Gazing at Akha Dancers in Bangkok

The Akha are a hilltribe from Northern Thailand, closely related to the Hani of China's Yunnan province. They are a shamanic group that shares the ancient universal archetype that their goddess spins a universe where nature is not distinguished from humankind. Although many Akha, especially younger people, profess Christianity, the distinctive Akha Way aka akha zang still runs deep in their consciousness. 

The headdresses worn by women are the most spectacular and elaborate item of the Akha dress. Akha women define their age or marital status with the style of headdress worn.

Seeds like small, white Job’s tears are used for the Akha people's elaborate headdress. So are coloured beads, the glass beads of yore now replaced by Chinese plastic. Some Akha groups use feathers and pompoms. Cowrie shells are still used; they were traditionally traded to a variety of Akha tribes and became a sign of wealth, having come to this landlocked hill tribe from afar. Above all silver is prised, especially coins, a clear statement of wealth and status. Old colonial silver coins like French-Indochina piastre or silver rupees from British India are valued. Poorer people use Thai baht coins. Silver is pounded and fashioned into coins and balls, and valuable ornaments become heirlooms passed on from generation to generation.

Portrait photographs of Akha hilltribe people in Matt Hahnewald's

Flickr Album 2015-11f Meeting the Akha Tribe

Portrait photographs of other Southeast Asian hilltribes in Matt Hahnewald's

Flickr Album 2015-11e Facing the Kayor and Lahu Tribes

Flickr Album 2015-11d Tracking Lu-mien Yao Women

Flickr Album 2015-11c Reaching Out to Longneck Women

Flickr Album 2012-11c Mapping Southeast Chinese Minorities

Flickr Album 2012-11b Meeting the Vietnamese H'mong 

Grabbing Attention with Partial Colorization

Partial/selective Colorization (partial/selective colour effect) is in portrait photography an easy quick fix to guide the viewer’s eyes to the subject’s face, particularly to his or her eyes, or to other relevant details. In street portraits, it helps the subject’s face to stand out and to isolate the face from the sometimes cluttered background. Like a magical colour spotlight, partial/selective colorization creates a beacon of focus and attention within a seemingly monochromatic world. Focal black-and-white post-processing is a special technique of partial/selective colorization. It’s round shape is easily adjustable to any size and softness/sharpness. It's best to center the focus in between the subject eyes (or slightly below) for portraits in full-face view, and onto the subject’s nearer eye for portraits in three-quarter view.

Focal black-and-white post-processing works by having a street portrait appear as though it were taken in greyscale or black-and-white, with the subject’s face "colorised" as in the examples below (easily done with Picasa 3.9).

High-res focal black-and-white portrait photographs
with full exif data, precise geotags and technical details in Matt Hahnewald's

Flickr Album 2012-01c Facing Myanmar's Inle Lake

Flickr Album 2012-01b Touching Touristy Ancient Bagan

Flickr Album 2012-01a Exploring Awakening Yangon

Exploring Awakening Yangon

Yangon, also known as Rangoon, is Myanmar's largest city with a population of over 5 million, the most ethnically diverse city in the country. Large communities of Indian Burmese and Chinese Burmese exist especially in the traditional downtown neighbourhoods.

High-res portrait photographs with full exif data, precise geotags and technical details in Matt Hahnewald's

Flickr Album 2012-01a Exploring Awakening Yangon

Facing Myanmar's Inle Lake

The c. 70,000 people of the Inle Lake in Myanmar aka Burma live in numerous small villages along the lake shore and on the lake itself. The population consists predominantly of Intha, with a mix of other Shan, Danu and Bamar ethnicities. Most are devout Buddhists and live in simple houses of wood and woven bamboo on stilts. There are many traditional wooden Buddhist monasteries with friendly monks.

The Kayan are a sub-group of the Red Karen aka Karenni people, a Tibeto-Burman ethnic minority of Burma aka Myanmar. The Padaung are a Kayan tribe and their name is a Shan term for "the tribe whose women wear brass neck coils" (more context and photos here).

A temple boy lives in a wat and assists Buddhist monks. He carries the alms bowls of the monks during the morning alms collection, and subsequently prepares the monks’ food before eating the left-overs himself. Temple boys follow the ten precepts. A few are sent to become temple boys to acquire merit; the majority, because they are given free room and board; and others to receive religious and moral instruction. Some temple boys go on to be ordained as monks themselves. Temple boys may undertake the formal step of sāmaṇera ordination as part of their role, depending on their age and local custom.

The Intha are members of a Tibeto-Burman ethnic group living around Inle Lake. They speak an archaic dialect of Burmese and are believed to have come from the Dawei area. They often live on Inle Lake and support themselves through the tending of vegetable farms on floating gardens. Also, the Intha are known for their leg-rowing techniques and are traditionally Buddhists.

Closeup portrait photographs from the people of Burma's Inle Lake area in Matt Hahnewald's

Flickr Album 2012-01c Facing Myanmar's Inle Lake

Closeup portrait photographs of longneck women in Matt Hahnewald's

Flickr Album 2015-11c Reaching out to Longneck Women