The People-Pictures Problem

I admit, I'm a bit "backward in coming forward" when it comes to taking pictures of strangers.  I've missed out on so many great images because I'm helplessly British and don't want to intrude.  Yes, I'm one of "those" photographers, the ones who pretend to be taking a picture of something other than the stranger they really want to capture, the ones whose lenses swivel away at the slightest flicker of eye contact.  There's a pretty high ratio of backs to fronts in my people pictures.

It's compounded by me not liking to have my own picture taken.  Nearly every single picture of me has me sporting a rictus smile and an I'd-rather-be-anywhere-else attitude.  Hence "random pictures with white people" is a bit of a nightmare for me and I must be projecting that dislike of being photographed on the people I don't capture.  Of course, I'm wrong about that, some people love being photographed.

I enjoy taking pictures of people and my workplace is full of portraits and candids I've captured, but I know the people and I'm taking the pictures in an official capacity.  I also stand at the side of the road taking pictures of people on motorbikes and bicycles.  Moving targets are fine.  See, I'm working on my problems bit by bit.

So how come, given my debilitating condition, is this post full of pictures of people happily posing for me?  Simple really, they asked me to take their pictures so I was "official".  I was traipsing about the streets of Pondy when the two girls above shyly asked me to take their picture.  They were part of a group about to board a ramshackle tourist bus and they wanted their visit documented. Since there wasn't a camera or cell phone between the lot of them I was the next best thing and so the photoshoot happened.  We attracted a crowd and literally stopped traffic.

They were a grand bunch and we all had a good time, I'm only sorry I couldn't get an address out of them to post them some of the pictures.

Now to work on asking permission...

Backpacker Bingo Burma Style

A change from the non la, the flag t-shirts and the erroneous ao dai but still the fun continues. Spotted in Myanmar we have:

The matching pair - extra points for this - longyi and "ethnic" shirt combo's coupled with matching beards. I give myself additional extra marks for them having the poor taste/confidence to actually wear these to the airport. Spotted in international departures in Yangon.

Wandering the temples of Bagan I came across this example; longyi, "ethnic" shirt and thanaka, I like to think he was haggling over the cost of a lovely hat to set off his outfit perfectly. He was in the company of another two similarly attired backpackers but they were cunning and I could never get them all together in the one frame.

Cambodia next, rich hunting grounds I think.

Badly Dressed Tourists Part 1

The first part in a collection of pictures of tourists wearing ill chosen clothing. These were taking in Mui Ne where coincidentally there are a high proportion of Russians. I'll leave it up to you to decide whether these holiday makers are Russian but it's worth while knowing that they have access to fabrics and designs not seen in the rest of the world since the 1950s.



Mesh baseball cap - Check
Oversized medalion - Check
Ill concieved shorts - Check
String anklet - Check
Moobs - Check
Overhang -Check
A perfect street outfit for the young bleached man babe about town.

And for the gentleman of experience:



Ladies also put in a lot of effort to look suave and sophisticated on holiday:

A Fringed Fantasy, the front featured prancing horses and a nautical theme. It's one of those pictures I will always regret not capturing but my "stooge" refused to stand still so I could take a full frontal over his shoulder. Sometimes I think he doesn't support my art.

More later.

Hue Hey

Hue, pronounced something like "whey", was an interesting place for a couple of days stop off. It's got a much slower pace of life than Ho Chi Minh.



And a Citadel to see.



It was the hottest place I've been in Vietnam, some tourists took great pains to protect themselves from the sun.



While others tried hard to blend in:



...and if we go down here I think we can each get an Ao Dai too.


There were some interesting sights and the river was particularly picturesque. The local cuisine was excellent but we had some of the most awful faux-French food and an especially bland curry. I suppose it serves us right for not eating local.

Laos

We had an amazing trip to Loas flying into Vientiane from Saigon via Cambodia. We liked it so much that we left a lot unseen as it's fairly obvious we're going to go back.



The architecture and statues are stunning, I filled two memory cards on the camera. If you want to see them all (and frankly I can't think of a better way of spending four hours than looking at someone elses holiday pictures) click on any of the pictures to go to Flickr.

Food is fresh and tasty, there are a lot of higher end restaurants in Vientiane and Luang Prabang but we honestly didn't have one bad meal no matter where we ate. Well, there was the weird sweet curry in Vientiane but that was par for the course because it was Stephens birthday and he always gets a dodgy curry on that day.


There were men in santa hats.


Around every corner was a classic image.


Honest Tourist Attraction notices



and we even found a bar dimly lit enough to feel seedy





The lasting memory though has to be spending two days with elephants. More on that in a later post. Meanwhile here's my elephant having a snack.