– Open up Lightroom and share with us the last photo you edited and lets us know where it was taken and who for.
This shot was taken on a street fashion shoot for Reebok – I love this client – they gave me total creative freedom and we really had similar ideas – as it was street fashion our idea was to roam the streets of Saigon and place shoes in surprising environments – I really dig this shot because it has something distinctive Southeast Asian about it (the Banyan tree) – but it also does not give too much away – the colors of the shoes pop really nicely.
– Share an image you wish you could go back and shoot again and tell us how you would improve it.
The most remarkable photo for me was in early 2008. There was a photo, in my mind for a long time, behind the airport. Coming home from District 1 I would see these big jumbo jets flying over buildings in Quang Trung Street into Tan Son Nhat Airport. They were maybe 30 or 50 meters above the houses on a busy road.
So when I finally got time, I spent three or four days hunting down the right spot to take that photo and went into some back alleys in Go Vap District and waited for a few hours. Finally I got a great shot of a jumbo jet flying over a small road with people having a noodle soup at the same time. A woman was passing by and it was just a great combination of things. It really captured what Vietnam means to me and what fascinates me about Vietnam, that collusion of tradition and modernity, of globalisation and the local lifestyle, of how these things clash and crash and pass by each other without really touching each other.
Looking back a few years later, technically it’s not perfect. But I realized I’m able to tell a story with a picture and create a photo. That was a decisive moment for myself—that it’s possible to do this. And I even sold the picture as the cover for a French book on modern Vietnam.
I would love to re-shoot this picture with the technical experience and much better gear I have nowadays. BUT I have been back in that area a few years ago and the airplanes now fly differently, not that deep over the houses anymore.
– So far in 2017 you’ve been traveling non-stop, catch us up on what you’ve been up to.
2017 has been a very interesting year so far. I started right with working on New Years Day when I shot a Wedding with another photographer from our Wedding Team, Tim Gerard Barker, – it was a two day wedding in Singapore with both Chinese and Persian traditions – a great couple and great party – really a good way to kick of the year.
After that I spent 2 weeks in Tokyo where I started with a personal project on urbanization in Asia and beyond – this project is beginning to take shape and actually I am right now just about to catch a plane to Seoul and work on it again.
In March I did a Luxury resort shoot at the beautiful Anam Resort in Cam Ranh, Vietnam and also had a portrait Assignment for the New York Times in Quy Nhon, Vietnam.
This was followed by a couple of wedding shoots in Danang with different photographers and Videographers from our Team (Justin, Aaron and Tim) and after that i had a series of factory shoots in China and also the chance to spent a bit time in Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Shanghai on my personal project.
After that I had a couple of editorial (portrait and travel) assignments in Saigon and went off to Tacloban in the Philippines to work on an NGO story with LAIF, my photo agency in Germany. That was it so far.
– Tell us your most memorable assignment in 2017 and why?
For me it is usually the editorial work that is most memorable mainly because of the people I meet on these shoots – my visit to Tacloban in the Philippines was for sure my most memorable trip this year. The city was wiped out by Taifun Haiyan just 3 years ago, and even though it has been rebuilt now this really was an awakening call for me that climate change is real, and here in Southeast Asia we are at the forefront of it.
– You shoot everything from editorial, food, commercial, documentary and video. Tell us how shooting all those are different and how they are similar?
I think it is obvious that there are a lot of differences, for example, between a corporate video and a travel story – so lets focus on the similarities here – i think first of all what is similar for me is that clients chose Mott Visuals for a certain visual style that we bring to all of our assignments no matter the genre, this includes story telling with and editorial angle, use of natural light and vibrant colors – secondly no matter of the type of assignment I always bring the same work ethic to a project – always being as professional as possible and always giving 150% to make sure the images are exceptional and make me and the client happy. I think the main differences in the different types of shoot are the level of how much I need to follow an art direction from the client side and the type and amount of gear that I would bring – if I do editorial work I usually travel much lighter in terms of gear.
– Show us your top 5 images you shot in 2017 in any genre of photography.
- Mott Visuals’ corporate project in Changzhou, China.
- Mott Visuals’ commercial/fashion project for Reebok in Saigon, Vietnam.
- A Mott Visuals’ wedding story in Danang, Vietnam.
– Worst fear before an assignment?
Gear failure or food poisoning are the stuff of my nightmares, so I always carry an extra camera and stomach meds.
– Where and what is your next assignment?
I have a few shoots lined up: Seoul for personal work, Dien Bien Phu for a NGO story and then Cam Ranh for another resort shoot.
About Christian Berg
Christian Berg is a a documentary photographer working in Southeast Asia since 2008 – he joined Mott Visuals in 2014 and has since then shot on projects all over Southeast Asia and beyond. His editorial work has been published for example in the New York Times and the Wallstreet Journal.
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