Myanmar - Yangon, Mawlamyine, Hpa-An

giganova said:
I love that almost all people in the photos smile at you. Well done!
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thank's! Being a foreigner around Asia I usually ask people if I can take their photo. Candids I do rarely and if so only in crowded places. Often, as a foreigner, one stands out and is observed anyway. A friend of mine sometimes cracks me up because he shoots from the hips while looking somewhere else absolutely oblivious to the fact that most people around, at least those who care, know exactly what he is doing. Most people feel happy to have their photo taken and I prefer to have that interaction included.
 
rhl-oregon said:
Good to see these, Andreas. I'm not round much for a while but always glad to follow your footsteps. You are making the best of your A7.
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thank you Robert.
The A7 is not my dream camera but it does what I bought it for, above all offering the size of media my old lenes had been made for.

Choosing gear for the Mynamar trip was about picking my widest lens, choices were CV 4.5/15 on Ricoh GXR M or A7 with CV 4/21. Despite some corner issue I decided for the wider view of A7 + CV21. Shwedagon pagoda and other motives called for a that, even wider wouldn't have hurt. The CV21 first was the most used lens but unfortunately developed a fault during the trip and gave increasingly bad results. Because of the inferior IQ I only included very few "street scenes", architecture asf. above, here now a few, with IQ issues, from Yangon:

market

Untitled by andreas, on Flickr


Untitled by andreas, on Flickr


Untitled by andreas, on Flickr

city bus stop:


Untitled by andreas, on Flickr

small train station:


Untitled by andreas, on Flickr


Untitled by andreas, on Flickr

architecture in old city centre


Untitled by andreas, on Flickr


Untitled by andreas, on Flickr

a press:


press by andreas, on Flickr

hair stylist:

hair style by andreas, on Flickr

note: all above taken with CV f4/21mm on Sony A7. The rear lens group had become loose, what you see is NOT indicative of the performance of this lens/camera combination.
 
These are excellent photos of a fascinating place Andreas. You have used the lenses really well and captured the people and their environment beautifully.
John Mc
 
Great photo-work! Congrats!

Love how you capture people in their enviroment... and the colour, the light... great.
 
Hello Andreas, what a great thread! Many superb pictures, I especially like the one from the lady in the train, the cook in his kitchen, the close-up portrait of the smiling lady and the b/w panorama.

How did you come with your particular travel plan?

I went to Myanmar recently end of November/ early December and had a round trip from Yangon to Inle Lake. Such a great place for taking pictures of people!
 
pacco said:
Hello Andreas, what a great thread! Many superb pictures, I especially like the one from the lady in the train, the cook in his kitchen, the close-up portrait of the smiling lady and the b/w panorama.

How did you come with your particular travel plan?

I went to Myanmar recently end of November/ early December and had a round trip from Yangon to Inle Lake. Such a great place for taking pictures of people!
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thank's a lot Pacco!

Planning was a bit rudimentary. I had asked Michael for advice, he was very helpful but in the end I only decided where to go from Yangon while already there and I did not go where he had recommended me to go because that would have meant much longer bus trips or inland flights. In Yangon a friend of me was with me and did not need more planning than making a hotel reservation. After Yangon I only had 6 days for myself and travels and decided to go to Mawlamyine and Hpa-An because these provincial capital promised to have distinct laid back athmosphere with many interesting sights, pagodas, caves, mountains, rivers, spread out at only 5 to 6 hours by bus from Yangon. I believe that it was a good choice!

Actual travel turned out to be much easier than readings had made me expect. Taxi from airport was cheaper than expected, friendly and efficient, booked bus tickets to and fro Mawlamyine through a local, online booking service, got to and fro Yangon bus station by enjoyable collective taxi and had little enough luggage to take motorbike taxi to and fro bus station in Mawlamyine. There I rented a motorbike and drove myself around there and to and around Hpa-An. Booked hotels in advance but mostly just a day or two in advance which made availability tight, the 5 nights in Yangon we stayed in 3 different places and hotels in Hpa-An were listed as full but there was room after contacting the hotel directly via facebook.

Pacco now I am curious now to see your photos from around Inle lake and Yangon, I am also curious about practical informations we may want to exchange, please don't hesitate to ask if you have any specific questions.
cheers, andreas
 
Taipei-metro said:
city bus stop:


Untitled by andreas, on Flickr

This is really interesting,
Kawasaki City bus from Japan?

There were some Chang-hua County Police mortor cycles/ Taiwan running around in Iraq and they didn't remove the markings either
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all public buses ( but the most modern, overland buses ), also local trains and utility trucks are second hand from Japan, a good number also from Korea and prett much all have all the original letterings and signs. Interesting that Iraq gets Taiwanese vehicles!

cute the small Hino buses:

Untitled by andreas, on Flickr, Canon LTM f2/35mm, Sony A7
 
I took many more, nothing special, but possibly interesting nevertheless, a few more around Yangon:


Untitled by andreas, on Flickr, CV 4/21, Sony A7


night snack by andreas, on Flickr, Canon LTM f1.4/50mm


typical meats by andreas, on Flickr, Canon LTM f2/35mm


Untitled by andreas, on Flickr, Canon LTM f2/35mm


street eatery by andreas, on Flickr, CV 4/21


teahouse by andreas, on Flickr, CV 4/21


Untitled by andreas, on Flickr, CV 4/21


Untitled by andreas, on Flickr, Canon LTM f1.4/50mm


pray by andreas, on Flickr, Canon LTM f1.4/50mm


Untitled by andreas, on Flickr, Canon LTM f2/35mm
 
So many superb and beautiful images images. Your images of the people are especially wonderful. Thank you for sharing.
 
Hello Andreas,

It's so cool that you went to Mon State and rented a motorbike, I imagine it must of been an amazing experience. Looking at your awesome photos have brought back a lot of good memories, so thanks a lot for posting them. It's actually really cool to have read that other RFF members have gone to Myanmar as well, I hope others get inspired and decide to travel there.

Cheers,
Michael
 
ellisson said:
So many superb and beautiful images images. Your images of the people are especially wonderful. Thank you for sharing.
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I am not very confident that my images stack up with what's seen in this forum, but photos of people "on the road" being comfortable with me and happily posing may well be a bit of a speciality of mine, thank you!


them boys by andreas, on Flickr, Canon LTM f2/35mm


Untitled by andreas, on Flickr, Canon LTM f2/35mm
 
michaelbialecki said:
Hello Andreas,

It's so cool that you went to Mon State and rented a motorbike, I imagine it must of been an amazing experience. Looking at your awesome photos have brought back a lot of good memories, so thanks a lot for posting them. It's actually really cool to have read that other RFF members have gone to Myanmar as well, I hope others get inspired and decide to travel there.

Cheers,
Michael
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thank you Michael for comenting and again for your your personal tips via P.M.!
right, riding motorbike simply is "the" default means to get around in most places in S/E Asia, I believe you will agree. Motorbikes are banned in Yangona and I read also in a few touristic areas, and as foreigner one cannot have, or at least not that I know of, a valid driver's license. But just as in other countries in the area that's not any real big issue ;)

Mawlamyine and Hpa-An area is as if made for motorbiking, the cities themselves are fun and interesting to drive around in. Many pagodas, view points, colonial houses and churches asf. are spread out across both cities, some at a distance of some 10 to 20km and many more in between the cities which are only 45 km apart.

You may know, how about Inle lake and Loikaw, is it possible to rent bikes there? - This won't have been my last trip to Myanmar and me too I am looking forward to see more photos of you and others who have been traveling there.

around Mawlamyine

first Baptist church:

First Baptist church by andreas, on Flickr, CV 4/21

wedding shoot:

Untitled by andreas, on Flickr, Canon LTM f1.4/50mm

Kwun-ya ( Pan - betelnut ) stall

Kwun-ya stall by andreas, on Flickr, Canon LTM f1.4/50mm

in a small village:

cat on the porch by andreas, on Flickr, Canon LTM f2/35mm


what? ..a foreigner! by andreas, on Flickr, CV 4/21

old Hindu Shiva temple some 20 km north of Mawlamyine:

old Shiva temple by andreas, on Flickr, CV 4/21


old Shiva temple by andreas, on Flickr, Canon LTM f2/35mm

mobile, diesel powered "sound machine" ( used for parties )

mobile, diesel powered generator sound machine by andreas, on Flickr

"kutis", individual huts at the Pa-Auk Forest Meditation Centre south of Mawlamyine

kutis by andreas, on Flickr, CV 4/21

leaving the meditation hall

leaving meditation hall by andreas, on Flickr, CV 4/21

at the bus station:

rest by andreas, on Flickr, CV 4/21

so just as on my flickr stream also here I end up showing many photos, many more than earlier thought, some that I was shy to show first because of the IQ issue of the wide angle, many that aren't anything special but hopefully are of some documentary interest. If that is so I will show more again from on the way between Mawlamyine to Hpa-An and from around Hpa-An, cheers, andreas
 
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