About Vietnamese Photographic SocietyVietnamese Art Photographers Association was founded in 1992 by Mr. Dzung L. Do. Mr. Do was a prisoner of the Vietnam War who immigrated to the United States in 1992, under the Humanitarian Operation (H.O.) program that permits resettlement of political and prisoners of the Vietnam War. Mr. Do was a well-known photographer in Vietnam during the 80s, under the alias name Mai Uyen (his daughter’s name). He had won many international exhibitions during the 80s. Having known his passion for photography, his family and friends encouraged him to have a photo exhibition (his first photo exhibition outside Vietnam) at the Eden Center in Falls Church, a popular shopping center where local Vietnamese gathers on weekends. The exhibition caught the attention of a local magazine and a group of elite professionals (reporters, poets, medical doctors), among them was Mr. Dinh T. Tran, also a new immigrant and a photographer who had won international exhibitions in the 80's before immigrating to the U.S. Mr. Dinh proposed to Mr. Dung to form a local camera club so that the members can share their mutual photography interest. The Vietnamese Art Photographers Association was founded in 1992 by a group of 15 elites, led by Mr Do. Initially, the Association’s main activities focused on photographing local events, or field trip on weekends leading to several photo exhibitions. Their activities caught the local magazine’s attention with several positive reports. Many Vietnamese immigrants began to inquire the Association for membership. They expressed their desire to join the group and learn from the masters. Thus in 1993, Messrs. Do and Tran decided to change the group’s mission to serving the Vietnamese community by offering free photography lessons to the public. The new mission necessitates the name change from Vietnamese Art Photographers Association to Vietnamese Photographic Society. And the Vietnamese Photographic Society was born in 1993 with the main mission of serving the Vietnamese community. The membership immediately grew to 44 members. Naturally, the alias name VNPS becomes the official branding trademark of the Vietnamese Photographic Society. The local mentions about the Society using the alias name VNPS rather than its registered English name or even the equivalent Vietnamese name, Hội Nhiếp Ảnh Việt Nam vùng Hoa Thịnh Đốn. Later, when VNPS applied for FIAP affiliation, the name was extended to Vietnamese Photographic Society of Washington Metropolitan to indicate the geographical location of its headquarter. Since 1993, VNPS has always focused on serving the Vietnamese photographers community. the missions that the founders visioned in 1993 are unchanged:
Footnotes(1) Members of Vietnamese Art Photographers Association
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Board of Directors