Winner - National Geographic Traveller Magazine Photography Competition 2025
I was delighted to win both the 'People' category and the overall, Grand Prize, in the 2025 National Geographic Traveller photography competition with this image, which was taken in the village of Thanh Kim, in northern Vietnam, close to the border with China.
The Red Dao minority people of Lao Cai Province are one of Vietnam’s most distinctive ethnic groups, largely due to their headdresses. Here, a great grandmother sits at the door of her property working on some embroidery with her great granddaughter. Their intricate embroidery is a skill passed down from mother to daughter and further generations.
What the judges said
“This is such an intimate moment between generations that captures so much beauty and humanity. The colours, light and textures work really well.”
As seen in the following publications:
> CNN
Technical details: Fujifilm X-T4, XF 16-80mm lens at 18mm, f4, 1/125 sec at ISO 5000.
