A set of 20 photos highlighting environmental issues has earned Hoang Quoc Tuan the title of master photographer from the Federation of International Artistic Photography (FIAP).

Tuan said a desire to awaken people to take action for a better future environment, which has been seriously degraded by humans, inspired him to make the set of photos that earned him his new title.

His photo collection - “Su tran tro ve moi truong” (Concern of the Environment), which he conceived over a period of nine years, depicts Mother Nature and its stages of evolution by photographing a square tray and a mixture of water paints and colour pastels.

Tuan’s masterly handling of water paints and pastels have made his photos lively and astonishingly dynamic in featuring his chosen theme, creating a strong sense of movement through still photography.

“I brainstorm when taking photos. I do not want to simply take pictures of whatever I see,” Tuan said, sharing that he has travelled to many places in the country, from which experience he has found ways to “condense the vastness of the world and turn it into its essence”.

Formerly a teacher before immersing himself into photography, Tuan, 52, has been involved in the field for almost 30 years and has received around 200 awards from local and international competitions.

On being bestowed with the title in late November, 2009, Tuan became the first M.FIAP holder in Vietnam and the second in Southeast Asia./.