Photographing Festivals in Bhutan
- Adam Monk
- Feb 22, 2014
- 1 min read
When I take a tour group to one of these stunning cultural festivals in Bhutan I try to remain as unobtrusive as possible, bearing in mind that this is their festival, and I am a guest. I tend to stand quietly in one place for quite some time, on the corner of a building or off to the side of some steps, watching and when the opportunity presents making an image, like this one.
Dancers having a Tea Break at the Prakar Lhakhang Tshechu in Chumey
Not Getting in the Way
The Bhutanese are lovely friendly people and a regular occurrence when they see me standing at the back is to invite me forward (to stand in front of them) so I can see better… Now I am 180cm tall and most Bhutanese are somewhat smaller than that, so if I stand in front of them they won’t be able to see a thing. Naturally I decline, but often that simple interaction is enough to start a conversation where I often discover that the person I am talking to studied in Australia (Engineering, science or similar), or has a brother, or sister, or Son or Grand Daughter studying there.
Image shot with the Hasselblad H4D-60 and the 100mm f2.2 lens… without getting in the way or being a nuisance.