Mekong River Delta, Long An, Vietnam
In southern Vietnam, where emerald rice fields stretch to the horizon and the Mekong River flows with life-giving waters, the annual water lily harvest looks from above like a well-choreographed dance with nature.
When the river floods, it becomes a photographer's paradise, awash with flowering lilies. These farmers in Long An province are pictured wading in waist-deep to harvest the long-stemmed plants, which will be bundled up for sale. The lilies contribute to the local economy as the stems are edible and the plant can be brewed into tea or used for decoration. Here flooding is a part of life, bringing nutrients from upstream which enrich fields and help these flowers to grow, painting the Mekong River in stunning shades of pink and white.