"Many people say that I’m very good at talking to ordinary people; poor people, like the ones I grew up with in my village," writes Thanh Nguyen, a freelance photographer based in Ho Chi Minh City who recently did a photo essay on people living in micro houses in the metropolis.

"I get along well with ordinary people, with people in the streets. It’s easy for me to get to know them and I can persuade them to open up to me."