
Vietnamese workers sit surrounded by thousands of incense sticks in Quang Phu Cau, a village in Hanoi, Vietnam, where the sticks have been traditionally made for hundreds of years. Incense plays an important role in the spiritual lives of Vietnamese people. The bamboo bundles are arranged on the ground on sunny days so as to dry them. To make the incense sticks the bamboo is first split in two, cleaned and dusted and then a third of the stick is colored red, purple, or yellow. To dry them the sticks are laid out on the ground or roadside for about one day. After they have dried, the sticks are collected and put into bunches of about ten and these are fastened together. They are then sold around the provinces. One of my best artworks and won many prestigious awards. Such as Grand prize from American Photography Open 2020, USA. Photographer of the year award from Shatto Gallery International Photography Awards 2020, USA. 1st Prize winner from Capture One Pro photo contest 2020, Denmark.