Top 10 Pix from Burma

Burma August 12-25, 2012

This is the last post from Burma... Here are my top 10 personal favorite photos that I took in Burma. Most of these photos appeared in past posts, and have included links to where it first appeared. I thought that it would be a nice recap of the country as a whole, and for me to see which photos mean the most to me and why. 

I have mentioned before that working everyday as a professional photographer, it is hard to keep up my creativity and inspiration. Being in Burma brought that all back for me and I looked forward to everyday and the new and beautiful things I would have the opportunity to shoot. From people and temples to reflections and rainbows, Burma brought my photographic inspiration back.

The below photos are not in any particular order...

Inle Lake: A typical hat worn by the people who live on the waters of Inle Lake. I love this photo for 2 reasons. First I love the hat itself. Clearly it is made from all natural materials and I am sure its design is for functionality to protect its wearer from the rain and sun, yet the design of it is creative with the button on the top and the straight sticks used to further segment each piece of wood, it is gorgeous. Secondly, I love the natural light and how it hits softly on the hat. It was hanging just next to a door and it was an overcast day so the light was soft and filtered.



Inle Lake: A woman spins the thread from a wheel to individual spools used for weaving. Again I love this photo for 2 reasons. I love seeing where clothes are made and how the craft of weaving is done. Most everyone in Burma, men included wear pieces of fabric around their waist and legs called longi's or on women sarongs... basically skirts. This house and family had several weaving looms where these fabrics were created from string into a beautiful woven fabric. I also love the light and expression on this womans face. The soft window light hitting her gentle face, and the distant look in her eye, all the while she is working which is seen from the blurred spinning wheel in the background.



Inle Lake: This is probably the most amazing rainbow I have ever seen. It was so low to the ground and so vivid and vibrant, and it was even a double rainbow at one point. The effect of both the dark storm clouds and rain on one side of the lake and the other side with its nice crisp afternoon light was fantastic. I did wish I had a long lens so I could get the boats and fishermen up close right against the bright colors of the spectrum, but I only had my favorite 50mm and a wide angle. I think I did alright despite the lack of the perfect lens for the situation. Ah choices one must make whilst travelling.

Bagan: This woman is also part of a family that weaves, she just happens to be taking a break to take a puff of her traditional Burmese cigarette.




Bagan: I love this photo for the beauty of the temple, the red brick and the golden towers against the bright blue sky. Plus I love how some of the birds are just chilling out on the temple and some are flying, it adds life and contrasts the ancient still temple.



Bagan: This scene is the vision I had in my mind of Burma. Mountains, trees and scattered temples on the misty horizon. I got the effect of the sharp and detailed foreground by using the HDR technique.

Yangon: This gorgeous little girl was selling cards. They were really lovely, hand painted cards and I bought a few from her, she said I was "a very good customer". The market in Yangon was filled with these smooth talking children that should probably be in school, but are selling anything they can to the tourists in the market, and I am telling you they strike a hard bargain!

Yangon: I love this photo because of its composition, mood and color. I love the framing that I had through the window of the restaurant out onto the street. I love the 50mm f1.4 lens I was using that puts only her hands and what is in them in focus. I love where I was at that moment... we ran out of the rain into this restaurant and ordered to this day one of the best noodle soups I have ever had. Out on the street people went about their day despite the monsoon downpour. Venders continued to sell their goods in shelter by buildings and people went to and from work.

Yangon: This image was taken from the Shwendagon Pagoda in Yangon. As I have mentioned before I loved getting creative with all the jeweled and glass finishes on the temples and had such a great time with the reflections. And again, gotta love the 50mm!

Yangon: I love the imperfect symmetry of this old truck, the Burmese script on the license plate, the antique and rusted truck itself and especially the rag in the corner adding a surprise piece of color. The rag also  brings me back to the modern day and although this truck is from a time passed it is still being maintained and cared for today. Plus it reminds me of Cuba and I love Cuba!

The People of Bagan

Bagan, Burma

August 15-20, 2012

Bagan and the surrounding rural area are populated by primarily farmers. 

      

Horse and carriage is still a very popular mode of transport. I did feel bad for some of the horses tho, they looked so skinny.

I thought this map was quite cool to see the States and Caribbean in written Burmese. It is such a neat script!

Yangon's City Streets

Yangon, Burma

August 11-25, 2012

The streets of Yangon were quite an adventure to explore. 

The streets are filled with vendors, markets and people going about their business.  (see my previous post on the markets and street food!) I saw the below little guy wearing this angry birds shirt and thought it was pretty ironic considering how isolated Burma seems to be yet he is wearing the trendy online app game.  

The architecture is a melancholy reminiscence of the English colonization mixed with the current crumbling political situation.

These two photos are some of the rustic inspiration Jenny uses in her interior designs.

Along with the crumbling city streets there are the many Buddhist structures and statues that are very visually scattered around the city. The below pagoda is the city center where the Yangon road grid system is based around.

The place we stayed was ironically named the White House. It was tiled the entire 7 floors head to toe. This budget hotel had a very nice proprietor who helped organize transport and exchange the imperfect US bills we kept getting thrown back in our faces. Not only did it have wifi (weak as it was) they also had a breakfast buffet that would give some of the better hotels a run for their money. Although the rooms are small and a bit musty it was a bit of a refuge for us in Yangon.

Markets and Munchies in Myanmar: The Best (and worst!) of Yangon

Yangon, Burma

August 11-25, 2012

This trip to Burma, or Myanmar as it is also know, was something I was very much looking forward to. When I lived in Thailand I would have to always cross the border into Burma and come back to Thailand to renew my Thai visa. Although these visa runs were dreaded, a glimpse into Thailands mysterious neighbor to the west gripped my curiosity. In 2010, the National League for Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, was released after decades of house arrest. She has since encouraged responsible tourism, which means partaking in and promoting NON governmental tour operators, hotels/guesthouses, restaurants etc...  What a great time to explore this isolated country, however it was certainly not smooth sailing. That aside, exploring Burma was certainly an adventure.

One of my favorite things to do in any country is to explore the markets. One can only dream up the fabulous and colorful items that were on offer at Bogyoke Market in Yangon.

I met up with an old friend Jenny for this two week trip. It was so great to meet up with her after not seeing each other for 4 years. She is an incredible interior designer and is always coming up with creative and unique ways to decorating people's homes. These umbrellas are going to be used as lighting in a Hong Kong apartment.

Burma has a plethora of natural resources including semi-precious gems stones and valuable wood, as well as a rich culture for handicrafts.

China is situated to the north of Burma and as you can see the Chinese culture has staked out its space in the market as well.

There are also many antiques that can be found tucked away in little shops.

The above lock was one of many antique locks that were left over from the English, and is now having its second life in one of Jenny's apartments as a lock on a door.

The bottom is a photo of an old opium pipe.

I was very tempted to take this beautiful old antique home... Amazing to see how photography has changed through out the years!

Outside the streets are filled with vendors not only around the market but all over the city. They sell everyday items like food and flowers, as well as religious items for the Buddhist majority.

The teashops are an important part of the Burmese culture. They are indoors or outdoors with open tables and chairs. From tea and snacks and catching up on local gossip, to full meals and creating new business deals, the teashops are an incredible place for a sit of sweet tea and watch the world of Burma go by. 

The above men are sharing a laugh at the Bogyoke Market teashop while the man below is working in the kitchen and waiting for his next order.

The personal experience Jenny and I had was at first great. Above we found a few teashops that had some very interesting parts of animals curried with a more Indian flare. The next day we decided to go strictly Burmese and treated ourselves to a Burmese meal at a nicer restaurant... ironically the below "meal of death" was our last normal meal for nearly 2 weeks as we both got violently ill and in bed for 48 hours straight, followed by very touchy tummies for the rest of the trip. Extremely disappointing as food in exotic places like this get me very excited and I was not able to take any advantage of enjoying them. Goes to show street food is always the best, and cheapest!