Band of Brothers, a photo from Sichuan, Central

Photographer's Note

The Tibetan people form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. Their homeland includes not only the province of Tibet but considerable parts of Qinghai, Gansu and Sichuan (where this picture was taken).

Tibetan culture is deeply religious, with religion pervading every aspect of daily life. Tibetan buddhism incorporates a collection of native traditions (Bön) and is also refered to as Tantric or Lamaist buddhism. The exotic spirituality of Tibetan culture has attracted many admirers in the west. The Tibetan language belongs to the Tibeto-Burman branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family and has its own script.

The Tibetan dilemma rose to prominence after recent riots were crushed by the Chinese authorities. It seems the more China takes up its place as the world's leading power, the more the west adopts the Tibetans as their favourite minority.

"There simply seems to be no middle ground on the dilemma of China and Tibet: one must either believe that the opportunistic Han (Chinese) are ruining Shangri-La, or that they wrestled literally millions of slaves from feudal serfdom. The truth, as always, lies somewhere in between." (wise words from...Lonely Planet!)

My fear is that the poor Tibetans have become a pawn in an international power struggle and will once again become the victims. But there is hope too.

-----

Writing this note my thoughts are with the victims of the Sichuan earthquake, the epicenter is not far from where I took this picture. I hope my band of brothers are OK!

smarcell, Dpbours, saylan-cb, faubry, carolskie007, dvlazar, johnfreeman, ilvao has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

aadilj (18102) 2008-05-13 1:10

The colours and textures are extremely well used and captured and the expressions on those faces are priceless. I love the infectious sweetness and some extremely fantastic kids. I really cant describe how I feel when I look at the one who's being held up!!

nikosrio (1158) 2008-05-13 1:14

Ecxellent family portrait with very beautifull colors and light.I like very much the expression on children's faces,
regards,
Nikos.

limule (4176) 2008-05-13 1:18

beautiful portrait with very soft colours. I like the natural expressions of the kids. Very good. Geraldine

smarcell (19965) 2008-05-13 1:28

A lovely picture. The young monks are posing but are actually very spontaneous.
Excellent
Stefano

Dpbours (222) 2008-05-13 2:08

Hi Benny,

A great capture and a good note!
Hahaha, that is actually the first time I have heard wise words coming from the Lonely Planet. Very funny. A bit of a standard conclusion, but not less true for that reason :-).

Greetings,
Dennis

wolf38 (30) 2008-05-13 2:11

Hello Benny. The Portrait of a group. Beautifully. Worth seeing. Photographically outstanding realizes. It is a pleasure to regard this photo. Informative text. Best regards, Wolfgang.

donluicu (24741) 2008-05-13 8:01

this is a really good capture..
indeed a band of brothers..

and just where the earthquake hit!!

hope they re still ok

cheers

Wanda1 (15142) 2008-05-13 8:17

Hi Benny,
This group is simply great each with their own unique expressions and also standing in order of height from tallest to shortest, and I like the faded sort of colouring too, it somehow suits the shot. Informative note too.
Regards
Wanda

ninaL (21348) 2008-05-13 12:54

Simply family portrait, but "simply" is not easy at all...Beautiful group scene, posed but still spontanous. Best regards again. Grazyna.

faubry (35447) 2008-05-15 1:09

Hello Benny, very nice and cute expression from these brothers.. we have a though for poor people with this earthquake.. i hope also they are ok...
take care
francine

saylan-cb (12738) 2008-05-15 3:14

Hi Benny,
Wonderful portrait.Great colour and beautiful image,good light and frame,well done.
TFS/Regards

carolskie007 (487) 2008-05-15 3:44

Nice title, very appropriate for this kids' intimate gesture and smile. Great DOF and framing too :o)

dvlazar (6662) 2008-05-16 1:01

Hey there Benny,
What a beautiful capture of these Tibetan kids. Full of much hope, spirit and friendship. What a great capture of emotional responses!
Cheers,
Dave.
:)

johnfreeman (2274) 2008-05-19 14:03

Hi Benny,
A wonderfully warm and human portrait. I like your framing and the soft pastel colours, but it’s the kid’s expressions that really make it, so spontaneous and full of life and curiosity. The small one gazing off into the distance is fantastic.
I’m very impressed by your recent series of shots from China, so I’m glad to see that you’ve written a travelogue. I find there’s something in the warmth of film that sometimes seems lacking in modern digital shots and it’s also clear that you really connected with the people you were photographing.
Interesting note too, let’s hope they’re OK.
John

ilvao (2308) 2008-05-20 8:16

Bravo Benny !
Fantastic colors
great child image with beautiful faces
thanks
salutations
olivier

mphotographies (1976) 2008-05-26 3:05

Bonjour Benny,

I like your 'documentary' style of portraiture. You have related your inner thoughts of the people of Tibet and they shouldn't live this kind of life. They don't do any harm to each other and I have issues against the oppositions as well. Is there real justice in human rights?

China is mourning over the lost of many lives in Sichuan, very awakening to oneself, the purpose and how a life is very important to save. Myanmar has lost many lives as well...In this kind of crisis nothing is beyond compare when we feel the pain inside our soul.

Regards,

Jom

Santiano (2869) 2008-06-08 4:44

Benny!

Great series from China. In this eyes is everything about mood this land.
One love, one world!
Greetings from Poland
Jerzy

foozi (7101) 2008-09-19 8:02

Hello Benny,
a very exciting and interesting shot of the children.
It make me think of the kung fu heroes in the chinese mvie, the shoalin kind of thing.
Well portrayed and great colour composition.

regards,
Foozi

un_forgiven_85 (62) 2008-12-07 14:14

Hello Beny , I ve visited your profile ... I liked this one much... The expression on the children's face is impressive. Being a child is better than everytihng :) Nice shot ....

Best wishes , Deniz ...

marcdemoulin (1870) 2009-02-12 11:40

Priceless group shot and the grain add authenticity Benny!! Well done.
Marc

roshangar (1682) 2011-03-03 22:37

Hi Benny,
I like this grainy portrait from Tibet. Great composition and it's good that the little one in the left side is looking out side, gives a good dynamic to this shot :)