“VN Photographer of the Week”: Philip Genochio

Philip captures, other than life on the streets and in the alleys, both vacant and occupied spaces. But more importantly, he captures the facets of lives revealed through the open doors and windows of those who call those spaces home.

“I moved to Saigon from London in 2011 and have been living in deepest darkest District 4 pretty much ever since. My photography is perhaps a combination of documentary, travel and street styles but I also like to play around with abstracts. It’s really a matter of what’s inspiring me whether I happen to be at that moment in time. I rarely leave the house with a subject or theme in mind, usually just choose an area to visit and then let the alleys and my sense of exploration take over”.

“For street photography, I can’t imagine there are many better cities to shoot in than Saigon. The light’s great for 12 hours a day, 365 days a year. And even when there’s no natural light there’s loads of artificial light — and things going on! It’s so compact that you don’t have travel far to find spots of activity. And down every alley and back street lies a new adventure. So its really easy to find things to shoot — the challenge though lies in making images in your own visual language that speak of your Saigon”.

“Later this year I hope to launch some workshop-style photowalks where I’ll be helping people to think about visualisation and making images — not just taking photographs. Rather than just walking around clicking the camera/phone, we’ll use short assignments to make compelling images while exploring alleys, side streets and markets”.

Photography by Philip Genochio

Featured on ig_vietnam by Vietnam Sans Frontières