# Village



## The_Traveler (Nov 25, 2016)

This village was about 6 miles out of Kalaw, Myanmar which was in itself not a bustling city before the opening of the country in 2013. (Now there are actually hotels)
The inhabitants are subsistance farmers and there is no paved road, no electricity, no water close by.
In the dry season the sun is like a hammer; in the wet season the paths are like red glue.
Transport is by buffalo cart or motorcycle.


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## PropilotBW (Nov 25, 2016)

Nice shot.  
Did you choose to go by Buffalo cart?


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## The_Traveler (Nov 25, 2016)

We walked.





At the very top was a small restaurant that catered to the 4 or 5 treks that came through daily. (Kalaw was/is a popular starting point for treks that take 3 days between Kalaw and Nyaung Schwe.) This was the kitchen and dining room.









Every day, this woman walked 7 miles up to the restaurant with replacement food and drink, stayed overnight and walked down. 
She was my guide back as my companions were going on the trek.  She was Nepali, spoke no English, read no Burmese so my phrase book 
didn't work and we communicated with pictures drawn in my notebook.





I had come prepared for these kinds of situations and had an envelope in my pack.  When we got to Kalaw, she showed me her house and children and I gave 
the children the envelope with some US $ (all new and clean, an idiosyncracy of Myanmar) and left before they opened it.


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## The_Traveler (Nov 25, 2016)

The treks go along the ridges of dry, very hot small mountains, passing through ethnic villages.

The roads you see are graded every few years when the buffalo carts have made such deep ruts that they become impassible.  On the way down we wlked through paths where the fine red dust in the ruts was shin deep. 

The singular pleasure of this kind of travel is being totally cut off from your own life, no one knows anything about you
and if I died, they'd have to dig out my passport and it would be days before anyone back home knew about it.

I had been travelling for a couple of days with a German male schoolteacher and an Italian female retail consultant who spent half the year travelling rough.
Then continued on the trek and I went back to Kalaw and continued on my own.


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## Desert Rose (Nov 25, 2016)

Interesting snapshots. I am glad it was you there and not me.


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## The_Traveler (Nov 25, 2016)

Desert Rose said:


> Interesting snapshots. I am glad it was you there and not me.


Have you ever made a post that is neither self-aggrandizing or insulting in some way?

I don't call your pictures 'snapshots'.
Oh wait, you don't post pictures, do you?


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## Desert Rose (Nov 26, 2016)

If you are insulted by a word that indicates a photograph, then maybe posting photographs isn't for you.

I suppose you are also insulted because I found them interesting, eh? lol


*snapshot noun [ C ] (PHOTO) *
*a photograph*

Oh, yeah I see why that's insulting. lol lighten up and enjoy life rather than finding reasons to have conflicts with those that take the time to comment on a post that was uploaded for comments.
If you seek out conflict you will always find it.


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## tirediron (Nov 26, 2016)

Okay folks let's relax, shall we?  @Desert Rose the term 'snapshot' is generally regarded as referring to an image which is "snapped" without a great deal of thought, preparation or planning, whether by design or simply because time and circumstances didn't permit the desired planning and preparation.  In short, in TPF parlance, it's generally regarded as a rather deprecating term.


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## Desert Rose (Nov 26, 2016)

When I use the term I mean it in the traditional usage, meaning a photo, photograph, image, picture, exposure, any other synonym you like, not in some parlance used only in a single forum by it's members only. So if you see it again, take it in the traditional sense, as that's the way I use and intend it. I really don't think it is the word that was at fault here, but the way it was interpreted.
Thank you.



tirediron said:


> Okay folks let's relax, shall we?  @Desert Rose the term 'snapshot' is generally regarded as referring to an image which is "snapped" without a great deal of thought, preparation or planning, whether by design or simply because time and circumstances didn't permit the desired planning and preparation.  In short, in TPF parlance, it's generally regarded as a rather deprecating term.


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## tirediron (Nov 27, 2016)

So... just to confirm:  An image which you have spent days planning, hours executing, and further hours refining in post is still a snapshot?


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## john.margetts (Nov 27, 2016)

It is not just on this forum that "snapshot" is insulting. It is what you do casually with a point-and-shoot camera. I do not appreciate my work being called snapshots.


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## The_Traveler (Nov 27, 2016)

It seems that we aren't the average group of 'traditional people'.  
Using the term' snapshot' here is rude.
Perhaps you would be more comfortable at another site where rudeness is acceptable and even prized, like 4chan.  

In any case, I don't need or profit from your comments about my photos so I will ignore you.
If you choose to keep on posting in threads that I start or in response to my comments in other threads, I will report you as stalking and you can work that out with the admins.


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## vintagesnaps (Dec 3, 2016)

When were you there Lew? Fascinating look at life there and you got some wonderful photos. I'm amazed that's a restaurant, it's astounding to see how different life is in other places.


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## The_Traveler (Dec 3, 2016)

This was in 2010, before the military gave up some power. 
I was back in Myanmar in 2013 and the changes were dramatic; prices for lodging had tripled as did the tourist load, totally overwhelming the infrastructure.


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## bulldurham (Dec 4, 2016)

I cannot nor will I endorse Desert Rose's dig as that is exactly what it was intended to be. No one who's shot anything of any ilk doesn't know the difference between an intended photograph and a casual snap.

However, at the risk of insult and I think you know my comments well enough to know this is an observation and not intended as a condemnation, on the surface the images seem almost as if just snapped as would a tourist not knowing what they were seeing but shooting it anyway because they were in a foreign land. I call them tourons - moronic tourists. That said, a further investigation into the story tells a completely different observation and this is what I think Desert Rose missed from the outset. It is a good story and it does reflect how much difference there is among the peoples of the world.


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## Donde (Dec 4, 2016)

Snapshot flapshot, what a lot of piffle. Every time I take a picture of a bird (and one was photo of the month) it's a _snapshot_ for heavens sakes. Some people around here take themselves way too seriously.


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## OGsPhotography (Dec 4, 2016)

I think the first photo is a " photo" in that maybe it was thought out and some " time" was spent ( to gst there) before it was photographed. Maybe viewpoints were considered and light was taken in tonfactor, maybe not, its a snapshot of some houses on a hill maybe. 

The rest, even with the narrative are in my opinion in the realm of touristy snapshots. They just feel rushed in the restaurant or ill composed action shots. The person in profile seems like a candid street style snapshot. 

Dangit- What I meant to say is "Hey man, nice shot". -filter

Censoring a word! Haha this is crazy. Slippery slope.

Tirediron cant even decide whether we can post screenshots or not and now your getting into it over a word???? Wowzers.

This forum is rude as hell most of the time besides the 10-15 people who post to each other every day.

Rose said to take it as non foul. Chill.

I meant it ? The snapshot jabs) but I dont have the pedigree to back it so who cares. Its MY view of a snapshot, not saying just saying.


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## The_Traveler (Dec 4, 2016)

I think it's obvious that the first one was posted as a 'picture', the others are snaps that flesh out the answer to the question.


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