The Dot Magazine Turns 4 And Here’s 10 Of Our Favorite Photoshoots

The number 4 doesn’t get its dues. Numerology says 4 signifies discipline and a dedication to a higher cause. All that was true, since we founded this publication in August 2019. So, here’s ten of our favorite photoshoots since those days of optimism and excitement when we dropped our first article. 

Đọc bài viết bằng Tiếng Việt

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. The Dot Magazine began as a way to tell stories about our fledgling parent Wink Hotels brand, while the first hotel in the nascent chain was still a hole in the ground. The idea was to create a kind og virtual hotel and the guests we’d interview were, we imagined, the people who’d come stay one day. The content was intended to have two lives, one pre-opening, with highly-shareable, people-focused content, with original photos, and the second, when the hotel opened would be that the same people had offered their bespoke guides to the city, that guests could follow (far more trustworthy than the usual five-star hotel concierge on a commission).

Our food content resonated. And so The Dot Magazine doubled down on where to get the most scintillating streetfood and the most curious cocktails. 

We’d drive around the city, head in the clouds, eyes on the shopfronts, watching out for anything new and noteworthy. And when we weren’t scouring the city, recommendations would come to us. “Try this place,” people would urge us. And we would. Because that was the point too – to never drop clickbait or stories of places we’d never been. It was first hand or not at all. 

So, lately we’ve been joining the dots between the region’s best bars and restaurants, while keeping up the local insights. We have some exciting video series dropping soon too. But, this four-year mark gave us a chance to pause, and to pick out, from the 178 original shoots we’ve done over 4 years (that included battling on through 2 years of the pandemic), ten of our favorite photos, and to share the story behind them.

Vinh Q. Le

Vinh, heir to the Ngoc Suong restaurant brand, was bringing their latest outlet, on Nguyen Sieu into the future with a cutting edge menu that leaned heavily on the freshest seafood supplies the family had been sourcing for 60 years or more. At the same time, Vinh held the occasional bacchanalian ball in the restaurant, with rappers, and most of Saigon’s off-shift restaurateurs rolling though. With that in mind, for the shoot, we pictured Vinh driving down the river, Fear And Loathing on the Sông Sài Gòn. Unannounced, he arrived with his pet parrot, who, while Vinh chewed on his cigar, Hunter S. Thompson style, placidly pecked at his Pokemon hat.

Danny Do 

We had a guy – there’s always a guy. When we’d spoken to director Danny Do – who was raised in L.A. and who’d produced a string of brilliant music videos here for the likes of Toc Tien – to get his music mix, we pictured a Mustang, and the open road. 

The guy had a Mustang. And, even better, he lent it to The Dot Magazine and Danny to take a spin around Thao Dien. They’re temperamental vehicles though, with disobedient stick shifts and the propensity to stall now and again. But we made a loop, or two, and even the rain couldn’t ruin our West Coast vibes. So, as you revisit the photo, imagine Modern Talking playing in the background. It’s what Danny would want. 

NODEY

We’d noticed a pool in the compound of The Lab’s villa office. We were there to watch the premier of their short film, shot with Anh Phi and Cako, about their concept store. So, we asked nicely, and got to borrow it for the afternoon. At some point, it had occurred to us that we really needed an underwater camera for our shoot with NODEY. At considerable expense, considering our meager budget, we got one. You wouldn’t notice it, skimming the final article. Only one underwater shot made the cut. 

UncleBOO 

UncleBOO didn’t want to do it. We’d suggested going to the claustrophobic alleys between District 1 and District 4, where he’d been raised, and setting off some smoke canisters. “Impossible,” he shook his head. Then he reluctantly offered to check in with his uncle who still lived in the area to get his feedback. “Impossible,” his uncle agreed. 

The cinematic apartment blocks – that had featured in the movie Ròm – had been blighted by ill-fortune and underworld activity. People had even tried to set fire to them. Some unresolved issues that had escalated into arson. Finally, we reached a compromise. We’d shoot the key shots around the apartments, and, as we were ready to leave, we’d set off a canister of blue smoke, wave it around for a minute, then hightail it out of there – the camera crew one way, our editor and UncleBOO the other. And that’s what we did. We were at a safe distance as the sirens wailed and a big plume of smoke emerged from the blocks.

Blind Daters

In the end, our blind date series didn’t get off the ground. Maybe we set the bar too high with the first one. Bob couldn’t make the shoot and the article, which was a real blind date, because he’d just badly broken his nose. He might have to go to hospital. Eventually, with two black eyes, he agreed to meet Sarah at Iberico in District 2. To make things more strange, our photographer, Nghia, thought they were models helping us promote the upcoming series, and not two people on an actual blind date. He kept asking them to sit closer and pose more romantically, which was awkward, as if realizing your blind date had two black eyes wasn’t odd enough.

Kiwi Tho Phan

Kiwi, M.A.U. collective’s founder and Suboi’s manager, always had a spiritual air about her. She’s the kind of friend who might just disappear into the forest for a few days or do ayahuasca in Cu Chi. So, for the shoot, we wanted to create a kind of hallucination, part Disney movie, part Electric Cool Aid Acid Test. That meant dressing our small team up as animals to accompany her. There she was, meditating under a tree, while our content team, dressed as unicorns and tigers climbed the tree next to her. 

Staraphoria 

DJs Justin and Mara had just had a baby. But, they were still better known as party starters more than sensible parents. So, we had them create a scene of domestic bliss in the park, bringing along baby PJ for his first shoot ever. Mara posed with a vacuum cleaner while Justin thumbed the Saigon Times while PJ played on oblivious to it all.  

Will Vu Ngoc 

Will Vu Ngoc was busy causing mayhem at Doozy Bar Hanoi. But the Hanoi born bartender had just won World Class Vietnam setting him on course for greater things – which meant, it turned out, opening the brilliant Enigma bar and joining Beams Suntory as brand ambassador. Before that happened, we imagined a shoot in which it was raining on Will Vu Ngoc – a metaphor for the pandemic era that had ravaged the bar industry. We found a venue with a bath and shower inside – My House Saigon – and he willingly stood in the shower while we turned on the taps. There were sunnier times ahead. 

VSoul

VSoul was always a poster boy for body positivity. And his angelic voice, and double time raps, captivated us way before his appearance on Rap Viet. Happily, he agreed to be our Santa Claus, or more of a Bad Santa Claus, smoking on a cigar, indulging in too much festive cheer, and swinging his sack like the spirit of Christmas incarnate. 

Ling:Chi

Ling:Chi was still at university. But by night she became a superstar DJ, dropping by 2 or 3 events a night to helm the decks with her delirious brand of house and techno. We flipped her angelic image and pictured her as a Cruella de Vil. That meant gathering some dalmatians. We’d never even seen one in Saigon. But, somehow, thanks to Thao Dien dog walkers and some other outreach, we found three. They hadn’t met before, so they were kind of frisky, almost dragging the demure Ling:Chi down the stairs at one point. But it was worth it. 

The Dot Art Show happens for one night only on 15 August 2023 at CoCo Saigon. The event features the magazine’s guests, including NOSH Young Guns, with Elgin, MUA Craft Sake, The Jetty, and Que sending over their cooks to make canapes, with the kind support of Good Food and Caspiar Caviar, DJ Noizay, Teddy Chilla and Staraphoria are behind the decks, and Minh from Saigon Soul Revival with do a special PA. General visitors are welcome from 9:00PM.