At the request of Nancy Asquith, I am posting and cross-posting some of my Burma portraits here. All images were shot with either the Olympus E-M1 or E-M5.
Love these pics! Would like to know the story behind them. Like why the paint on the cheeks on some of them? Some of these girls look like they could be in a beauty contest. Do they dress and put makeup like that on them every day?
The women who were dressed like they were going to a beauty pageant were actually attending a parade and Novitiation Ceremony - that's when the boys and girls begin serving their time in the monastery, and the ritual involves the head-shaving event the following day. A couple of images here of the parade.
You can read about the Novitiation Ceremoney here:
friscoron wrote:
Love these pics! Would like to know the story behind them. Like why the paint on the cheeks on some of them? Some of these girls look like they could be in a beauty contest. Do they dress and put makeup like that on them every day?
Beautiful colors and images of the country. I especially liked the images of the old man and woman with the Turbans on. All those wrinkles really show up.
Was there any post proc done on these, as I did not realize that the Olympus cameras had this type of color. After all, who do you believe?
Wonderful. What is the story behind your trip? Is it getting easier to get into Myanmar now? I think they're all wonderful but the sets with the elders really stand out for me. Thanks for sharing!
Edit: WOW - I just clicked over to your Zenfolio gallery on Myanmar. You have some stupendous images in there Bobby! Oh my goodness. I'm awed.
Thank you, Sharona! Yes, it's much easier to travel to Burma now. You can even apply for your visa online and it takes only a few days. The story behind my trip?
Burma (I still prefer that name) had been on my bucket list but I had other priorities (e.g. visiting Iceland, Cuba, etc) but it went to the top of my priority list when unknown photographer David Heath wanted us to print his first book on BURMA. FYI I am in the book printing business. David's images completely floored us.
Long story short, we (my boss and I) signed up for his photo tour last November. I took the 12-day tour but my boss went for the extended tour, which is 4-5 days longer. I shot a ton of images (too embarrassed to say how many!) and my boss shot almost twice as much, and mostly with his A7r which has been converted to IR use; his A7s for the color stuff; and Canon 5D III for the shots requiring a longer lens.
The BURMA Book is now done and it turned out great, but it's only available online if you wish to order a copy:
Sharona wrote:
Wonderful. What is the story behind your trip? Is it getting easier to get into Myanmar now? I think they're all wonderful but the sets with the elders really stand out for me. Thanks for sharing!
Edit: WOW - I just clicked over to your Zenfolio gallery on Myanmar. You have some stupendous images in there Bobby! Oh my goodness. I'm awed.
, Bobby! 
