(VOVworld)- Two years after General Vo Nguyen Giap died, a local colonel/journalist released a photo-book titled “I take photos of General Vo Nguyen Giap”. Published by the Labor Publishing House, the 129-page photo-book tells a story about the life of General Vo Nguyen Giap through emotional and true to life photos.

General Vo Nguyen Giap was an outstanding military man, a legendary general and the commander of the Vietnam People’s Army. US historian Cecil Currey in his book “Victory at any cost” wrote: “General Vo Nguyen Giap can be compared with the most outstanding military commander in 2,000 years and is the genius of all times”.

Poet Tran Dang Khoa, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Writers’ Association, who wrote the preface for the photo-book, says Tran Hong’s photo-book is special because General Vo Nguyen Giap was very famous and it was difficult to take photos of him: “The General is very famous, so he himself is a focus that doesn’t need an arrangement of setting. The photographer just needs to take a clear photo of him. But it’s not easy because everybody keeps in their hearts a portrait of the general. So they may compare their own photos of the general with others’”.

Tran Hong was a journalist of the People’s Army newspaper. He received a special favor from the General: he was allowed to take photos of the General at anytime. Tran Hong selected the best photos of General Vo Nguyen Giap for his photo-book. In 129 pages, the author introduces readers to the General’s daily activities and his meetings. All the photos are being published made public for the first time. Tran Hong says he really likes the photo of General Vo Nguyen Giap standing beside President Ho Chi Minh statue: “After the meeting, everybody left. I saw the General slowly strolling from the office. I had a feeling that the General was having some innermost feeling. I kept following the General. When he came to the President Ho Chi Minh statue, his innermost feeling was revealed. I took 4 photos of him and then when it came to the fifth photo, I saw his tears. At that point, I couldn’t take any more photos”.

There have been many outstanding photos of General Vo Nguyen Giap taken by both Vietnamese and foreign photographers. Poet Tran Dang Khoa said the photos are outstanding because they are artistic. Even though we cover the name of the general, we still realize the value of the photo reflected in its context and colors. But Tran Hong’s photos of the General are different because he is very close to the General. Khoa said:“Tran Hong felt very close to the general and he saw the General as a family member. So his photos are very special. He has photos of the General playing the piano, playing with his children or having a simple meal with his family. The General and his wife always took care of each other. All those photos are extremely emotional. This photo-book is very special because all the photos have their own stories”.

Tran Hong has held 8 photo exhibitions featuring General Vo Nguyen Giap. This is the first time he has published his photos of General Giap in a book, in which General Vo Nguyen Giap’s life is reflected vividly and naturally.