There are moments in a photographer’s life where everything just clicks—the light, the emotion, the patience, and the recognition. On December 10, 2018, National Geographic published their Your Shot community’s “Best Photos of 2018.” Out of over 1.2 million uploads from talented photographers across the globe, they selected just 70 images.
I am incredibly humbled to say that my photograph was one of them. With roughly a 1 in 17,143 chance of making the cut, the competition was staggering. But the real story isn’t the math; it’s what happened behind the lens. Here is the story of how that image came to life.
The story behind
The true heart of this image is the hundreds of Buddhists gathered in a display of incredible discipline. From the young virgin girls selected to lead the first row to the elders in the back, every person was unified. I wanted to capture the collective soul of the practitioners—hundreds of pairs of hands clasped in prayer, a silent but powerful testament to their faith and hope for mankind.
The image captures hundreds of Buddhists clasping their hands in prayer during the final hours of the lantern festival. It is a deeply respectful ritual meant to pray for the peace and health of mankind. The ceremony begins as the sun dips below the horizon and lasts for three mesmerizing hours, illuminating the night with warmth and culminating in this powerful moment of unified devotion.
This took place in Northern Vietnam at the beautiful Dien Quang pagoda, located in Bac Ninh province. The specific occasion was the day of Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, adding a layer of profound sanctity to the location.
The exact moment the shutter clicked was 8:06 PM on October 29, 2017—during the final, most poignant hours of the festival. But the true secret to this “When” was my patience.
Many photographers attended this event, but almost all of them stuck to the same standard angles, shooting from behind the crowd to capture what they had already seen before. I waited. I stayed until the other photographers had packed up their gear and left. I realized that the true essence of the moment wasn’t happening behind the crowd—it was happening on their faces.
I am deeply passionate about my homeland, and I captured this because it represents the soul of Vietnamese culture. I wanted to show the world the beautiful discipline, tranquility, and emotion of the Vietnamese people as they honored their traditions. Capturing them from the front, rather than from behind, was the only way to genuinely convey that cultural depth.
How I took that shot?
To capture the emotion of the attendees without interrupting the sanctity of the ritual, I knew I needed to shoot from above and use a telephoto lens to compress the scene.
I was shooting with a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, paired with a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens. Because it was night and I wasn’t using a flash and tripod (to preserve the natural lantern light and respect the ceremony), I had to push my gear to its low-light limits.
Here were my exact settings:
- Focal Length: 70mm
- Shutter speed: 1/50 sec (just fast enough to freeze the still, disciplined crowd)
- Aperture: f/2.8 (wide open to let in as much lantern light as possible)
- ISO: 1600
- Exposure Compensation: -0.3 step
- Mode: Aperture Priority with Pattern metering; No flash.
By positioning myself above the crowd and utilizing the ambient glow of the lanterns, I was able to capture the faces, the discipline, and the sheer scale of the event in a way that resonated with the editors at National Geographic.
You can view the full gallery of the Best Photos of 2018 where my work is featured here: National Geographic Your Shot Best Photos of 2018
Sometimes the best shot comes to those who wait just a little longer than everyone else!