Photographer · Vietnam · 2008–2010

David
Martin

A life spent looking. The hill tribes, the terraces, the markets, the mist.

Enter the Collection

The Work

He traveled through Vietnam and beyond — not as a tourist, but as someone who understood that the photograph happens in the space between two people deciding to trust each other.

Sapa Gallery

Northern Vietnam · 2008–2010

The mountains above Sapa hold some of the most visually extraordinary communities in Southeast Asia — the Black Hmong, the Red Dao, the Flower Hmong. He went there, and he stayed long enough to see.

Water buffalo in the terraces · Sapa

Mother working the fields, child on her back · Black Hmong

Mother and child in the rice fields · Black Hmong

Water buffalo and farmer · Sapa terraces

Farmer and buffalo in the flooded terraces · Sapa Valley

Woman laughing in the fields · Sapa

Elder with pipe and grandchild · Sapa

Elder with pipe · Sapa

Village children by the stream · Sapa

V-106

Child asleep beside the fire · Sapa

V-130

Child with fruit · Sapa

V-158

Boy herding buffalo · Sapa

V-193

Woman at the market · Sapa

V-199

Woman embroidering by lamplight · Sapa

V-200

A child held in gentle hands · Black background series

V-203

Red Dao woman · Black background series

V-209

Hands cradling rice grain · Sapa

V-213

Woman harvesting rice · Sapa Valley

V-240

Young woman and ancient elder · Sapa

V-257

Empty sleeping platform · Sapa

V-270

Elder sister carrying her sibling · Black background series

V-273

Two Black Hmong women · Black background series

V-282

Woman with blade · Black background series

V-284

Woman with conical hat · Black background series

V-285

Woman adjusting jewellery · Black background series

V-286

Woman in traditional dress laughing · Black background series

V-337

Woman resting her chin on her hand · Sapa market

V-340

Elder Red Dao woman · Black background series

V-342

Red Dao woman · Black background series

V-351

A girl laughs up at the sky · Sapa Valley

V-352

Man and woman with silver jewelry · Sapa

V-353

Market poultry · Sapa

V-356

Water buffalo in the mud · Sapa

V-359

Woman laughing · Black background series

V-361

Kuku at the loom · Sapa

V-363

Woman in pink · Black background series

V-366

Ancient elder · Black background series

V-374

Red Dao woman in full dress · Black background series

V-378

Red Dao woman eating rambutan · Black background series

V-380

Red Dao woman in profile · Black background series

V-381

Red Dao woman with silver belt · Black background series

V-382

Dora and friends · Sapa

V-386

Red Dao woman adjusting her headdress · Black background series

V-392

Portrait · Sapa

V-395

Portrait · Sapa

V-397

Two Black Hmong women at market · Sapa

V-398

Young woman · Sapa market

V-401

Woman processing fiber · Sapa

V-406

Cooking fire · Sapa

V-408

Farmer with plow and buffalo · Village alley

V-411

Woman in colorful headdress · Sapa market

V-413

A girl runs toward the camera · Sapa

V-415

Woman tying her headwrap · Sapa market

V-416

Elder woman · Black background series

V-420

Four men in the forest · Sapa

Southeast Asia

Laos · Thailand · Cambodia · Myanmar

Collection Coming

Mekong Delta

Floating Markets · Southern Vietnam

Collection Coming

The Documentary

Running to Something · In Production 2025

Film Coming

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