This series was developed over time, perhaps without a clear beginning.
He does not remember exactly when he started paying attention to things that almost disappeared.
Maybe it was never a conscious decision. It feels more like something that stayed — a quiet habit of looking at what is usually passed by. Small shifts of light, fragile shapes, things that do not insist on being seen. Over time, he realized he was less interested in the subjects themselves and more in the space around them — the hesitation, the distance, the moment before something becomes clear.
“There, or Not” came from that state.
Most of the images were made slowly, without a fixed plan. He often returned to the same places, noticing how little things changed, or sometimes did not change at all. Subtle forms, reflections, and fragments that seem present but never fully settle into certainty. There is always something that feels slightly out of reach
He was not trying to describe a specific story. If anything, he was trying to stay with a feeling — something quiet, but not empty. A kind of presence that does not demand attention, yet lingers if one allows it to.
Because of that, the images are not meant to reveal themselves immediately. Some of them might feel unclear at first, or even incomplete. But that hesitation is part of the work. He is interested in that moment when the viewer is not sure what they are looking at and has to pause — just for a bit — before deciding whether to stay or move on.
There is also, perhaps, a sense of distance running through the series. Not a dramatic distance, but a subtle one. It is as if something is there, but slightly withdrawn, or maybe it was never fully there to begin with. He did not try to resolve that ambiguity. It felt more honest to leave it open.
Technically, the work is simple. He uses a compact camera, and he does not push the images too far in post-processing. Some details remain soft, sometimes even unclear. At first, he thought of it as a limitation, but gradually he began to accept it as part of how he sees. Not everything needs to be sharp to be felt.
In a way, this series is less about what is visible and more about what almost is.
About Trong Hoang
Trong Hoang (b. 2002) is a Vietnam-based amateur photographer whose work explores quiet observations of everyday environments. His practice focuses on subtle moments that often go unnoticed, where presence and absence coexist in a fragile balance.
Working primarily with natural light and minimal intervention, he is interested in creating images that do not immediately resolve into clear narratives. Instead, his photographs invite a slower way of looking, where ambiguity and stillness become part of the experience. [Official Website]
