Things Go Better with Monks

Things go better with monks. It’s an age old truism...some sound and sage advice passed down through the Buddhist teachings. Actually, monks make travel photos better. One could think of them as some sort of camera fodder as opposed to holy people. It is worthy to note that while on the one hand you are exploiting the Buddhist faith for some sort aesthetic gains on your travel images, that a lot of these youngsters you see swathed in orange robes are not particularly holy people. True the shave their heads and dress in an exciting mono-colour, but for the most part they are only novice monks, young kids who are only men of the cloth for two weeks or so...it’s a right of passage and a means of giving your family face. This should not distract from the art...monks will spice up any scene from a street market shot, to a majestic temple. Take the above, without the monk, this would just be a shot of some pretty laundry and an umbrella, with the monk...well...it's one of my favourite holiday snaps.

Or take this one for instance: If the monk was not there, it would be a picture of a plain white wall. How boring is that? This genera of monk photography is known as action monk, as the picture is usually taken when yourself and the monk in question are both moving. Did I mention there was a minor social taboo about snapping pictures of monks without permission? Well breaking taboos is what makes life fun and exciting.

See how that ugly old falling down building is vastly improved by the muscular boy in orange? Monkification of any photographic image is an improvement, and should never be overlooked.

Even if your not as bold about whipping out the old camera, and you lack a fantastic zoom (10X optical is necessary to inconspicuously photograph monks from the front), you can always wait until they turn their back and forget about you. See how the orange robes complement the gray ruins at Angkor. This same effect cannot be duplicated by placing images of brightly dressed Germans into your photos (believe me I have some of those). Failing real monks you could always swaddled your self in orange towels and shave your head, then set the timer, but this is complicated. The best solution is to get over those nagging feelings that you’re desecrating something or belittling somebody’s faith, and just start blasting away. I have seen the light, and it’s many shades of orange.