Nun, again

Nun commonly defined as a woman who has taken vows committing her to a spiritual life…..

In Myanmar, there are nothing short of nun, which was why nun reappeared in my Myanmar blog often.  This one also shot in my first day of the Steve McCurry photography workshop in Yangon.

Decisive moment in making

Ever since the works from Henri Cartier-Bresson became aware by public and particular so, photography enthusiasts are craving to capture the decisive moments, even in digital age, today, me included.

Wanting to capture the moment is one thing, really getting there is another.  Not that it is impossible or even difficult, it is simply that the certain moment in a sequence has different interpretation by many, and you can go on with technical limitations such as shutter time Lag, one’s own reaction from mind to his fingertip, and on and on. Considering the movie frame rate, 24P, a progressive format that is in fact precisely 23.976fps, arrived here with varies historical and mechanical history better to read here. Anyway, this says the fluid motion we saw on a movie was in fact running at almost 24 frames in a second, compares to our camera which usually firing at 3-6fps, to get the exact one we intended to, does take some hard practice and sometimes a bit of luck, or one might just do it over and over, and over.

The true point is, even watching the movie, each one saw the moment differently, and therefore their approach of capturing the specific moment will be different. No one is wrong.  Because the photographer was not defined by the moment he captured, rather, a photographer is defined for the moment he chooses to capture.

A time with himself

Entering the monastery at very young age has to abandon lots of things, and abandon more while growing up, something I rather not to imagine.

Monastery living is very simple; some may say the life is rich by serving the higher believe, which I don’t intend to argue as well.

A little time for Nintendo?  Totally understandable.

The beginning of everything

From the nunnery to monastery the most common scene I saw is either nuns or monks reading and studying. To them, it is either nunnery or monastery that they begin their search of knowledge, it is more than just a shelter, it is school, it is their home, and it is where they belonged.

Frank Herbert said it well – “The beginning of knowledge is the discovery of something we do not understand.”  And it is the knowledge they open the door to their believe.

Dormitory

You could be a stranger with a camera (some with more) inside the monastery, but most often you are not unwelcomed, and this is one of the best thing traveling in Myanmar.  Here, you feel the true merit of Buddhism, everything and anything is accepted.

The monastery I visited this day was a seemingly modest but well built one, spacious, including the dormitory section.  Here you observe the simple living of a monk – in fact many monks, it might seem lack of privacy but then because the nature of Buddhism taught people with such respect to individual, you feel there is plenty of privacy.  Perhaps privacy is not a matter of groups or public, it is a matter of individual respect.

Little Red Robe

One of very common scenes in Myanmar - little boy in red robe.  But I see kids are kids, regardless what they wear.  They like to smile, ice cream, make fun and play, just like all the kids. 

Ordinary Day

It is just an ordinary day in the monastery.  Here I am with my camera, traveling from far away – but not that far away than many other fellow travellers, are to shoot just ordinary monk doing ordinary things in their ordinary routine and try to act ordinary.