Fantastic Faces Of Myanmar. Myanmar or Burma as it was formally called is a place of magic and wonderment. It is an incredibly beautiful and historic country with amazing sites like the never-ending Temples of Bagan, the golden Shwedagon Pagoda, and the amazing carvings in the isolated Mrauk U. Myanmar’s 50 million citizens have struggled through difficult times from being colonized under the Brits, brutal fighting between the Allies and the Japanese during WWII, severe military rule, and grinding poverty. Despite all of these obstacles and challenges the Burmese are a truly hospitable and friendly people. Fantastic Faces Of Myanmar.
One of the first things that will catch your attention is many women and children (and sometimes guys) will have a white-yellow paste smeared on their faces. Thanaka is a white-yellow paste made from ground bark. Several trees are used to make this cosmetic paste and can found in the central area in central Myanmar. This facial covering has a long tradition in Myanmar, dating back over 2,000 years. The purpose of Thanaka is two-fold. Some of the women’s faces are covered in designs to enhance beauty. And others use the Thanaka to protect their skin. Fantastic Faces Of Myanmar.
Myanmar still occasionally regards visitors as a novelty. As a visitor you can expect to have the camera turned on you. You will be asked to pose for selfies and group photos.
I was in a local market and noted a cute girl. I gesticulated to a five year old to take her photo, she shook her head no, and threw a towel over her head. I smiled and walked away, and looked back her. Somewhat shocked, I saw her grab her cell phone, and snap a photo of me as I walked away. Ten minutes later I walked back, and I returned the favor and grabbed a photo of her.
And check out the beautiful beaches in Burma!
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Always enjoy your “Faces of_____” series. You take good photos of people…do you have a technique to have them stay natural?
Frank (bbqboy)
I would say 90% of the time I approach them and speak to them, verse trying to sneak a photo. Hopefully, I know a couple of words in their language and of course smile a lot. Then show them the photo after I take it, and then maybe take some more since they will be a bit more relaxed and maybe liked seeing their photo.
Ah, that sounds good. Showing the photo is a good technique. I was wondering how you got them to look so natural.
Some fantastic photos Ric! We lived in Yangon for four months some time back and although I didn’t particularly like living there for that long (it’s a great city but not that liveable in my opinion, especially in the monsoon), the people we met and worked with made our time there! I love the fact that Thanaka is not an age or sex thing and it certainly does make your skin nice and smooth!!!
Must have been a great experience. So much to explore! Always love going back to visit. Were you wearing a lot of Thanaka?
Not a lot of it, only when the girls in the office put it on me!!
Awesome photos, Everybody smiling is giving lots of positivity.
Beautiful people!
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