walk in dignity III Photo

Photographer’s Note

final picture in my little series about the monks in Luang Prabang

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Luang Prabang is a place of mists and temples in the mountains of central Laos. It was one of the last pristine remnants of traditional culture, a Mecca for Theravada Buddhism, a heaven for monks...

It is 6 in the morning. The monks are doing an alms-round and people in town come out to the street and wait for the monks. The alms processions of Buddhist monks take place every day.

But as the sky grows light, it is no longer the quiet footfalls of Buddhist monks that herald the day but the jostling and chattering of tourists who have come to watch them.

The monks appear, a column of bright orange robes as far as the eye can see. The tourists cluster around them with their cameras.

Luang Prabang has saved itself from modern development by selling itself to tourists. O, preservation's paradox!

But there is hope. Posters and leaflets are increasing tourist awareness. They politely ask them
- NOT the disturb the monks' lines,
- NOT to take photos in the monks' faces,
- NOT to use flashes and
- NOT to stand looking down.

Also the UNESCO has warned Luang Prabang to stop building hotels or they might reconsider its World Heritage status.

So, this picture was taken in full awareness of all this and amidst lots of ambiguity. Even when done as respectfully as possible, I was still another tourist taking pictures.

I post the image on TrekEarth, because I like the result, because I like the ghostlike, yet colourful apparition of the walking monks, but won't images like this only attract even more tourists?

And I realise that, after all, I am a tourist complaining about tourism. O, curiosity's paradox.

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THANKS for reading my unusually long note.

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More information and WS in "Walk in dignity I"

chiaretta, zmey, Porteplume, Phil_Journet, Clementi, Floydian, MarcT, Wanda1, jjcordier, thea0211, Blairfraser, Merline, luisafonso, jorgi has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

horatiuTT (4566) 2008-09-15 11:48

Hi Benny,
Extraordinary composition here,we can figure out the timing
of their foot steps.An original and interesting idea that you
had.
Well done,
Horatiu

Exposure (692) 2008-09-15 12:10

Hi Benny,

Your composition is amazing. I will rework some pictures :)

Yvan

zmey (7250) 2008-09-15 12:33

hello benny! all thumbs up for this one! creative POV and framing and the panoramic crops works extremely well to underline the motion. heh, actually, the white frame works very well to put an extra layer of purity on the composition. my compliments!

kristaps

xavshot (62477) 2008-09-15 12:37

Bonsoir Benny
joli travail ! le graphisme me plait beaucoup et le format est bien trouvé. Belle mise en valeur de cette couleur.
Xavier

Porteplume (3255) 2008-09-15 13:19 [Comment]

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Clementi (44131) 2008-09-15 13:59

Ciao Benny,
Extraordinary composition here, i like this framing ,
And the sense of movement of the photo.
nice work
Giorgio

Phil_Journet (240) 2008-09-15 14:37

Hi Benny,

I like the way you took the picture. The speed effect is very nice.
Your note is very interesting.
Thanks to the beauty of the picture, I think you had more respected their dignity than the tourists who were there.
Bravo

Philippe Journet

Floydian (30970) 2008-09-15 14:59

Hallo Benny,
Heel subtiel, met een zeer creatief oog gemaakt en ook technisch perfect uitgevoerd. Dit soort foto's zie je hier amper, maar het zijn wel de juweeltjes die zo nu en dan voorbij komen...prachtig werk, heel knap gemaakt..!!!
Groet, Henk

SteveH (3911) 2008-09-15 16:06

Hi Benny, you saved the best till last IMO. the blur, as in previous shots creating dynamism, but the crop/composition works exeptionally well. Interesting note too - tourism is a double edged sword for sure. great shot. cheers, Steve

MarcT (21099) 2008-09-15 21:11

Salut Benny,
Le cadrage est inattendu et efficace, graphique. Le flou du mouvement rajoute pas mal de dynamique à l'image.
Amicalement
Marc

Wanda1 (10957) 2008-09-15 22:03

Hi Benny,
A great series you have here, but for me this one is the best one. The motion blur is perfect and creates a wonderful effect and mood. And your composition with only the feet and the bit of orange robes is a fantastic idea, just one thin strip which conveys the image of the walk...great!
Regards
Wanda

jjcordier (24674) 2008-09-15 23:36

Benny
Une très belle idée et une réalisation à la hauteur. Une photo originale et très intéressante.
Amicalement
JJ

dilane (10259) 2008-09-16 12:05

Hi Benny,
I like very much this compo, it is of the most original. Very beautiful creation, all my congratulations.
best regards
daniel

thea0211 (1355) 2008-09-16 15:09

i like your unusually long note! it explains even better the photo which i keep returning to since yesterday.

monks in orange robes are widely presented on TE. but you manage to change the way it was done up until now.
with a lot less means of expression you manage to tell more.
about their life, about symbols, about our life, about us, about tourism, about dignity, about the modern man's agresivity.
they walk away in silence, almost vanishing ... we are chasing them away, aren't we?

still, they walk away in dignity ... will we ever learn?

... artistically, a beauty.

thanks!
dora

delkoo (34296) 2008-09-17 4:07

hi benny
nice crop, treatment is well executed and suits the subject well, it might sound weird
.

best regards
didier

Blairfraser (847) 2008-09-17 10:20

Hey Benny.

Great picture here! I love the effect with one foot in focus and one not. You have done very well to capture this.

Good Job!

Blair.

P.S. You own a very nice guitar. Puts my Squier to shame! :-)

Merline (6578) 2008-09-19 5:11

Salut Benny,
A mostly interesting perspective and choice. Compliments for the choice of crop, the movement you caught at low speed, the keen eye, and the respect. It is also beautifully framed. It evocates a lot...in its colorful minimalism. You are a tourist like another one, (most of us are.:), but you did this with attention, with a true feeling, and that is not given to everyone. Great work and note.

TFS, Bon weekend
Michèle

Flavia (10202) 2008-09-20 0:41

Hi Benny,

Love the ideia and the movement here. Interesting note, its true that your picture can impact, I never considering going to Laos but after seeing this I became more interested in the country... Turism can be positivewhen the governementa dn private iniciative know how to develop it and control it, some of the turism developments can only spoil a place. We saw some exemples of this in Lankawi Malaysia, this last weekend...

Regards,

Flavia

marietom (31954) 2008-09-21 6:00

hello Benny,

J'aime bien cette idée de composition, et ce flou qui nous montre le mouvement. Joli cadrage aussi.
Bon dimanche
Marie

mhoidal (350) 2008-09-27 9:20

Very creative composed and well framed too. Guess I willl copy the idea too......

Thumbs up!!!!

JorgeCK (2596) 2008-10-01 8:16

Hi Benny,
amzing composition. wonderful artistic shot.
good eye :))
take care
joRge

luisafonso (858) 2008-10-21 7:29

Very clever photo with nice presentation. Simple, but very graphic and emotive. Congratulations.

CaesarP (3620) 2008-11-14 5:08

Hello Benny,
unbelivable impact, great idea, that is something new for me.
Congratulations.
Regards Caesar

donluicu (23927) 2008-11-16 9:00

hi Benny
this is an original view, i like the image,
lilke the frmaing, like the feet moving..

congrats for this clever and original post

cheers

jorgi (3798) 2008-12-13 1:13

Hi Benny,

I was browsing your gallery now that I finally find some time and was immediatelly attracted by this photo.
Many reasons for it but most obvious: minimalistic approach, strong and excellent composition, movement, chosen motive that is clearly recognizable despite the fact that we only see partial details and the similarity from all of them...
All together create strong photo of excellent aesthetics. I would love to see it hanging on perfect white wall. I think it would look awesome.

My best,
Jeri

Faros (12) 2008-12-26 13:13

Hi Benny,
A creative picture, I like it !

Phil.

yaya13baut (2307) 2009-03-17 10:44

hi Benny,
I had a look at your gallery, you have a lot of good, living and colorful photos from all the countries you visited.
This evening I chose this one, the final version of the monks' walk : you have made an original, daring and well working frame on the 3 legs pairs.
There is movement, geometry and color in this minimalist composition.
Amazing that we just see the right leg of the monks, the left one as a ghost.
Yannis

ryno (4605) 2009-07-05 6:17

Hi Benny, this is an interesting experiment, made visually appealing by the white background and blur of motion. Living in Burma, I understand the appeal of photographing monks in their colourful robes, but also realize the challenge of illustrating their way of life in a fresh and new way. By focusing on their feet, you've manged to accentuate their wandering way of life, e.g. when out collecting alms. An attractive and worthwhile photo.
Ryno