Photography trip to Myanmar is a once in a life time opportunity. Indeed, Myanmar is believed to be one of the few places on earth where the lifestyle hasn’t evolved much over the last century. Local traditions and culture remain unchanged and are still deeply rooted in everyday’s life, and the influence of the Western world is still moderate. Additionally Myanmar has gone through a huge boom in tourism since a few years ago and if the trend goes on, the main destinations will inevitably lose a lot of their current attractiveness. For these reasons, Should you visit as soon as you can if Myanmar has been one of your dream destinations for travel photography. Some expert tips on shooting street photography in Myanmar are mentioned as follow ;
Where to visit in Myanmar?
There are a lot of untouched corners in Myanmar to explore and experience through your lens except some of the prohibited areas .What I can sincerely suggest you that most tourists converge to the mainland itinerary of Yangon – Bagan – Mandalay – Inle Lake . No worries though, this will occupy your photography expedition for minimum two weeks and you could easily plan a few extra days at the beach or exploring some more remote areas by plane. The best suggestion for photography expedition is not to go on a package tour if street photography is your main objective. That would be great and nice to have everything prepared for you and stay in nice hotels, but you’ll surely miss on the most important, which is interacting with locals. All isolated hotels will be put on package tour , far from interesting shooting grounds , and the tight schedules will have you hop in and off your bus most of the day. Who can do street photography in these conditions? Obviously not, so think about what you want to see most and shoot before you travel to Myanmar and find the local expert who is well experienced in street photography throughout Myanmar and those who is well experienced in traveling with foreign photographers. There will be a lot of authorized tour operators in Myanmar. Taking to right person who can provide you the expert tips and specific programs is more important so to meet your expectations.
Will trip be expensive?
Not really , off course , you can be able to spend thousands of dollars if going on a luxury package trip. If staying in low cost hotels with the most suitable location for photographers, traveling by bus, and eating at good local small restaurants, you are to spend around $ 45 less and more per day . If you prefer to fly internally between destinations and stay in mid range hotels, your daily expenses will be about $ 80 per person. So overall, Myanmar is not too expensive as you think , the daily traveling expense depend on where to stay , what to eat and how to travel.
What to shoot ?
As soon as you are landed in Myanmar, whatever you see will make you grab your camera to shoot the men and women wearing their traditional outfits and all women with traditional sun screen on their face to protect from sunburns .As for the city itself, its intense life on the street and overall state of deterioration makes it an amazing (maybe not for locals) setting for street photography. Mandalay, the second largest city of country located in the center of Myanmar will give you a similar environment, yet the concentration of monasteries being very high there, you’ll have a lot of opportunities to include monks in your shots. As for the other principal destinations (Inle Lake “Magical Water land of Myanmar& Bagan “Archaeological Treasure Of Myanmar ), you’ll see more the country side of Myanmar.
Where to shoot ?
You are to get away from the main streets and tourist attractions . it is where you’ll get a real feel of the locals’ way of life. Monasteries, temples, markets and train stations are great interior alternatives for street photography when tired to walk around
When to shoot ?
Most of Myanmar has a wide thermic amplitude. Meaning that temperature will go up to close to 40 celsius during the day and drop to about 15 degrees at night. Therefore, another suggestion is to get up early. What I mean here is to wake up around 06:00 am due to considerable advantages for shooting like no others. The proper reason to wait up early for shooting as follow ; 01- Local people get up early and not later than 07:00 am , daily activities is already interesting and intense . 02- Sun usually goes up before 07 ( between November to February) and earlier after February because of the begging of Summer season .So Interesting street activities with morning soft lights will be the first and best bonus of your shooting day . 03- Photographers don’t love tourist while doing street photography, early visit and shooting will get you away from the group of tourists and also if you get to every shooting ground and tourist attractions earlier than other tourists only locals will be engaged in trade and souvenir sellers won’t even be there. Same applies to temples and monasteries; the last thing you want is pictures full of backpacks in the background. As you are done, time to head back to your room to download your pictures, recharge your camera batteries and rejuvenate yourself for afternoon shooting around 04:30 pm. Nevertheless, if you want to keep shooting, head to a train station or monastery, you’ll always find good scenes in their interiors.
Shooting local people easy?
Shooting in Myanmar is more easier than other Southeast Asia Countries because of friend and flexible people living across the country. You will surely not get any negative reactions during your stay in Myanmar .Most people actually like to be photographed and love to have a peep at your LCD screen. Like elsewhere, a minority of people seem not be happy to see photographers approaching with big camera . So the way to approach local people and tribal people should be very gentle . What the people want to see most is your warm smile and sweet greeting in our language or the native language of different tribal people . Making the people relax and easy first before grab your camera and shooting . Moreover some situations are very photogenic but think about human dignity before you click. On the same topic, some people (especially kids) will ask you for money to be pictured. I know it is not an easy one, but it is in my opinion preferable refuse. By giving money, you make sure the kid will keep doing it and won’t spend much time in school. Indeed, some parents are unscrupulous and prefer an extra income than a future for their kids. Finally, To make a good start is to give warm smile and say “ Hello “ the local language . In conclusion It’s simple, Myanmar is one of the must-visit country to do street photography. If you are looking for an out of the ordinary shooting experience, I definitely recommend Myanmar. Not only it is full of interesting characters, but the cultural experience is amazing. This being said, you’ll have to do an extra effort to be fully experience the Burmese way of life, so stay out of high end luxury trips. Grab your camera, go with only local to explore in depth of country. Should you need more practical and first-hand information for your dream journey to Myanmar? We will be pleased and honored to provide you all necessary and specific information as much as you need … please find more Myanmar Photography Tour Packages to explore in depth of Myanmar through your lens .
