Travel photograph of the month — September
WESTERN stereotypes of Buddhism as practised exclusively by millions of robed pacifists led by the Dalai Lama belie the complexity of one of humanity’s oldest religions. Of course, the Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, a single branch of a multi-faceted world religion.
The Sunday Times Travel Photograph of the Month alludes to the religion’s many faces.
The image was shot by Danielle de Paiva Teixeira at the Shwedagon Pagoda, the historical, gold-plated Buddhist temple in Yangon city, Myanmar.
It portrays six young monks “during a school holiday, in which young men and children usually ordain for a week or two to earn good karma for relatives and gain knowledge of Buddhist teachings”, said De Paiva Teixeira.
But it also presents its subject in a dark moment. Capturing a slight scowl on the central boy’s face, the photo delivers a hint of the tense undercurrents that inform this religious society, ruled by an authoritarian regime since 1962. The controlling way the boy holds his friend’s hand adds intrigue, suggesting not all is as it seems amid the revered pagoda’s atmosphere of peace and learning.
See the caption above for more on the judges’ verdict of this shot.
Congratulations Danielle, your image wins you R5 000 from the Sunday Times and places you in the running to be named Travel Photographer of the Year. The 2015 winner will receive Canon gear worth R110 000, including an EOS 5D Mark III plus a Pixma Pro-1 Photo Printer, and will be announced in December.