With every step I’ve taken today, I’ve been aware of a new and vulnerable feeling that I’m carrying with me.  To those I’ve just met and am traveling with on this National Geographic Photography Expedition through Myanmar, I might seem the same, but I know I’m changing.  I’m a different person than I was when I […]

I can’t believe the beauty I’m seeing.  This is the first time I’ve witnessed a full moon setting on the western horizon as the sun simultaneously rises to the east.  The moon dips behind the Minwun Mountain range, and the light slowly shifts from early pre-dawn darkness to soft, gentle colors that only fill the […]

Tradition and rituals run deep in Myanmar, and I have to say I like it.  One such activity is removing socks and shoes before entering a Buddhist pagoda, which is what I’m doing now at the Sandamuni Pagoda.  It’s a tedious process to lace and unlace my hiking shoes throughout the day, but I don’t […]

“You were a nun?” I ask with surprise.  “Yes.  I went to a nunnery when I was 10 years old.  My grandmother sent me to learn the discipline of a nun to help me with the public world.”  I’m sitting in a car, and the woman in the front seat who’s dressed in business attire […]

The woman sits on the floor of a traditional dying and weaving workshop.  She takes white thread and wraps it around a spinning wheel, which is connected to another spinning wheel.  The thread is then fed onto a large spool in front of her.  I can tell that she has been working hard because she’s […]

“Lisa!  Lisa!  She’s here!”  I hear as I focus my lens at the Htilominlo Temple.  “Who’s here?  I’m trying to get my shots of this beautiful architecture.”  “The tribal woman of the Padaung from the hills.  The one with the coils around her neck.  A few days ago you asked me to tell you if […]

I’m reading an article about the tobacco industry in Myanmar, and I learn that British American Tobacco, one of the world’s largest cigarette manufacturers, has finalized a $50 million investment over five years to produce, market and sell its brands in Myanmar.  It doesn’t surprise me because the country is opening its doors to the […]

I stop walking to watch an elderly monk cross in front of me.  I don’t think he sees me…  His head is down, and I can hear a faint shuffling sound with every step he takes.  My initial instinct is to help him, or at least offer him my arm to lean on, but I […]

Standing in the middle of this peanut farm in Myanmar reminds me of my grandmother, who was a farmer.  She had more than 100 acres of apples and pears.  I learned the value of growing food at a very young age, and I learned that some people made their livelihood from that.  As I watch […]

Brrr…  There is one heck of a chill in the air this morning…  I wonder what the temperature is…  I wasn’t expecting it to be this chilly, but then again, the sun is just starting to rise…  I pull a blanket over my lap and feel grateful that the owner of this long-tail boat supplied […]

Another early morning…  I reach over and turn off my alarm.  It’s 4:15 and time to get up.  I sit on the side of the bed, groggy and feeling like I didn’t sleep at all.  Visions of everything that I’ve been photographing flashed through my mind for most of the night.  I try to shake it […]

I’m editing my photos on my laptop from the last week of shooting, and I’m struck by how expressive some of the women and children are in their poses.  I never tell people how to pose, so I’m surprised that so many women and children showed me their strong side when I asked to photograph them.  […]

18. Inspiration

Posted on December 28, 2015

It’s just after lunchtime, and I’m sitting in the lounge of the historic Strand Hotel in Yangon.  I have only a few hours left before I fly to Vietnam and begin yet another adventure in a new country.  Though I’m excited for the trip, the departure from Myanmar is bittersweet.  I’ve quickly grown to like […]