Vietnamese photographer wins World Press Photo award View more pictures Maika Elan. Photo: Quynh Trung Maika Elan of Vietnam, a photographer working for Management of StoryTellers MoST, has won the first prize in the Contemporary Issues Stories category of the World Press Photo Contest 2013 with the series "The Pink Choice, Vietnam", according to a Reuters report. To make the photo exhibition "The Pink Choice" come true, 27-year-old Maika Ela, whose real name is Nguyen Thanh Hai, spent 18 months getting to know homosexual couples in Vietnam and telling their stories through her camera lens. In her photographs, the freelancer depicts her characters’ daily activities and their private moments by focusing on living spaces and how they care about each other and enjoy moments together. According the photographer, she wants to show what she saw of homosexuals and not to show how they see themselves. “Starting from the own curiosity, confusion and motivation, as well as the insights into homosexuals’ lives that I myself had a chance to witness, I wholeheartedly carried out this project,” Maika wrote about the photo collection on her website. To take the photos, Maika and some of her friends had to spent time convincing the characters to accept her presence in their private living spaces. The photographer shared that she had been a little clever and worked hard to catch the moments in which the couples behaved naturally and forgot that she was there. Through her project, Maika also expressed the hope of giving people positive perspectives on homosexuals, who have suffered from social stigmas. She shares that their lives is not only about sadness, like it is usually reflected in movies, they’re also happy with their love. In the collection, some people are even willing to show their faces. “Love is beautiful, and we can only claim ourselves supportive of homosexuality when we accept their love – and see it beautifully as it naturally is!” Born in Hanoi, Maika graduated from the Hanoi University of Social Sciences in 2008 and has worked as a freelance photographer ever since. She has participated in many photography workshops and festivals in Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand and Bangladesh In May 2010, she won the prizes of “The best photo essay” and “The best single photo” at the Indochina Media Memorial Foundation workshop in Hanoi. This September her pictures were shown at the World Event Young Artist Festival in Nottingham, in the UK. “The Pink Choice” will run at the Hanoi Goethe – Institut at 56 -58 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street until December 2 before moving to HCMC. Maika will also hold a meeting to talk with spectators about her works at the venue at 6:30pm on November 17. Below are some photos to be displayed at "The Pink Choice:" Tuoitrenews.vn