We’ve all heard it before… Change is good.
That can mean many things to many people and one of the things I regret the least in life, is taking chances to make some big changes. I also seem to be rewarded quite often when I take small steps to make positive changes or even try something new. Sometimes, as in this case, doing something new is like doing something familiar, but with a distinct twist.
If you’ve followed my blog or social media accounts over the last several years, you will notice that my images tend to be all about the location and not about the people in the places I visit. This is where the change I’m talking about comes in.
“If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.”
~Lao Tzu

Camera: Fujifilm X-T1 – Lens: XF16-55mm F2.8 R LM WR
When I began my career in photography, I was mainly photographing people. Fashion and lifestyle photography was my main focus and I did that type of work for well over a decade. When I first got into shooting travel images, I broke away from having people in my shots. In fact, I tried my best to exclude people from my images as much as possible. All of this changed in Myanmar once I saw the people. I don’t know how to describe this in words, so I hope the images do these lovely people justice. In this series I’m sharing, I’m only showing you photos of some of the beautiful children and it’s just a sampling of what I was able to capture. I know that I have to return to Myanmar to continue this journey and I will. You’re bound to catch me leading a photo tour in Myanmar with my company Discovery Photo Tours.

Camera: Fujifilm X-T1 – Lens: XF56mm F1.2 R
Earlier this year Viking River Cruises contacted me with an offer to photograph and write about by experience in Myanmar on their Memories of Mandalay tour. Myanmar has long been at the top of my wish list of places to visit and I was happy to make the trip with my good friend Patrick DiFruscia, who specializes in landscape photography. Together, we were about to step out of our comfort zone in terms of what we are used to photographing. Little did we know just how amazing an experience this was going to be or how touched we would be by the kindness of the Burmese people.

The trip started in the best possible way when Cathay Pacific Airlines upgraded us to business class on our flights from Toronto to Hong Kong to Bangkok. These trans-Pacific long haul flights can be brutal on the system and when I’m fortunate enough to fly on business class of the top airline in the world on a long haul flight, I feel double lucky. Arriving in Bangkok well rested allowed me to get to work with a clear head instead of the regular jet lagged stupor I’m used to after flying for 26 hours. This was a good omen for how special the rest of the trip was going to be and a continuation of a life well travelled for me :-)

Camera: Fujifilm X-T1 – Lens: XF16-55mm F2.8 R LM WR
There is magic in the faces of these children and a glint in their eyes that warmed my soul. When they looked at me and smiled that most sincere of smiles, I absolutely melted. It makes me wonder why in some places the people can be so genuine, so kind, so welcoming and in other places people can be distant, cold, and suspicious. Let’s face it, Myanmar has faced difficult times over many decades and the people have few luxuries (if any). In fact, life can be hard there but yet the people carry themselves with grace and dignity that I honestly have not experienced anywhere else. This is reflected in the children and how they interact with visitors such as myself.

Camera: Fujifilm X-T1 – Lens: XF50-140mm F2.8 R LM OIS WR
No, you won’t necessarily see wide beaming smiles pasted across the faces of these kids. It’s deeper than that, and it makes me think that many of these little people are ancient souls living in tiny bodies. Myanmar has been quite closed to the west for a long time and it’s only been in the last five years or less that we have been able to visit more freely. I’m not sure who was more curious as east met west when I engaged the locals. The older people were polite and respectful but somewhat bashful too. The children, on the other hand, seemed like they knew just how to pose for the camera and loved doing do. In fact, many of them would follow us as we explored their villages, cameras in hand. In some instances, they would actually jostle with each other for position in front of my lens as I was photographing their friends.

Camera: Fujifilm X-T1 – Lens: XF16-55mm F2.8 R LM WR
“The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.”
~Marcel Proust
Those eyes… Oh, those eyes. There is a mystery in the eyes of these children, a depth, and yet a forlorn regard as well. It is an enigma to me as I honestly remember more the smiles and laughter but yet the images I captured and liked the most were the ones that had this mystifying feel to them. These children were not looking at me it seems, they were looking into my soul. It’s rare for me to look at a child and wonder what they are thinking. Probably because most of the time I imagine they are thinking of their X-box or iPad. These creature comforts that kids in the west take for granted are not even a fleeting thought for children in Myanmar. From our Viking ship, I spent several hours watching kids playing on the shore and swimming in the water of the Irrawaddy river. Not even a single toy was in evidence. This was just pure childish fun and camaraderie. That made me want to be a kid all over again and I certainly never feel like that when I see kids playing video games or watching television.

Camera: Fujifilm X-T1 – Lens: XF50-140mm F2.8 R LM OIS WR
It was a highlight of the year for me to have this opportunity to discover a unique country like Myanmar. What made photographing the people even easier for me was working with my Fujifilm X-T1 mirrorless camera. The smaller size and lighter weight of the Fujifilm camera and lenses made it a perfect choice for shooting from the hip without a tripod. 99% of my recent travel work has all been done with the aid of a tripod, so this too was a pleasant change. Walking around with a smaller kit and no tripod was liberating. If you didn’t already know, this year I was honoured to be named one of only two Fujifilm Global Ambassadors and I could not be prouder. Getting to work with so many people at Fujifilm who are passionate about making innovative quality cameras and lenses inspires me to strive for excellence.

Camera: Fujifilm X-T1 – Lens: XF16-55mm F2.8 R LM WR
Photographing people again was a wonderfully liberating experience and I could not have been given better subject matter to photograph. I’ll forever be grateful to the people of Myanmar for inspiring me to change the focus of my photography on this trip. I’m now looking forward to several other destinations in upcoming travel where I’ll once again be able to do more cultural and people photography. I’m heading to Vietnam for the first time in September, Jordan in November, and Cambodia in December. I should have ample opportunity to continue with my rekindled enthusiasm for photographing people on these trips.

Camera: Fujifilm X-T1 – Lens: XF56mm F1.2 R
For the first time in a long time, I felt like I was travelling purely for pleasure and not for work. Don’t get me wrong, I love all the travel I do and get excited each time I’m about to head on a new adventure. But it is work and often times, exhausting work. On this trip, I was treated to luxurious accommodations and flights and attentive staff from both Cathay Pacific and Viking. I had never taken any type of cruise in the past and I wasn’t sure that this was going to be for me. It was nice to be proven wrong in my trepidation. After an extensive amount of travel in 2014 and a very harsh winter in Montreal, I welcomed the relaxing nature of this trip. The journey concluded in Bangkok where I spent my birthday at a Japanese Rastafarian pub that got raided by the police (another story, for another time), before heading to Rome to run my annual Italy Photo Tour.

Camera: Fujifilm X-T1 – Lens: XF16-55mm F2.8 R LM WR
Not only did this journey to Myanmar remind me of how much I used to enjoy photographing people but it made me fall in love with travel all over again. If I may be so bold as to share some of the wisdom I garnered from this experience… Don’t be afraid to try something new or revisit something old. Some of the best experiences in life will come from doing the unexpected, stepping out of your comfort zone, and embracing uncertainty. Remember that even if you stumble or fail, you can be proud that you tried. I never want to look back and think that I ‘should have’ or ‘could have’. I’d rather have a life of ‘oh wells’ rather than a life of ‘what ifs’.

Camera: Fujifilm X-T1 – Lens: XF50-140mm F2.8 R LM OIS WR
“We travel, some of us forever, to seek other places, other lives, other souls.”
~Anais Nin

Ken, you have captured the soul of these winsome children. I cannot think of a word in the English language to describe the emotional depth that I feel looking at your genius with the camera. Congratulations.
Thanks so much! I give the kids most of the credit. I was just fortunate to be a witness with a camera :-)
Beautiful!
Thanks Laura!
Your photos are amazing, I love travel photography and my house is cluttered with many books of people, animals and places. Your photos get right to the soul. I have a book of Paris bridges and it’s my newest book and I am sold on going to Paris. Michael Saint James, Bridges of Paris, bridgesofparis.com is his site. His stunning photos of these bridges spoke to me just as yours do with these photos!
Thanks Andy!
I’m happy to hear that the photos of these lovely children resonated with you. It was a great trip and wonderful experience.
ken kaminesky is a great photographer,He always work as artist ..Very emotional photos Thanks for sharing
Really appreciate the kind comment… thanks!
Hi
what camera do you use for your travel photography?
Cheers
Piotr
Piotr, he mentioned on the post that he used the Fuji XT-1 for this trip. On the other ones probably a different camera but I think the point is , the camera won’t make you a better photographer as a Ferrari won’t make you a better driver.
Hey Piotr and Gil,
The tech specs are below the images… Gil is correct, the Fujifilm X-T1 is my go to camera these days and I highly recommend it. He’s also right that it’s not just about the camera and Ferrari analogy but hey… I’ll take the Ferrari any day :-D
Beautiful colouration and emotional resonance in these images. Thank you for sharing.
And thank you for taking the time to leave a nice comment!
Ken
How did you get the children to pose? I found that many of the children/people in Mynamar shy away from photography.
They are stunning by the way! I wish you would post more often.
Sorry for the very delayed reply!
I found the kids to be extremely extroverted. Perhaps not the monks as much as the regular children, but even then, there was a curiosity in their eyes.
Can’t wait to head back this year.
I love your blog. I really enjoyed reading the content of it, and i have fun of watching your beautiful images.
I was so impress of how you captured those pictures you shared. I was amazed by it.
Keep it up. Love to see more post from you. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you, Jopet! I hope to be posting more often now.
Some absolutely beautiful shots here. Love the expressions on the portraits and the innocence in the candids.
Cheers! It sure was a fun trip and eye-opening to be sure.
I loved the photographs of the children. This post really warmed my heart and reminded me why I\’m saving up to start traveling.
Hope that you’re already on your journey by now :-)
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These photos are mesmerizing and heart-warming all that the same time. You did a great job on taking photos that looks so natural and candid. They don\’t look stages or forced, which I think will destroy the magic of this concept, but you did it justice. I love how the each child\’s photograph has a tacit story to tell and you can tell from looking and examining each photos that they are all unique from one another. Overall, I\’d like to see more projects like this one, maybe with other countries just to see their cultures and traditions. Thanks for sharing this. Great Job!
Hey Cassie,
Thnks for the detailed comment. I’m hoping to do more of these kinds of images in the future and in Asia in particular where there is still a strong hold onto culture and tradition.
These are really cool, I really like the Fuji XT-1 look and your processing.
Thanks, Jonathan!
I had fun editing these. :-)