Mekong River Eel (2 of 6) by bmac62

Photography • Monochrome/Black and White • posted on Mar 09, 2009

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Description

Boys pulling a sanpan into deeper water eyeing a large eel in an inlet off the Mekong River. These eels, while dangerous looking, are not. They are a variety of fish with gills, rather than reptiles. The long shaft being pulled by the boys has a small propeller. The engine is under the black tarp and conical hat on the boat's rear deck. I took this photo to capture the boys moving the boat with the typical, thatched-hut fishing village in the background. The eel was an unexpected bonus. Time and place: 1965, Tra Vinh Province in the Mekong Delta of South Vietnam. Original photo was taken using 35mm film. Thanks for all your super comments on my last posting, "Ten Faces",...also in Vietnam Bill:) Please ZOOM for best detail.

Comments (28)

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Meowgli

1:28AM | Tue, 10 March 2009

seems to suit b&w quite nicely.. good use of the boat as leading lines

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beachzz

2:03AM | Tue, 10 March 2009

Another very revealing foto. These must bring back a lot of memories.

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durleybeachbum

4:03AM | Tue, 10 March 2009

So very interesting! It's great that you took pics while you were there!

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drace68

4:06AM | Tue, 10 March 2009

Great photo of boys at work. Is the eel edible? Are they thinking "food?"

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bmac62

5:47AM | Tue, 10 March 2009

Responding to drace68's questions: The eel is edible and the boys are probably thinking food. Nobody went hungry in Vietnam. Rice, fish, fruit and even vegetables were plentiful. Throughout the years of US involvement there, we did provide great quantities of rice but that was to overcome distribution problems caused by transportation problems due to the general lack of security.

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Emil-arts

6:00AM | Tue, 10 March 2009

A must zoom for such fine detail. I really can't get enough of these Bill. War and politics of the time aside how many would swop the hassle of city life for country life.

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CavalierLady

7:03AM | Tue, 10 March 2009

A very interesting photo of your time there, and great job, Bill, getting such good quality from an old photo!

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DAVER2112

7:08AM | Tue, 10 March 2009

Fantastic image Bill! I'm sure you have alot of stories to tell. :)

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timtripp

7:20AM | Tue, 10 March 2009

first rate photography!

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fredster66

7:42AM | Tue, 10 March 2009

A fine black and white image Bill!

PD154

7:48AM | Tue, 10 March 2009

Just like photo journalism from the days of Nam, I remember as a child seeing these kind of images in the national papers and on TV, nice slice of that world here Bill, great black and white, I chuckled at Adams comment, thinking it was 1965 and probably not a choice and was taken on Kodachrome/agfachrome film?

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Enmos

8:16AM | Tue, 10 March 2009

Very nice POV !! Excellent work ! :)

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auntietk

9:20AM | Tue, 10 March 2009

You're three for three with these shots in my book, my friend. My fingers are fairly itching to go through that shoebox, but I warn you ... I would pump you mercilessly for information and bombard you with questions!

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THROBBE

9:26AM | Tue, 10 March 2009

Fantastic series Bill! Very interesting shots!

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lyron

11:56AM | Tue, 10 March 2009

Great shot!!

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sandra46

1:36PM | Tue, 10 March 2009

A rare treat, thank you!

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Richardphotos

2:53PM | Tue, 10 March 2009

excellent and entertaining capture .products are readily available in the Philippines but the people can not afford to buy and I am sure many other parts of the far East

MrsLubner

3:10PM | Tue, 10 March 2009

Stellar shot. Stellar, indeed and the eel is a Nat'l Geographic flair. Fabulous documentary photo.

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junge1

6:08PM | Tue, 10 March 2009

Great capture and information Bill!!

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bronwyn_lea

8:05PM | Tue, 10 March 2009

Bill, thank you so much for sharing. Fascinating picture!

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Kaartijer

8:11PM | Tue, 10 March 2009

Awesome shot, Bill... and a great memory! Thanks for the info!

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goodoleboy

9:19PM | Tue, 10 March 2009

The Mekong River, a waterway similar to the one Martin Sheen took upstream to terminate Marlon Brando -- with extreme prejudice -- in the 1979 movie, Apocalypse Now. Fine variety of Vietnamese subject matter (sampans, grass thatched-roof huts, boats, tropical foliage, etc.) on display in this fine capture, Bill. Brings back similar memories of my stint in the PI.

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debbielove

6:56AM | Wed, 11 March 2009

Just OUSTANDING!!!! More please, Bill! Love these. Great history... Rob

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anahata.c

9:00AM | Wed, 11 March 2009

yes, I agree, more, more. This is a very fine shot Bill, you have this massing of village huts, shoreline, etc, which opens up to the water in the right side of the shot, and which flows up and away like a release. It's finely seen, I think; and, in that pre-digital b&w, it feels authentic with all the softness of your film; and it's from a really fine POV. What a treasure. Yes, with Tara, I'd sit for hours as you pulled out all these shots. Your talent goes back a long time...it must've been powerful to shoot these in the midst of war.

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MagikUnicorn

3:19PM | Thu, 12 March 2009

The Mekong Towing ;-) Beautiful B&W series

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kasalin

6:18PM | Thu, 12 March 2009

Very nice B&W image Bill.....I like this one 5* :):):)

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tennesseecowgirl

7:54AM | Mon, 23 March 2009

This is a wonderful series, the images stay with you, curious did you ever go back to visit? I think it would be something to go back and see this all again and recapture the area 40 years later..

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