to promote civil society. (Quinn Ryan Mattingly)

A story on activists in Vietnam 

One on business in Vietnam, but tied to a much more interesting story. Give this one a read! 

Another portrait assignment in Danang

BU GIA MAP, VIETNAM – OCTOBER 6, 2017: Tra Thi Nhan, 35, owner of a small pharmacy in Bu Gia Map District in Binh Phuoc Province. Pharmacies like this are no longer permitted to sell medications for Malaria, and instead must refer to potential patients to a local hospital for diagnosis and treatment. This is done in hopes of tighter controls on Malaria medications, which in hopes will decrease the drug resistance that has become more prevalent in recent years. (Quinn Ryan Mattingly)

One on malaria in Vietnam 

In September, I had trip to northern Vietnam planned just for me to shoot for myself, and I somehow ended up with 4 perfectly timed assignments while I was there! This was one of my favorites, shooting on a phone. Check out more images and story published on Ignant’s site or more on my blog as well.
edf (Quinn Ryan Mattingly)

And of course a few more for me and my Under Great Northern Skies ongoing personal project

 (Quinn Ryan Mattingly)

Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em! Near Mu Cang Chai, Yen Bai Province (Quinn Ryan Mattingly)Just back from a few weeks in the north for travels and work. I’m sure you all really missed me, right? Boys play on a buffalo near Ta Van, outside of Sapa in the northern province of Lao Cai. It’s a classic scene in the north, but one I can never resist shooting! I should have a good stock of new images to post in the coming days and weeks, so stay tuned... (Quinn Ryan Mattingly)

The young crowd plays an electronic game inside a barn in the town of Y Ty, Lao Cai Province. I think it might have been the only form of entertainment in the town…beyond drinking of course! Image by @quinnryanmattingly (Quinn Ryan Mattingly)

Just as I got back to Saigon from the mountains, it was again a big change of gears, this time to another wedding, which was a blast! Here are a few images from the festivities and more found on this post 

And though a little out of order, a video I shot and produced in August for a European clothing company for their Black Friday campaign. And I actually was in Laos just a few weeks ago to make a similar one for another factory, so the edit for that will be coming soon!

And I thought a good way to end it would be a few images from a trip to Korea in December. It was my first time back in about 8 years since I lived there, and was great to catch up with some old friends and students!

It was pretty cool to return to Korea after 8 years away. Seeing some old friends, bosses, students and my old haunts brought back some good memories. And though it was cold, it was great not to sweat at all! This is one of the few images I made (it was my 1 week holiday from crazy work schedules), but one I like nonetheless. Back to the warmer climes of South East Asia! (Quinn Ryan Mattingly)

So, as you can see 2017 was a pretty busy year, and these were just the highlights! Let’s hope 2018 is even better! Now, back to work first thing tomorrow morning!

 

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