Club Meeting, "An Oriental Journey" - Tuesday 5th November 2019.
Morpeth Camera Club welcomed guest speaker David J. Stout EFIAP PPSA DPAGB, a member of Whickham Photographic
Club and an award winning freelance travel and landscape photographer. David stated that included in his bucket list was
a visit to Burma which has recently become open to overseas visitors, so, together with his wife Elizabeth, who is also a
photographer, they set off to this fascinating part of the world on "An Oriental Journey" and that the result was tonight's
presentation.
Starting off in Singapore we saw wonderful images of the ‘trees’ in the Garden by the Bay, a man made forest where the
creepers will eventually form a forest canopy, and the Marina Bay Sands Hotel resembling a surf board on stilts. Travelling
on to North Thailand, to the cultural and religious centre of Chang Mai, we saw vibrant images of silk temple banners, huge
Buddha's and ornate white temples, then on to see the Padwang tribe ladies with their long neck rings. Their next stop was
Mandalay, a city in north central Myanmar (Burma). Teak temples with elaborately carved shutters and stunning portraits
of young monks, Buddhist nuns in pink and saffron robes, a bride bedecked in jewels, ornamental gorgon-like Chedis, and
the U Bein bridge, the world’s longest teak footbridge measuring 1300 yards which spans the shallow Taungthaman Lake,
were included in David’s selection of beautiful images.
The audience were then transported to Bagan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with an image of a young monk strolling
in a teak temple corridor, white and gold temples and, in golden evening light its ancient stupors. David’s lovely portraits
of Burmese girls, he said, were accomplished by firstly introducing them to his wife, making the girls more relaxed in his
presence. A trip on Inle Lake gave David the opportunity to photograph the Leg Fishermen whose lanterns draw the fish
to the surface and where they also saw the now deserted meeting houses on stilts where secret meetings used to be held
by the military junta. On to Intien village there were images of its 1,054 pagodas built around a Buddha encrusted with
elaborate jewellery, portraits of market traders, weavers and cheroot makers.
Travelling on, they went to photograph Rangoon with its colonial buildings and to the Kyaiktiyo Pagoda, a well-known
Buddhist pilgrimage site in Mon State, Burma. The small pagoda built on the top of a granite boulder covered in gold
leaf pasted on by its male devotees but is forbidden to be touched by females, David said that according to legend,
the Golden Rock itself is precariously perched on a strand of the Buddha's hair. Back to Rangoon, we saw images of
the Shwedagon Pagoda, a massive 99 meter high gold plated pagoda with a diamond studded spire together the 50ft
long reclining, jewel encrusted Buddha. Images of Ho Chi Min City in Saigon then Hong Kong followed with its cramped
suburban high rise buildings, night shots of neon lights in downtown Kowloon, iconic river scenes of the commercial
district and Marina Bay concluded David’s presentation. Throughout the evening David explained local customs and laws
which were interspersed with humorous anecdotes.
Vice Chair, Roseanne Robinson thanked David for an interesting and humourous evening after which a Q & A followed.
David advised that one should always ask permission before taking a photograph of a person, speak a little of their
language, a hello and thank you is all it takes to get a connection, and take along pencils, pens, notebooks etc, as a
small reward. Advice on camera care in high temperatures and humidity concluded a very interesting evening after which
coffee was enjoyed.
Steph.
Club and an award winning freelance travel and landscape photographer. David stated that included in his bucket list was
a visit to Burma which has recently become open to overseas visitors, so, together with his wife Elizabeth, who is also a
photographer, they set off to this fascinating part of the world on "An Oriental Journey" and that the result was tonight's
presentation.
Starting off in Singapore we saw wonderful images of the ‘trees’ in the Garden by the Bay, a man made forest where the
creepers will eventually form a forest canopy, and the Marina Bay Sands Hotel resembling a surf board on stilts. Travelling
on to North Thailand, to the cultural and religious centre of Chang Mai, we saw vibrant images of silk temple banners, huge
Buddha's and ornate white temples, then on to see the Padwang tribe ladies with their long neck rings. Their next stop was
Mandalay, a city in north central Myanmar (Burma). Teak temples with elaborately carved shutters and stunning portraits
of young monks, Buddhist nuns in pink and saffron robes, a bride bedecked in jewels, ornamental gorgon-like Chedis, and
the U Bein bridge, the world’s longest teak footbridge measuring 1300 yards which spans the shallow Taungthaman Lake,
were included in David’s selection of beautiful images.
The audience were then transported to Bagan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with an image of a young monk strolling
in a teak temple corridor, white and gold temples and, in golden evening light its ancient stupors. David’s lovely portraits
of Burmese girls, he said, were accomplished by firstly introducing them to his wife, making the girls more relaxed in his
presence. A trip on Inle Lake gave David the opportunity to photograph the Leg Fishermen whose lanterns draw the fish
to the surface and where they also saw the now deserted meeting houses on stilts where secret meetings used to be held
by the military junta. On to Intien village there were images of its 1,054 pagodas built around a Buddha encrusted with
elaborate jewellery, portraits of market traders, weavers and cheroot makers.
Travelling on, they went to photograph Rangoon with its colonial buildings and to the Kyaiktiyo Pagoda, a well-known
Buddhist pilgrimage site in Mon State, Burma. The small pagoda built on the top of a granite boulder covered in gold
leaf pasted on by its male devotees but is forbidden to be touched by females, David said that according to legend,
the Golden Rock itself is precariously perched on a strand of the Buddha's hair. Back to Rangoon, we saw images of
the Shwedagon Pagoda, a massive 99 meter high gold plated pagoda with a diamond studded spire together the 50ft
long reclining, jewel encrusted Buddha. Images of Ho Chi Min City in Saigon then Hong Kong followed with its cramped
suburban high rise buildings, night shots of neon lights in downtown Kowloon, iconic river scenes of the commercial
district and Marina Bay concluded David’s presentation. Throughout the evening David explained local customs and laws
which were interspersed with humorous anecdotes.
Vice Chair, Roseanne Robinson thanked David for an interesting and humourous evening after which a Q & A followed.
David advised that one should always ask permission before taking a photograph of a person, speak a little of their
language, a hello and thank you is all it takes to get a connection, and take along pencils, pens, notebooks etc, as a
small reward. Advice on camera care in high temperatures and humidity concluded a very interesting evening after which
coffee was enjoyed.
Steph.