PICSPIRATION SUNDAY: I have said it before – and repeat it: Myanmar is a photographer´s dream! And especially the beautiful faces – and people´s willingness to be photographed.
I have written several posts from Myanmar (formerly Burma) the last weeks. I ensure you: This is the last one!
But I have to repeat it: Myanmar is a photographer´s paradise. I cannot imagine how skilled photographers can come home from this country without a decent portfolio of decent travel photos.
I had bought a new lens in Bangkok just before I entered Myanmar. I had dreamt about it for years – and called it my “Bangkok babe”.
Who was my Bangkok babe?
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM
My babe cost me around 14.000 NOK, almost 5000 NOK cheaper if I had bought her in Norway. But still very expensive.
It turned out to be almost the only lens I used during my 10 days in Myanmar. I bought the lens because I wanted to get closer to people without bothering then. And the lens turned out to be perfect for that use.
But it was also great for landscape photography, which I had not expected. It allowed me to narrow in on smaller parts of the scenery. As I was zooming in on the different temple landscapes of Bagan I realized how often I had missed that possibility. Now the lens was mine.
50 faces of Myanmar
I decided that I would try to take portrait photos of as many people as possible with my new lens – and preferably in the same style.
This slideshow includes portrait photos of 50 ordinary people in Myanmar. All of them are taken with my new Bangkok babe – and almost all with aperture f/2.8. That aperture gives little depth of field – and thus a nice, blurry background. But – be aware – you have to be very careful where your focus point is.
Not all of my photos turned out to be exactly in focus. You will see it here and there if you study the photos in the slideshow carefully. I leaned firsthand how important it is to extremely careful about what is your focus point.
How to produce a slideshow
There are many ways to produce a slideshow. For this slideshow I have used the software Fotomagico, which is quite easy to use and give a lots of options.
I only wanted a simple slideshow this time without not too many effects – and Fotomagico was a good tool for the job. The software is capable of much more advanced productions than this.
Article 5 of 5 about photography in Myanmar
This article is the last of a series of five about photography in Myanmar.
- Photography in Myanmar, article 1: Meeting the sun at U Bein bridge
- Photography in Myanmar, article 2: Marvelling at the temples in Bagan
- Photography in Myanmar, article 3: A quiet evening at Shwedagon Pagoda
- Photography in Myanmar, article 4: The fishers at Inle Lake
- Photography in Myanmar, article 5: 50 faces of Myanmar
Selection of photos
You will find 50 portrait photos in the slide show. Here is a selection of the ones I like best myself.
