View from above: The photographer spent entire days on a bridge photographing street vendors

Loes Heerink is a photographer from the Netherlands, now based in Vietnam. She was fascinated by the lives of local street vendors in the capital, Hanoi. But she struggled to find the right angle to depict her subjects as she saw them—as vibrant images in constant motion. To her surprise, the solution awaited her on one of the city's many bridges.





Loes rose to a high enough altitude to capture the work and lives of hundreds of immigrant workers, most of them women. They rise at 4 a.m. every morning and cycle for miles, selling fruits, vegetables, and flowers.

Heerink said it wasn't easy:

"I once spent five hours on location without taking a single photo. This project was born out of my deep respect and admiration for these women. They have no idea how beautiful they are on these bikes and that they are creating something beautiful every day."