Myanmar Photo Tour: Motion, Reflection, Catch-Lights & Texture

Late afternoon Inle Lake, single cylinder Chinese motor, Japanese Nikon D3S, 17-35 F2.8 lens, a 15th of a second, at 14 knots

Inle lake is the final stop on the Amazing Myanmar tour, and I subscribe to the idea of “keeping the best for last”. Myanmar’s Inle lake is our crowning touch on an amazing tour of a fascinating and friendly country. We arrive in the lakeside town of Nuang Shwe and immediately board our 3 private boats, for the 45 minute journey to our comfortable, convenient and charmingly scenic, over-water accommodations, just minutes from all the best  photo ops on the lake.

Reflection at sunrise on the hotel boardwalk on the way to breakfast.

Since our accommodations are quite nearby, we were the first to arrive at the indigenous at the Inn Dein market. The markets around Inle Lake are on a 5-day rotation, and the start date of our annual photo tour is based completely upon our visit to this market, and the Napan Market which I consider to be the two best photo opportunities in this region. Located on the southwestern shore of the main lake, Inn Dein village area can be said the most scenic part of Inle Lake. The creek leading to the village is beautiful at all seasons, animating with different activities on its banks. Inn-Dein village serves as the main western portal to the lake for nearby Pa Oh villages on the hills.

I noticed several of our tour participants photographing two Pa Oh women. The Pa Oh, also known as the “black Karen” are the second largest ethnic group in Myanmar’s Shan State. On market day in Inn Dein, the Pa Oh women are beautiful photo subjects because they dress in colorful head covering and beautiful blouses. Our tour participants asked these two Pa Oh women, who were selling vegetables, if if they objected to having their photos made. The women agreed, but at a price of a few thousand Kyats. I kept moving through the market, occasionally returning to the “impromptu photo shoot”.  To my surprise and delight, the group stayed for more than 30 minutes, photographing the two women. One of the techniques that we talk about on this tour is to find a good subject, in good lighting conditions, and rather than take a few snaps, to stay and “work it”. The group tried all different angles and positions during the encounter. The women kept moving…laughing, giggling, and having fun, making it quite a challenge to capture the perfect shot. That evening, to my delight, I saw some stunning images of the Pa Oh women!

Catch-lights in the eyes of a child, Inn Dein Market.

Figurines for sale at a shop at Inn Dein Market, Inle Lake

More catch-lights in a restaurant at Nampan market, Inle Lake, Myanmar

The two above and the one image below were made in a tiny local restaurant at NamPan Market. After discovering some incredible lighting conditions with back-lit smoke in the kitchen, tour participant Catherine Wisner and I spend about 30 minutes photographing the activities of the staff and customers. Including the owner and her daughter, as well as a monk who was enjoying a morning meal. By smiling a lot and sharing the photos on the backs of our cameras, we built rapport, and thus access to some very “personal” images, which we shot with 17-35mm (Nikon)  and 16-35mm (Canon) lenses, “wide open” at  f2.8. During the photo tour, I spend a fair amount of time teaching the technique of  getting up close and personal and using an ultra-wide lens to create  story telling, evocative, “environmental portraits”.

Another stop we make during our visit to Inle Lake, is to view and photograph a Cheroot Factory. The word cheroot is derived from the French word cheroute, which comes from a Tamil word meaning “roll of tobacco.” Cheroots are smoked all across Myanmar and some of the finest are produced here at Inle Lake, for distribution across the country. Cheroot production is done almost exclusively by women, who roll them by hand. A skilled worker can produce several hundred per day.

Tobacco and other combustibles ready to be rolled into “smokes”  at the cheroot factory

The outer skin of a cheroot is made not of paper but of the Tha-nut hpet leaves of the Sebesten tree. The filling is made of shredded tobacco leaf, and about an equal amount of chopped tobacco stalks so that the taste is not strong. According to the secret formulas of the different companies, additives of such diverse ingredients as tamarind pulp or sweet jaggery make the cheroots differ in taste. The ratio of the mild and strong leaves is also a secret of each company. There was a woman sorting Tha-nut hpet leaves in the corner of the room, on each side of her was an open window. We worked the situation, trying to find a vantage point from which to shoot, that didn’t include “hot spots”. The situation was not easy, but with a little work, the window light ultimately provided a wonderful illumination of the scene.

Sorting Tha-nut hpet leaves, which make up the outer shell of a typical cheroot.