Myanmar: Falling Back in Love With Photography
Myanmar was the first place where I was really exposed to street photography properly. Before those trips, my interest in photography had faded a little over a few years, but travelling there completely changed that.
I visited Myanmar in both 2015 and 2016 on workshops with Maciej Dakowicz, and it was during those trips that I fell fully in love with photography again. Travelling through a country like Myanmar gives you such an incredible amount of visual input that at first you want to photograph absolutely everything. Every street, market, tea shop and train ride felt full of moments worth capturing.
At the same time, it was also where I really started learning what makes a good photograph and what doesn’t. I learned how to approach people, how to work a scene instead of just taking one frame and moving on, and how to wait for the right moment to come together naturally. Those lessons completely changed the way I photograph today.
The timing of those trips also made them feel especially unique. They happened during the period after Myanmar opened up to the world in 2012, but before the military coup in 2020. There was an incredible atmosphere throughout the country at that time — traditional, chaotic, welcoming, and visually fascinating all at once.
One of the best parts of the workshops was that we didn’t focus on the typical tourist route. Instead, we spent a lot of time exploring further off the beaten track, travelling through smaller towns and local communities where everyday life unfolded naturally around us. It often felt like every corner offered another incredible scene or moment that would have been impossible to find otherwise.
Looking back now, Myanmar wasn’t just another photography trip. It was the place that reignited my passion for photography altogether.
