Passage to Burma, new book of Scott Stulberg

I have been traveling the globe capturing images from amazing countries for as long as I can remember...but it is the beauty of Burma, also known as Myanmar, that stands out more than anywhere else to me.

I have been traveling the globe capturing images from amazing countries for as long as I can remember...but it is the beauty of Burma, also known as Myanmar, that stands out more than anywhere else to me.

Southeast Asia has always been my home away from home but the jewel of this region at least for me is the eye candy of Burma, which has something for every kind of photographer. Since 2001, I have made numerous pilgrimages, including several photography workshops to this special place and I am so happy to have my new book, Passage to Burma, coming out this October. This is really a photographers paradise but capturing this one of a kind country requires more than just a little luck to be in the right place at the right time. A guide is a must who knows the country well and a good guide will know where you should be to capture the once in a lifetime images that abound all over. Getting up well before sunrise and knowing where great photo ops will be is key for Burma but knowing how to interact with the people is also just as important, at least for me. Being a stock photographer, I need images of so many things from all over the world and the diversity of this magnificent country is just what the doctor ordered for almost anyone that loves photography.

Burma-COVER

burma_workshop002

You really need at least two weeks to see even a modest amount of Burma and for your gear arsenal, everything from wide angle to at least a 300mm is a must. Photo ops seem to turn up around every corner, from street scenes in the hustling city of Mandalay to fish markets at dawn in the capital of Yangon. Then of course there are the temples that abound and the incredible monasteries that really seem to take your breath away. In the village like city of Bagan, there are over 2,000 one of a kind temples in every direction and a feast for the eyes. Sunrise or sunset will get you images that you always dreamed of from atop a temple or even inside a massive hot air balloon, that glides along above the slow paced atmosphere below. But the faces of the people, especially the children are what draws me the most as the smiles seem to be non stop. The people just seem to be happy as they know nothing else but a simple life with just the bare essentials.

Burma_Myanmar001

Photographing the faces of Burma is addicting and my favorite part of the women and children is the Thanaka face paint that they put on every day. Part of their culture, Thanaka face paint, which is a combination of sun block and make up, looks different on every face and makes for powerful images in every corner of the country. On little San San above, who I shot long ago, I wanted to get what I call close focus/wide angle images and using my 16-35mm, I shot her from above on one of my favorite temples at sunrise and shot very wide but also very close to her. This enabled me to put her in her surroundings using the wide angle but also gave me no distortion from shooting so wide. Not a typical portrait lens but thinking outside of the box is what will get you noticed and separate you from the next shooter. Often, I use my 50mm to get in tight to capture the faces of Burma and that is one of the things I talk about in my class here at PPSOP called Eye to Eye: Capturing the Face. Using a 50mm allows me to get in tight and really have a up close and personal feeling and I love the interaction it can give you, similar to the close focus wide angle feeling from my wide angle shooting. Shooting with just a telephoto for faces keeps you at a “safe” distance, which is more of a comfort zone for so many people but it can limit you, although there are shots with long lenses that can give you an image like nothing else. The following image of the monk was shot with my Canon 24-105 zoomed all the way to 105mm. This is a great zoom lens for so many types of shooting all over Burma but I also love my 70-200 f/2.8 for so many things as it has always been my favorite portrait lens by far.

burma-2012-001

A tripod is one piece of gear that is really a must and is so often left at home on far away trips like this and this is one thing that goes with me to every corner of the planet. Using a tripod helps so much with not just composition and sharpness but so much more. This is why you see so many professionals using them as this is the one piece of gear that so many cannot live without. Tripods really make you concentrate much more on each shot and you start to lose the “point and shoot” approach and your images just start to look and feel better. For the image above of the lone monk and both images below, a tripod was a must for me. It is the one piece of gear that I want everyone to use as much as possible on every workshop I do and every class I teach. It will help to to push your photography probably more than anything else and something that should be with you as much as possible.

burma-2012-046

Travel photography is probably one of the most rewarding ways to use your camera but it also can be one of the most hectic and problematic ways to photograph also. You can sometimes be in the middle of nowhere when your gear breaks or a hard drive fills up. With digital, we gave up the hassles of film but were given a whole new set of challenges like running out of batteries at the wrong time. So many things can mess you up and you have to just suck it up!  I have probably encountered just about every kind of problem out there from my backpack falling from atop an elephant in India, breaking 3 lenses to flooding my only camera in the Galapagos Islands, where I was leading a workshop. And when you are far away from a good camera store or repair place, life as a photographer can be pretty tough. But when it goes smoothly…. photographs from far away places are like nothing else. And for a far away place like Burma, where democracy is finally taking a foot hold after years of military rule, traveling here with a camera is about as good as it gets! Everyone I know that has been to this magnificent place is forever touched.

Burma_Myanmar011

3 comments

  • scott stulberg

    Aug 5, 2013 at 22:40

    Thank you Barbara. So kind of you to write that! Love Dodho…..what a beautiful thing that he does!!!!!!!
    ciao…
    scotty

  • Luc Lepage

    Aug 9, 2013 at 14:03

    Vos compositions photographiques sont le reflet de votre âme. En effet on ressent cette quiétude et cette paix dans vos photos. Peu de photographe sont capable de nous transmettre cet état d’être..
    Chapeau
    Luc

Comments are closed.

More Stories

After the Inferno by Debarchan Chatterjee

After the Inferno by Debarchan Chatterjee

After the incident of Stephen court and New market, the shopping marts of the city of Kolkata is yet to learn its lesson as yet another inferno hits a 6 – storeyed wholesale market on busy Canning street area of the city.
Northern Russia; There can be a wolf in this picture by Anna Bernal

Northern Russia; There can be a wolf in this picture by Anna Bernal

After 5 p.m. in Lipakovo, a village in Northern Russia you can only see what your flashlight allows you to. The photographs here are made the way the locals see their village, a tiny circle of light surrounded by pitch black darkness.
Interview with Mustafa Hassona

Interview with Mustafa Hassona

My passion of photography comes after I worked as an outlet of a local newspaper where I was working in choosing the photos that will be printed in the newspaper, then I decided to work as photographer,
https://www.dodho.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/bannerpr.jpg

We invite you to participate in the first edition of the Portrait Photography Awards. Our call is open to any artistic interpretation of portrait photography.

https://www.dodho.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/BAnImage.jpg

ImageRights provides intelligent image search and copyright enforcement services to photo agencies and professional photographers worldwide.

https://www.dodho.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/mono2022.jpg

The best 100 images along with the winning images published in the yearly book “Monochromatic – Best Photographers of 2022”

https://www.dodho.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/banner24.jpg

Call For Entries #24 | After 23 editions and more than 100 published photographers, our print edition has proven to be a simply effective promotional channel.

Ηypothesis by Antigone Kourakou

Ηypothesis by Antigone Kourakou

Antigone Kourakou’s recent work reminds us of the inexhaustible capacity photography has to transmute reality.References to the history of photography abound and, working surreptitiously
Personal project; Russian Season by Ekaterina Vasilyeva

Personal project; Russian Season by Ekaterina Vasilyeva

For me the ‘Russian Season’ is a personal project and I take the pictures from my understanding and vision of Russian nature and Russian soul. Certain illustrations of this series especially refer the viewer to Russian fairy tales and folklore.
Five minutes with Sean Archer

Five minutes with Sean Archer

Sean Archer is a portrait photographer, speaker, educator. It took him just two years to go the entire way from a beginner who knew absolutely nothing about photography to a world-renowned master whose works are published on the covers of the most popular photography magazines.
En Detail by Sebastian Gruia

En Detail by Sebastian Gruia

I grew up with this around the corner market "Piata Flavia", and it was always a lot of fun to go there with the hope that maybe, this time, I can find that "golden fish", meaning something useful and as cheap as possible.
Interview with Svetlin Yosifov ; Finalist in our Black & White 2019

Interview with Svetlin Yosifov ; Finalist in our Black & White 2019

When I started to pick up photography, I learnt to shoot many genres, from macro, landscape, night scape, long exposure, street photography… slowly I noticed capturing images related with human elements is very challenging yet fulfilling. 
Frontiers by Sandrine Arons

Frontiers by Sandrine Arons

Frontiers offers a visual representation of my experience of multiculturalism, depicting an inner world of multiple languages, religions and cultural landscapes embedded in the mind as fragmented memories in search of wholeness.
Wallflowers by Joachim Michael Feigl

Wallflowers by Joachim Michael Feigl

Nature in urban space often plays a shadowy existence, is fragmented, dreary and secondary. Only rarely or not at all invited to dance.
Skyscraper Magic by Steve Geer

Skyscraper Magic by Steve Geer

I live in Chicago, a city known for its skyscrapers. Of the 40 tallest buildings in the city, half have been constructed since the year 2000. These impressive cloud-piercing structures have skins of glass.
Pearl by Ogulcan Arslan

Pearl by Ogulcan Arslan

They were, following their domestication, creatures providing mankind’s travels and communication on the first hand.Nowadays, while everyone can communicate with smartphones or applications even from hundred of thousands kilometers away
Conceptual Photography; Mind Pop by Nicoletta Cerasomma

Conceptual Photography; Mind Pop by Nicoletta Cerasomma

My project aim to dig the loneliness and difficulties of being in a relationship, mostly when the relationship is essentially at an endpoint.
Arunima Mondal : Behind the wall – A sweet home for trafficked girl child

Arunima Mondal : Behind the wall – A sweet home for trafficked girl child

Every day a new child comes to this home. I met Rani who came here at the age of 3. She was trafficked by her parents. Another girl Nimi also spent 10 years of her life here.
Interview with Olivier Robert; Published in our print edition #04

Interview with Olivier Robert; Published in our print edition #04

But once I got it in my hands, I couldn’t tell any difference between your laser-printed edition and a traditional magazine. The highlights, midtones and shadows are perfectly balanced.
Lato Selvatico by Alessandro Ciccarelli

Lato Selvatico by Alessandro Ciccarelli

The word natura (nature) comes from natus, that means born, and urus, the generative energy. The word selvatico (wilderness) originates from  selva (forest), which has the same root as sole (sun), and it means to burn.
Lost memories by Marcel Van Balken

Lost memories by Marcel Van Balken

Marcel van Balken is a self-taught photographer from the Netherlands for about 40 years. His photography has been published all over the world in photo magazines & books, on calendars, on television and the internet.

Eltaj Zeynalov ; Human emotions

Eltaj Zeynalov ; Human emotions

My choice of subject comes from my interest in ideas about people and I want create a kind of sensual directness in my work such as primeval emotions while addressing such fundamental issues as memory, eros, mortality and pain.

Featured Stories

New York City² by Rokas Jankus

New York City² by Rokas Jankus

A lot of the people seemed somehow lost to me, either geographically, mentally or even physically. It’s that second before they recognise you, taking the picture, somehow giving you an intimate moment with a person you never gonna see again in your life.
Nenka Ukraine by Dina Oganova

Nenka Ukraine by Dina Oganova

It was 2009 when i went first time in Kiev (capital) of Ukraine and was totally in love with this amazing country and lovely people.I think Ukrainians and Georgians has a lot of common. 2014 was the hardest and sadness year for this beautiful country
My Albania by Claudio Rasano

My Albania by Claudio Rasano

My series shows the fragility side of life in Albania . My portraits are frontal taken at eye level,looking directly and ahead, the face cast in shadow showing a strong and determined expression.
My Hearth is An Animal by Katarzyna & Marcin Owczarek

My Hearth is An Animal by Katarzyna & Marcin Owczarek

Telling stories is a part of our fine art photography project based on surrealistic imagery. Our new series titled "My Hearth is An Animal" brings elaborate compositions combining human and animal elements.
Self Portraits by Isabella Bubola

Self Portraits by Isabella Bubola

For Isabella Bubola, a 25 year old applied arts graduate, true passion lies in fine art and portrait photography. She began shooting whatever was around her (including herself) when she was eleven and got her first digital camera without the back screen. Ever since, her camera has been a most faithful companion.
My Wonderland by KireevArt

My Wonderland by KireevArt

Photography certifies experience and at the same time narrows - limiting him to searches of photogenic, turning experience into the image, into a souvenir.
Body art – a tribal ritual by Trevor Cole

Body art – a tribal ritual by Trevor Cole

The Suri tribe in the Northern Omo valley of Ethiopia, for example, use the paints for camouflage, tribal rituals or ceremonies and also now to show travellers. The tribes in the highlands of Papua New Guinea and along the Sepik river adorn themselves with paint for ‘Sing Sings’,
Love for Uganda by Victoria Knobloch

Love for Uganda by Victoria Knobloch

Many times I already traveled to Uganda and have gained a lot of insight. But I travel there not only for photography, but also because of my humanitarian project Deseret Foundatione.
New Orleans to Nashville by Benjamin Angel

New Orleans to Nashville by Benjamin Angel

A large part of modern music is born in the cities located between New Orleans and Nashville. New Orleans (Louisiana) is the birth place of jazz music. It is still packed with jazz clubs around the Faubourg Marigny and on the (in)famous Bourbon street.
Bin Uthup ; City-Monochrome

Bin Uthup ; City-Monochrome

Binoy Uthup is a City, Architecture, Interior, Landscape and Wildlife photographer who uses techniques such as Digital Blending, HDR, multiple exposures, vertical panorama, etc., to create unique looking images.
Mariëtte Aernoudts ; Fine art photography

Mariëtte Aernoudts ; Fine art photography

My name is Mariëtte Aernoudts and since 9 years I am a self thought photographer / imagemaker. Most of my portraits are from children or young people and always in colour.
Meeting Sheila by Ashley Comer

Meeting Sheila by Ashley Comer

"I gave her life to give her life" are the words Sheila muttered to the nurse who so rudely asked why she was giving me up. After being raised by a loving family, I have immense gratitude for the life handed to me.
Happy Kids by De Westelinck Smith

Happy Kids by De Westelinck Smith

This serie is about well dressed kids who seem to live in an decade some time before ours. Mostly they are emotionless with hint of melancholy, put into a scenery that often feels different.
The Girl Who Escaped and Other Stories by Joan Haseltine

The Girl Who Escaped and Other Stories by Joan Haseltine

Some years after losing my husband I decided to reinvent my life, so I purchased a small ranch in Montana and a camera, neither of which I knew how to operate. I began visiting small towns at night. A woman standing alone on the streets after dark with a camera naturally aroused suspicion and distrust in these old Montana towns.
City Space by Clarissa Bonet

City Space by Clarissa Bonet

City Space is an ongoing photographic exploration of the urban environment and my perception of it. I am interested in the physical space of the city and its emotional and psychological impact on the body.
Vanishing Faces Tibet by Larry Louie

Vanishing Faces Tibet by Larry Louie

The current pace of development around the world has brought widespread concern about a loss of diversity in nature and the need to protect endangered species.  But the changes brought by the forces of globalization, industrialization and urbanization affect not only animals and plants.  People and cultures, ways of thinking and ways of living that have been in existence for thousands of years, are also at risk.  

Trending Stories

Theyyam – The Dance of Aavtar by Tania Chatterjee

Theyyam – The Dance of Aavtar by Tania Chatterjee

Theyyam is an ancient folk art form of north Malabar region of Kerala, India. It is living culture of Kerala which can be traced back to several thousand years of rich tradition. 
Flow and Reflections by Florence Gallez

Flow and Reflections by Florence Gallez

These 20 images are part of my Flow and Reflections series that offers delicate, at times dreamy, black-and-white scenes of a photographic journey through Russia, Cuba, Belgium, and the United States.
Imaginary worlds; Symbiosis by Andrea Costantini

Imaginary worlds; Symbiosis by Andrea Costantini

She can be Mother or stepmother, uncontaminated or sick but mankind is always obliged to establish a relationship with Mother Nature.
Family roles; The Chen family by Fang Tong

Family roles; The Chen family by Fang Tong

The scenes were shot in a big beautiful house. Five models play the family roles. A wealthy Chinese immigrant family and a mix race child, facing problems among three generations.
Breathing Skin Series by Luiza Boldeanu

Breathing Skin Series by Luiza Boldeanu

Luiza Boldeanu (Marinas) is a well-known Romanian photographer, specialized in portrait, documentary and fine art photography. She started photography in 2007 when she decided to capture in images.
Faith by Francis Meslet

Faith by Francis Meslet

Face to FAITH Decades went by before I felt the need to enter a church again. Not that I have any bad memories of them, in fact my memories were pretty good and could be summed up in interminable laughter between friends during the Sunday mass under the red nose of the priest who had placed us there to keep an equally red eye on us.
Last Love by Yaroslava Tarasova

Last Love by Yaroslava Tarasova

A family of two elderly people is not something that is associated with a crazy reckless love, but it is a possibility not to be alone, something which gives meaning to one’s life.
I hunt wild art by C. E. Morse

I hunt wild art by C. E. Morse

My first go-to boneyard was Johnnie Monroe's in South Thomaston, Maine where I sourced parts for the Pontiac as well as a '29 Essex, a '41 Packard and a '54 Nash.
Psychological Photography by Lauren Webber

Psychological Photography by Lauren Webber

One year ago, I realized I have been trying to tell the same story, over and over again, in many different ways. I began to transform photography into a ritual, an active player in my daily routine. Its presence helped me cope with my chronic anxiety.
The portraits of Vibeke Johansson

The portraits of Vibeke Johansson

In many years I have worked with graphic design and webdesign, so photography is relatively new to me.
Chaos by Daren You

Chaos by Daren You

One definition of chaos is when nonlinear things are impossible to predict and control. If law and order rule the universe, chaos, by contrast, is the totally disorganized opposite.
Unique moments by Monika Koclajda

Unique moments by Monika Koclajda

I like to be in their company and watch their emotions and behavior. I do not even know when these two passions merged into one.

Other Stories

stay in touch
Join our mailing list and we'll keep you up to date with all the latest stories, opportunities, calls and more.
We use Sendinblue as our marketing platform. By Clicking below to submit this form, you acknowledge that the information you provided will be transferred to Sendinblue for processing in accordance with their terms of use
We’d love to
Thank you for subscribing!
Submission
Dodho Magazine accepts submissions from emerging and professional photographers from around the world.
Their projects can be published among the best photographers and be viewed by the best professionals in the industry and thousands of photography enthusiasts. Dodho magazine reserves the right to accept or reject any submitted project. Due to the large number of presentations received daily and the need to treat them with the greatest respect and the time necessary for a correct interpretation our average response time is around 5/10 business days in the case of being accepted.
- Between 10/30 images of your best images, in case your project contains a greater number of images which are part of the same indivisible body of work will also be accepted. You must send the images in jpg format to 1200px and 72dpi and quality 9. (No borders or watermarks)
- A short biography along with your photograph. (It must be written in the third person)
- Title and full text of the project with a minimum length of 300 words. (Texts with lesser number of words will not be accepted)
This is the information you need to start preparing your project for its presentation
To send it, you must compress the folder in .ZIP format and use our Wetransfer channel specially dedicated to the reception of works. Links or projects in PDF format will not be accepted. All presentations are carefully reviewed based on their content and final quality of the project or portfolio. If your work is selected for publication in the online version, it will be communicated to you via email and subsequently it will be published.
Contact
How can we help? Got an idea or something you'd like share? Please use the adjacent form, or contact contact@dodho.com
Thank You. We will contact you as soon as possible.
Submission
Dodho Magazine accepts submissions from emerging and professional photographers from around the world.
Their projects can be published among the best photographers and be viewed by the best professionals in the industry and thousands of photography enthusiasts. Dodho magazine reserves the right to accept or reject any submitted project. Due to the large number of presentations received daily and the need to treat them with the greatest respect and the time necessary for a correct interpretation our average response time is around 5/10 business days in the case of being accepted. This is the information you need to start preparing your project for its presentation.
To send it, you must compress the folder in .ZIP format and use our Wetransfer channel specially dedicated to the reception of works. Links or projects in PDF format will not be accepted. All presentations are carefully reviewed based on their content and final quality of the project or portfolio. If your work is selected for publication in the online version, it will be communicated to you via email and subsequently it will be published.
Get in Touch
How can we help? Got an idea or something you'd like share? Please use the adjacent form, or contact contact@dodho.com
Thank You. We will contact you as soon as possible.