Cuba has long been a go-to location for iconic street and travel photography – the combination of tropical beauty and crumbling textures with a festive population is photo gold. The problem is, with the recent influx of tourism, the floodgates have opened for photographers, and it’s getting harder and harder to capture truly unique shots.
Anyone who has wandered the streets of Havana has come across a “professional” photoshoot model: that perfect old woman smoking a big cigar in a ’50s dress standing on a brightly colored porch and asking you to buy another for a dollar. Photos taken by millions of people. What does a travel photographer do? Well… travel of course! I will tell you my advice.
Yangon, Myanmar is the photographer’s new Cuba.
There are many similarities between the two countries, including failed political systems in need of reform, crumbling colonial architecture and previously isolated populations – but Yangon has the perfect storm of assets to make it a new and definitive photography destination.
Picture men in dresses with thanaka faces painted on their faces, teeth stained red by betel nuts, strolling through a street market full of goat heads and you’ll get the basic visuals, but make it an ideal destination for photographers It’s not just simple scenery. That’s what makes it so special.
The Myanmar undertones are simply amazing. Any photographer worth their salt knows that a good background is crucial to capturing a decent travel photo. Dilapidated British colonial buildings, slender strangled trees, and eerie Burmese signage mixed with ancient buses and gleaming golden stupas can easily make Havana’s 55 Chevrolet standout any day of the week. It’s almost a matter of framing a cool background and waiting for your subject to walk into the shot.
For example, I spent an hour or so by the river in Dara, trying not to slip in the mud while taking photos of people repairing hand-painted riverboats. I swear the boat from Fitzcalorado is right behind a perfect set of stranded boats with the Yangon skyline in the background.
The scene is perfect. It was almost too easy to wait for the people working on the boat to look up as I clicked the shutter over and over with the photographic version of Whack-a-mole.
Mobile devices are unusual to Burmese; the Internet is new to Myanmar, and many people cannot afford this luxury…not yet. This means that people are not as self-conscious as a camera is meant to snap a photo on Facebook for the world to see.
Social media has made the connected world shy — or at least hyper-aware of being photographed by strangers — while devices have made us more socially isolated. Look around any public place in the West and notice the death of boredom. When people are engrossed in constant communication, they don’t seem to be in touch with the world.
People would still be bored without devices. Boring people look around, get involved, and have fun socially. It’s hard for us to remember a time not so long ago when we were relatively anonymous and our public lives and personas didn’t necessarily follow us like digital shadows.
Burmese people do not have these problems at present. In general, they love being photographed and will even pick up the baby and encourage them to smile so they can be photographed too. They don’t feel the camera is threatening. They found someone interested enough to film their day-to-day life that it was absolutely fascinating.
The face-painted girl on the train thought I was laughing halfway while dangling out of the window of a moving train car to take her picture.
On top of that, Burmese people are friendly by nature and many speak basic English. I really have never felt so welcome by strangers anywhere in the world. When my wife and I decided to get our hair cut at the makeshift barbershop next to the tracks, the whole community showed up and threw an event for it.
They took some pictures of us and we took some pictures of them and everyone had a great time.
When we walked timidly into a Buddhist temple, we were greeted with food and drink, then shuttled upstairs to a library with words printed on beautiful bamboo fans, where I filmed a second day teaching I am a walking meditation monk. Astonishing. People here treat you like a VIP.
I spent an afternoon playing a game in which I would smile and stare at complete strangers until they smiled back. Everyone smiled back with genuine enthusiasm, and pointing the camera at them didn’t diminish that in the slightest. Burmese people are beautiful and not shy at all.
Myanmar has a rich and diverse culture – one minute you’re photographing a line of barefoot novices holding alms bowls outside a dilapidated royal building, the next you’re slipping into a gorgeous Hindu temple for a Vedic fire ceremony, A priest was tossing clarified butter and fragrant seeds into a fiery hell.
Myanmar’s proximity to India, China and Thailand creates a strong and colorful mix of cultures, and the Hindu priests are so cool with you taking thousands of photos of the Homa ceremony that it’s almost impossible to take in vivid travel images.
Then the priest invites you to a party where you can play the drums for hours with 20 other sweaty men who will serve you delicious food until you can’t take another bite. Heaven.
about the author: Sean Davis is a travel photographer based in Tamarindo, Costa Rica, specializing in location portraits, architectural photography, food photography and aerial photography for advertising, editorial and corporate clients. You can find more of his work on his website, or follow him on Facebook and Instagram.
