Exploring Asia

with Etienne Bossot and his camera.

Etienne Bossot, a travel photographer based in Hoi An, Vietnam, became active as a photographer only eight years ago, after moving to Asia. He says: "I fell in love with the area and its people and felt the need to capture it. So I bought a camera, and have never looked back." Etienne taught himself photography by shooting pictures every day—learning from his mistakes and successes—and later by teaching photography to others. There are few quicker ways to master a subject than by teaching it.

Etienne now runs photography tours and workshops throughout Asia, permitting him to travel and share his passion for photography with others. He is also a successful commercial and wedding photographer in South East Asia.

Etienne uses a Canon 5D Mark 3 camera, switching among the following lenses a Sigma 35mm f/1.4, a Zeiss 50mm f/1.4, a Canon 100mm Macro f/2.8, and a Canon 16-35mm f/2.8. "The 50mm lens is the one which is on the camera most of the time," says Etienne.

Even though Etienne has recently developed an interest in photographing landscapes, he says that he invariably ends up including people in his compositions. He says they are an integral part of the landscape in Asia.

His passion lies in what he calls "Travel photography focused on people." "I love the people of Asia," says Etienne. "This motivates me to get out and meet them, discover their ways of life, and become familiar with local cultures and customs."

Etienne's plan as a younger man was to become an ethnologist, studying people and their cultures. "I guess I am sort of doing that today, thanks to photography," says Etienne.

WEBSITE

Etienne regularly publishes photography-related articles on his website www.picsofasia.com, largely writing about the things discussed during his workshops. Not surprisingly, all his articles are related to travel photography focused on people.

EMAIL

Etienne can be reached by email at [email protected]