Photo Essay: The Spirit Of Burma
In the LA area? You can check out her full collection between April 7-May 3. Gallery details here.
1. In the ancient city of Bagan, formerly known as Pagan, you will still see oxcarts and horse carts as ordinary transportation. A family pays their respects to the young novice in training as they pass by one of the many hundreds of grand temples and pagodas.
2. This golden cave near Pindaya, Burma, contains over 8,000 images of Buddha in all shapes and sizes. Some of the older statues and images in the cave have inscriptions dating to the late 1700s.
3. Around Inle Lake, you will see the unique Intha Fishermen who balance one foot on the tip of their narrow boat and oar with the other ankle. The golden weir on the boat is the fishing net.
4. Two Intha Fishermen head out from the wharf where we spent a few ends of days — a good time to fish.
5. This man has most likely been forced out of his village to work as hard labor. The more bags of charcoal he can carry off the boat, the more he will earn.
6. Two sisters bathe around 8 a.m. in the large lake near Pindaya across from golden temple spires. They are unashamed to perform their daily ritual as we observe nearby.
7. Our small group attracts many children who offer us fragrant flower necklaces and magic lava rocks. Most people in Burma use thanaka — a paste made from tree bark — to paint their faces and protect them from the sun.
8. Playful novices look forward to a few minutes away from their rigorous training in the monasteries. Their red robes stand out from the old white-washed temple.
9. An 84-year-old nun smokes a cheroot — an herbal tobacco cigarette.
10. In Mt. Popa, Burma, capersome monkeys outnumber the population and live amongst the villagers. They love to perch on monuments and colorful facades for some good portraits!
11. The ruins of Bagan cover an area of 16 square miles. The majority of its buildings were built in the eleventh to thirteenth centuries when Bagan was the capital of the First Burmese Empire. Standing atop one of the thousand temples, a Bagan sunset is an awesomely beautiful and iconic landscape.
12. A timely snapshot of a single monk and cyclist crossing the U-Bein Bridge at sunset while a lone boatman returns to the shore of Taungthaman Lake.
13. Herdsmen, field workers, and families use baskets across their shoulders and on their heads to carry crops, kindling wood, and even their babies. Many smoke cheroot cigars to relax.
14. All young Buddhist boys live at least 6 weeks a year in the monastery during their childhood — many will spend their entire lives. It appears these boys are sharing common stories.
15. Burma’s U-Bein Bridge is the longest teak bridge in the world built from unwanted teak columns from the old palace during the move to Mandalay. Everyday at sunset, monks, cyclists, villagers, and oxen parade across like shadow puppet theatre.
Community Connection:
For more photography from Burma (Myanmar), check out Ryan Libre’s “Controlling Light.” Tim Patterson provides a unique written picture of life among northern Burma’s Kachin minority in “Kachin Christmas: Finding Faith in Myanmar.”
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18 Comments... join the discussion!
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Love this! As a native of Burma, Thank You for the beautiful focus on Burma for it has gone unnoticed far too long!
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Seriously stunning photos! #8 is my favourite, with the various young monks hanging out on the edges of the temple.
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How could I possibly choose a favorite? These are all gorgeous photos from a place many of us haven’t visited (yet)!
Thanks for sharing these photos with us.
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Wonderful to see your images Felice–they take me back to that timeless land and inspire me to work on my own images. I’m creating an AV program called Burma–A Land Between Don Lyon
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Beautiful work! The boys in red in front of the white monastery – such a contrast between the color of their robes and the color of the monastery, yet a similarity in shape in that they’re conforming to the architecture in the way they’ve positioned themselves. This could be an award winner, I think.
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Stunning images. What more to say!
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Beautiful!
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What a wonderful body of images that capture the essence of the people and place. A project that you should be very proud of! I can’t wait to see the book and wish you all the best of success with it! Just wonderful!
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Awesome pictures. Amazing work.
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I spent the month of February in Burma and returned with many wonderful photos, but none as professional as those of Felice. I especially love #3, the boatman at Inle Lake which was one of my favorite spots. Congratulations Felice
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Okay, WOW, those are just amazing. Gorgeous, gorgeous work, thanks for making my eyes so happy.
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One word -> Beautiful!
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Congratulations , so nice pictures !!!
Burma became the most unforgettable and amazing to me, after a trip past year.
( I put some pictures in my profile, I would like you to criticize)
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Your pictures are amazing. I cannot stop looking at them. I loved my time there back in 2003. I dream of returning and after viewing your photos I have already started picking out times to return. Thank you for sharing your photos.
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That’s it — I’ve now decided that I am going to Burma. I’ll be in South Asia and after viewing your photos, there is no doubt that I should make a trip over there!
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Amazing pictures. They make me want to go.
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Fantastic pics.. made my day to see them..
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