Meandering rivers. Majestic trees. The golden rays of the morning sun. These are some of the spectacular subjects in Hoàng Thế Nhiệm’s photography. A landscape and travel photographer with 25 years of experience, Hoàng Thế Nhiệm is a master of his craft. See why our Sony Alpha system is his partner of choice in bringing each scene to life.

What does photography mean to you?

I am passionate about capturing the natural beauty of landscapes. My day starts very early, often as early as 5am, just to travel to the location. The window of opportunity for perfect lighting often lasts just a few minutes and I have to work fast to capture it. Good photography to me means that my work has to stand up to scrutiny as landscape photography, to me, is about capturing the mood, precise framing and details. Landscape photography has also given me the opportunity to travel everywhere in my search for beautiful moments from the juxtaposition of nature and the culture of the locals I meet.

What is in your camera bag?

Details matter in landscape photography. Ideally, my camera should be able to capture the highest image quality and yet compact and tough enough to take with me through rugged terrain. The Sony Alpha 7R IV delivers all this and much more. I can trust it to work perfectly in both wet and dry conditions and this is important for landscape photography. Coupled with the high-performing zoom lenses such as the FE 12-24mm F4 G, FE 24-105mm F4 G OSS and FE 100-400mm G Master super-telephoto zoom lens, I have everything I need to capture images with corner-to-corner sharpness.

What are you looking for in a shoot?

There are both technical and artistic considerations. For the best lighting opportunities, landscape photographers usually work during sunrise and sunset. This means our windows of opportunity are very short. However, it also has the advantages of cool temperatures and dramatic lighting. While I compose my shot, I choose scenes that include water, cloud and tree movements. Even during inclement weather, an interesting shot can still be found by focusing on the vegetation and rock formations by getting close to these subjects with the use of a wide-angle lens. To me, these more intimate shots reveal the struggles of the natural world.

Trees are a favourite subject of mine. I like their strength and the sprawling branches that fill the frame. I particularly like capturing lone trees growing in bodies of water and will often revisit the location during the golden hours or during dramatic weather conditions to capture them at their best. In between sunrise and sunset, I also indulge in travel photography and make observations about life, cultural activities and portraits of local people.

How does Sony’s mirrorless system help you achieve your shots?

Sony has an excellent design philosophy for the Alpha mirrorless cameras. Every new Sony camera improves on the last by offering even better image quality, greater speed, better stamina and all while retaining its compact form factor. For me, the Sony Alpha 7R IV sensor performance is absolutely impressive with up to 14 stops of dynamic range. This is important for landscape photography as the scenes we capture are usually high in contrast. Needless to say, the Sony is also extremely fast. When I am shooting street or action photography, the Real-time AF and eye focus tracking work perfectly at 10 fps. Combined with the long battery life, Sony has created a battery that gives me the stamina I need to stay in the field longer, even in low temperatures. Coupled with an extensive library of G Master and G zoom lenses, I can enjoy beautiful lens rendering and corner-to-corner sharpness in all my shots.

Overall, how would you describe your experience with Sony?

My experience with Sony has allowed me to fully realize my vision as a landscape photographer. Rain or shine, I have the very best mirrorless photography system to rely on. All I need to do is be my creative self.