I think Bhutan is almost unique in this modern world, in that the culture and beliefs are strong and firmly rooted in their present day society, The Bhutanese have mobile phones and computers, they wear Nike shoes, many of them study overseas, almost everyone speaks English, yet they daily wear traditional dress, eat their traditional foods, participate and believe in their culture and festivals. It is an amazing country with a beautiful juxtaposition of the old and the new existing side by side and rarely conflicting.
This image is of a young woman who works for the local government of Punakha, she has a few minutes before her work day begins. She works in a 17th Century Dzong, she wears traditional Bhutanese dress and she is sending a text message on her iPhone 5…
Shot with the Fuji XPro-1 and the 35mm f1.4 lens
Shot a few minutes after the previous image in the Gangtey Monastery temple with the young Monks at Prayer being led by a senior Monk. Shot very discretely with the Fuji XPro-1, again with the permission of all the Monks.
Bhutan Photographic Tour March 2014
I will be headed back to Bhutan in March 2014 with a small group of 10 photographers for another 15 day Photographic Tour of Bhutan. I currently have only 3 places remaining for that tour and the early bird discount of $600 expires December 23rd, if you would like to read more you can go the Photo tour of Bhutan page on my site, the booking form can be downloaded from there.
A more subtle shot of the Monks of Gangtey Monastery, this is shot inside the temple with the permission of the abbott and the Monks. Not really an appropriate place to use the Hasselblad, so this one is shot on the Fuji XPro-1, a remarkable little camera that hardly makes a sound! Just what you need for inside a temple as the Monks are chanting. This image was shot on my latest photo tour of Bhutan.
