How the portraits are made:

First of all you have to master your camera, after this you set your target to make a portrait... in between you collect some confidence... (don't worry the confidence is the easy part)...

then....

.... it's all about communication... first you see, then you show "I see you" and say without words "you are special"... THE link is made... then I take (or better make) one or two portraits...

it is not too difficult you have to try it...

... but you have to be fast... the linking moment last just for seconds...

In my next blog post I will tell a bit about the way I take the portraits...

A proud man...

To be honest, I had to think longer about this one.. should I publish it?

The portrait shows a happy and proud face but it clearly is not pleasant to see the state of the teeth.
In a lot of countries dental care does not exactly fits standards we today have in the "western" world. Very often on trips we do have tooth brushes to give away. In Burma we clearly missed the chance to give this young man one.

So, why did I publish it anyway?

While traveling to countries it sometimes is nice to have some presents. The problem with those presents very often is that it makes the people asking the next travelers for the same presents again.. With toys and sweets we not improve anything, at least that is the common thinking. Until now the only real exception I have identified dental care.

I would like to consider you to bring some tooth brushes to destinations where dental care probably does not fit western standards.

So the question is if I would have given this boy my present... The answer is no, that is not working, it would have left some strange feelings between us. It is better to give them to mothers (or fathers) with children. There a new tradition may grow without "bad feelings"

This is the first post a series of portraits from Burma.

Today a portrait from Myanmar just before leaving to Barcelona.

Happy easter days to all the blog visitors!

Today, I present a slide show of a Moustache Brothers live performance.

The Moustache Brothers are a comedic trio from Mandalay, Burma. They are well known for their live performances and specially for their sharply satirical criticism of the totalitarian Burmese military regime.

Have a look at a home performance of the brothers and listen to Lu Maw talking about three generations of comedians and what happens after a performance at the home of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Elections have been held today in Burma... We hope there is more no more "old wine in a new bottle" as Lu Maw said at the end of the slide show. Currently it looks a step into the right direction.

More slide shows can be seen in the galleries selection of the website.

A (short) reportage with 7 portraits of women at work in a silk workshop in Inle Lake (Burma).