Lahu woman with pipe Photo

Photographer’s Note

Photo of a woman from the Yellow Lahu hilltribe (Lahu Shi Balah). Taken in Doi Mae Salong, Chiang Rai Province, Northern Thailand.

The Yellow Lahu are smallest Lahu minority found in Thailand. They originate from Southern China and Tibet. The other name for Lahu is 'Musur'. Other subgroups are the Red Lahu and the Black Lahu.

Little English is spoken. The younger Lahu can speak Thai while the older folks speak only Lahu Na, a soft tonal language from the Yi/Lolo branch of the Tibetan-Burmese linguistic group.

naret, michel_r, Luko has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

naxius (16679) 2005-01-12 3:24

Hi Robert,
I like your composition of this woman with her smoking pipe.
The light is perfect thanks to the usage of the fill-in flash.
Very sharp with good colors.
Compliments.
Alexandre

naret (826) 2005-01-12 8:33

Hi Robert,
I will give you two green if you add smoke to the pipe.

michel_r (1114) 2005-01-13 22:12

Very good exposure. Did you use an external flash as I assume? I like the pov which is different from what we usually see on portraits and creates the diagonal for the pipe. However, the pipe seems to come out from nowhere which i find disturbing.
regards, michel.

oochappan (22024) 2005-01-27 4:28

Very natural clear colors and tight crop, what a beautiful dress she is wearing, nicely presented Robert.

Luko (13880) 2005-03-10 4:29

Interesting shot as well as your note, I didn't know there were also "Big ears" types of Lahu.
I'm coming back from a trip which involved Mae Salong too but was driven by a stupid lazy jackass who thought there were no Lahu tribes around and only bothered drive me to Akha or Lisu (the two very "commercial" tribes). I even had to ask Lisu myself for going to see tea pickers he was'nt able to spot!
(never ever use Mae Salong Tours services in Chiang Rai, they're either lame or cons) Fortunately we changed guide before doing the Mae Hong Son loop and meeting lots of more interesting villages. I specially remember a Lahu village halfway between MHS and Pai which is a real beauty overlooking karst cliffs.

As for the photo I like how it is composed but somehow would have liked a more low keyed atmosphere to grab the quiet atmosphere of the hill villages.