I hate writing reviews, I often leave this task to my wife Linda who has a much more positive and accepting disposition; and I am often very "winded", like I am now; but I do owe it to Momentlives, the reasons why will become clear. The protagonists: Linda, an amateur iPhone photographer with artistic vision and a dogged determination to get the right shot the right way, and Joe a well seasoned ex-professional photographer ( I no longer earn my living at it...that's the real meaning of "professional") who keeps forgetting how heavy the camera bag has become. Our team of Son Trieu, photographer and operator of ML, the guide and local historian extraordinaireTran Khanh Duong (goes also by the name of James) the skilled driver Do Ngoc Thanh and the innumerable friendly and obliging people who allowed us to enter their personal lives, even if for a short 'moment'. I assume that you have done the preliminary work even before you begin reading the reviews, here on TA or any other platform. I.E. Who is/ are Momentlives and Son Trieu's bio. I'm sure it will make your task of eliminating from your To-Do list the two most important items: how much trust can you place in him and his team and a verification of his experience as a photographer and operator, not necessarily in that order of importance. And now a "brief" description of our experiences during the trip and resulting feelings. The feelings which are still lingering in our minds and hearts...for it was at times very moving to be given the opportunity to see-talk with-and be accepted by the beautiful people of Northern Vietnam, children, youngsters, adults, and elderly alike. It was evident from seeing their smiles, laughter, and hand shakes. I was curious to know how many major locations we visited and I counted 18, without considering all that came in-between and the scenes observed during the many kms of tavel. So many pleasant, memorable and heart warming experiences. James led the way with incredible skill in planning each day's excursion: 'we'll pick you up at this time, we will travel to that place and it will take us a certain number of minutes/hours. We will stop for lunch here and we'll have so many minutes/hours of photography time'. And along the way, in his very good English, a complete history of this-and-that. After a while his words were swept away by the wind for his knowledge of places, people, and things became too difficult to follow...but I never told James about that! He loves his people, their history, and his country. Vietnam is so fresh in our minds that I in particular am in a state of confusion, so much was seen, done, and photographed. So many pleasant and memorable experiences…and for me to say so is kind of surprising in itself, for as I often say jokingly (but it has some truth to it) ‘I rather sit in the company of bears than people’. Yet, wherever I go I am attracted to the older folks, the ones who show, more than they can tell, their long life journey. And those were the people we mostly photographed during the Photo Tour. The photography was challenging, the given conditions most often difficult, but the results obtained from the quick glances at the LED monitor were so unique and remarkable. Original images of people as they are, as they live, in the environment that shaped them in who they are. We both felt so privileged, so humbled to be gracefully accepted, talked to as if we were friends. James, of course, worked his magic by talking to them, always in a respectful manner. He knows them and it showed when they always warmly greeted each other. And we met those beautiful people in their private modest lodgings, on the streets, at the markets, at restaurants and hotels et cetera. It was a whirlwind of unique experiences which, as I said above, is still creating a bit of confusion in my head, but I feel happy and satisfied about it. And both Linda and I together will soon go back and relive every magical moment by reviewing the image files; for now let them sit for a while for I know they will be full of pleasant surprises. And it was a blessing for not needing, nor attempting to pose anyone; it happened only once near the end of our tour when James surprised us with a special shoot. We had fun. IN A NUTSHELL POSITIVE: full immersive Vietnamese cultural experiences by visiting colourful traditional markets and villages, hardly changed by outside modern pressures. Meeting real Vietnamese people, children and adults, who go about their regular daily life in trying to preserve ancient traditions. The beautiful mountainous landscape of Northern Vietnam. Very good accommodation. Excellent guide and photographer, plus a skilled and conscientious driver with an excellent vehicle. Excellent Vietnamese food. And, very important, sincere and truthful advice before and during the tour. NEGATIVE: ??? Cannot think of much….the one thing that amusingly sticks in my mind is having to fight to have the proper amount of toilet paper in some hotels!!! LOL!! Also, Train Street Photography in Ha Noi led by a lady photographer is unique but not ideal in my opinion in early morning darkness. It is certainly an eery feeling looking at such a noisy, big thing, with bright lights coming towards you at a good speed. A mysterious image for sure. One thing it does is it avoids the crowds that gather there during the day, and it's one of the thing Momentlives believes in, authentic experiences away from touristy areas. Good enough reason for me. And, for me, March is an iffy time for traditional "landscape post card photography" in Northern Vietnam, no green terraces and misty quite often, but not without drama and mystery. That was not Momentlives problem, but ours as we piggybacked the tour after our visit to the Philippines. Son will certainly advise you on when and where. Enjoy Vietnam with Momentlives!!

Great photo opportunities and easily accessible from Hanoi. Very friendly villagers. Our guide James was very helpful and brought us to a very good local breakfast place serving crab noodles.

We spent a day with Momentlives, going to the Fish Traps village in the morning and to an older area of Hanoi, with communist era housing, street markets etc in the afternoon. Our guide James was excellent and very knowledgeable about both his country and photography. His relationships with local people made it easy for us to interact with them too and get great shots. The day was the highlight of our time in Vietnam and we would not have got to either of the places we chose without Momentlives. Many thanks to Mike too for his help arranging the trips.

We did the Hoi A Fishing Net tour, and had an absolutely incredible time. J, our guide, greeted us having convinced a 90 year old lady to take some portraits with us which was a nice bonus. We then set off by boat to the fishing village. J’s local knowledge added a surprisingly informative element to the day, understanding the story behind what we were shooting. The fishing net shoot was fantastic, with J giving great suggestions on composition I wouldn’t have considered, like slowing the shutter to capture the movement of the hands of the ladies. After that we shot a fisherman casting his huge net which was awesome. The main thing that stood out to me was that these opportunities just wouldn’t have been possible without the local knowledge / language. Thanks again J and Son!

"Moments" are exactly what you'll capture when working with Son and his team. Our travel always includes a private photography tour, whether it is for a few hours or a week. We feel it is the best way to learn about and show respect to a culture so different from our own. As an introvert, I do wonder if we'll get stuck with someone we don't really want to spend time with. With MomentLives, you'll wonder if you can fit Son in your suitcase to take him home with you. Our weeklong adventure scheduled for September 2020, finally came together in September 2024 right as a massive typhoon hit. Our original trip to the north was wiped out, but re-routed south so seamlessly by Son and his team that we were never even inconvenienced. While the photo opportunities were different than we had originally planned, they were as unique, jaw-dropping and awe-inspiring as we had hoped for-everything from urban markets to off the beaten-path rural seacoast villages. More impressive than Son's gift for photography is his ability to engage with strangers and make them feel like friends. Not only us, as his clients, but more importantly the locals in every village we visited. This is what is truly important in a photography tour. Capturing those "moments" is so easy and so genuine because of the camaraderie established by Son's interactions with other people. His joy is contagious, he readily finds the beauty in everything and through that makes you want to capture it all with your camera. If you are wondering if you can afford booking a tour with Son, I can promise you that you can't afford not to.

I always wanted to do these tours after seeing posts on instagram. I done these tours on the last day of my holiday. Both tours were amazing and it wonderful seeing the people who master their craft and seeing how the process is done from start to finish. James my tour guide was great and he made my experience special by giving me an insight into the lives of the people that I met. I taken loads of photos that day (even filled up SD cards) which I will treasure. I highly recommend this tour with momentlives. I would definitely book with them again.

We did the Hoi An Fishing Nets, and the tour guide was J. The tour was very well organized and J had himself lots of ideas of different point of views. We were so satisfied that we did booked another photo tour with them. Thanks Son and J.

Son Trieu is a really experienced and knowledgeable guide, the trip was organized really great and we got to learn a lot of great information about the culture of Vietnam. He also got great ideas about different angles of photography and gave valuable suggestions. Had a really good time with my family, will definitely recommend it to friends!

I did a full day tour with momentlives, visiting the incense village, fish trap village, and soy sauce making place. It was a fantastic experience, the tour was well organised and each stop was focussed around letting you take great pictures without rushing. Our guide, Mike, knew where to go and when, and had prearranged local craftspeople to be working together and in interesting places when you got there. He would translate, assist with photos, and always made sure we were happy. I would do any of momentlives photo tours without hesitation. I'm a good solo traveller but I would not have gotten the same photos if I went here alone.

We had a wonderful trip with James, visiting a fish trap village, pottery making village, and rice paper village. We started with an early morning pick up, crossing a river on a ferry in the dark and walking around the village as it woke up. James was very knowledgeable, and village people were incredibly welcoming and kind. The photo opportunities just jumped out at us at each village! We had a wonderful experience. I would certainly encourage you to talk in advance with the leader so that you can customize your experience as we did.

Excellent full day experience with Momentlives! My friend and I are content creators and we were looking for customised tours to photograph the incense village near Hanoi when I came across Momentlives and reached out to Son, the founder. Son answered all my 100 questions with ease and was great to communicate with from the very beginning. We ended up booking the full day tour to visit the Incense village, Fish Traps Village and the Soy Sauce Village with Momentlives. James, our wonderful tour guide and photographer for the day, picked us up at our hotel and took us around all day. Like Son, he was extremely patient and made sure we got all the content we wanted. He also told us a lot about the local life and answered all our questions about the villages we visited. James is also a drone photographer and shot some really great photos and videos for us. Definitely get the package with drone clips if you also love photography. Overall, we truly couldn’t have asked for a better day. If you’re visiting Vietnam, I highly recommend reaching out to Son and booking a tour with his company for an unforgettable experience in Vietnam. I can’t wait to return and visit more places with Momentlives in the future!

Wow, what an incredible photographic opportunity. I did this tour last year, and am doing it again in 2025. It's amazing to be able to capture environmental portraits like this, where these lovely ladies and gentlemen allow you to get all kinds of compositions. I came away with so many great shots, can definitely recommend this tour plus Mike and his team are such fun to shoot with.

I had a very enjoyable experience with Momentlives Photography Tours. From the first moment I contacted Son, the founder, I could tell that his deep knowledge and passion for Vietnam’s culture and traditions would make this an extraordinary journey. As a photographer, I was particularly interested in capturing traditional crafts and authentic daily life. Son arranged a half-day tour to two fascinating villages near Hanoi—one where bamboo fish traps are still made by hand and another where large traditional pots are used to ferment soy sauce. It was amazing to see these traditional processes up close, and Son provided valuable insights into the history and cultural significance of these crafts. His connection with the local communities allowed for a more immersive experience, something that would have been difficult to arrange on my own. Beyond the guided tours, Son was also incredibly helpful in providing recommendations and advice for my independent travels throughout Vietnam. His insights helped me plan my itinerary more effectively, ensuring that I could explore the country's most photogenic and culturally rich locations. The highlight of my experience was a five-day journey to Hà Giang, where I traveled through breathtaking landscapes and remote villages. Son’s expertise in the region was evident as he introduced me to various ethnic minority communities and shared fascinating stories about their traditions, clothing, and way of life. From traditional weaving workshops to picturesque mountain villages, every stop on this journey offered a deeper understanding of Vietnam’s diverse cultural heritage. Throughout the trip, I truly appreciated Son’s dedication to responsible tourism and his respect for local traditions. His ability to connect with people, combined with his deep cultural knowledge, made this an unforgettable experience—not just as a photographer, but as a traveler wanting to learn more about Vietnam. If you are looking for a professional, knowledgeable, and passionate photography guide, I highly recommend Momentlives Photography Tours. Whether you are an experienced photographer or just someone who loves cultural exploration, this is an experience you won’t forget. Thank you, Son, for an amazing journey!

The MomentLives tour is very well organized and executed. I contacted them early on to check the availability and got good advice and flexibility due to my travel dates overlapping with local holidays. Once the date was set, everything went smoothly. Pickup was on-time and comfortable and my guide (Son) had a lot of knowledge to share. They also know all the locations and people from experience so the shooting experience itself is also very easy. We also got to sit down for tea with the locals and get to know more about their local life in addition to photographing them. There was also time for a little bit of exploration outside of the main attraction during my tour which is nice. Overall a definite recommend for photographers.

ITA Una delle migliori esperienze del mio viaggio in Vietnam. Grazie a James ho avuto la possibilità di esplorare il villaggio dell'incenso da sola, senza turisti, di conoscere gli abitanti e di sperimentarne l'accoglienza e la gentilezza, davvero speciale. Grazie di cuore! Le foto, particolarmente riuscite grazie anche ai consigli di James, sono un ricordo che conserverò con particolare affetto. ENG One of the best experiences I had during my trip to Vietnam. Thanks to James, I had the chance to explore the incense village alone, without any tourists, to meet the local people and to experiment their truly unique kindness and hospitality. Thank you, really! For what concerns the pictures I took, they are not only good (also thanks to James' advices) but mainly a special memory that I will keep forever.