Welcome back! It’s been a little while since I’ve posted…about 2 years or so, but who’s counting? Time is a strange thing. When I think back to where I was in my life two years ago, I realize how things have changed and how much I have changed. Photography has always been a passion of mine; something very personal that is engrained in my identity. I blamed my lack of attention to this website and photography in general on getting a desk job and not wanting to sit at a computer any longer than necessary. But if I’m being honest, I think that I got distracted with life, pure and simple. With all of the life changes that I’ve experienced in the last six months or so, I’m excited to be here – rediscovering a passion, enjoying the process, and not being so caught up in the end result. My goal is to build this website as I process images in an organic way, without following the “rules” that I had outlined for myself previously. If I come across an image that is particularly meaningful to me or that has a story attached, I’m going to blog about it. When I last posted two years ago, I felt like I was posting for an audience. Now, I’m more interested in posting for me. If anyone takes the time to come along with me, all the better.
So…let’s talk about this image! In December 2016, I had the opportunity to spend 2 weeks in the mysterious Southeast Asian country of Myanmar (formerly known as Burma). 10 of those 14 days were spent sailing up the Irrawaddy River from Bagan to Bhamo, while the remaining days were spent in the bustling capital city of Yangon. Of all of the places I’ve been, Myanmar by far stands out. With a tumultuous political history (to put it quite mildly), Myanmar was by in large a complete mystery to Westerners until the country opened its gates to tourists in 2012. While the country is slowly but surely building its tourism infrastructure to attract Western tourists, it definitely still qualifies as “off-the-beaten-path.” When I told people that I was going to Myanmar, I would say a good 95% of people had absolutely no idea where, let alone what, Myanmar even is. As a result, Myanmar is authentic. It’s relatively untouched by Western influence, especially in the smaller villages. In a world where the concept of authenticity has transformed into more of a social construct than anything, it was truly amazing to experience a culture that was so pure.
I shot this image at the famous Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon. At approximately 2,600 years of age (according to legend), Schwedagon is the most sacred Buddhist pagoda in Myanmar and is believed to contain the relics of four previous Buddhas. It’s a huge complex that sits on a hill overlooking the city of Yangon, and consists of hundreds of temples, stupas, and statues. When we visited around sunset, the complex was bustling with tourists and worshipers alike, all seemingly in awe of the magnificent gold-leaf Pagoda. There were many children running around with their parents, but I was immediately drawn to this little boy who was so curious about everything that was going on around him. As he approached the display of candles with his father, he looked up at the woman in the foreground and was completely captivated. Even though there were so many people and distractions around him, when he looked up at her lighting the candle, it was as if everything went silent. For me, this was a microcosm of learned faith, rather than taught faith, which to me is much more authentic and long lasting. After he watched the woman light her candle, his father passed a candle to him so that he could light one of his own. Then, father and son returned to their family, and went about their business as normal. A simple scene, but one that I feel very lucky to have witnessed.
Thanks for taking the time to read! Hopefully there will be more blogging very soon.
Camera: Nikon D610 – Aperture: f/4 – Shutter Speed: 1/60 – ISO: 640
Beautiful Katy!
Love everything about this blog Katy. Looking forward to more and the image is perfect.
Wonderful that you’re writing for you, Katy.
And me too.