The photographs in this book are environmental portraits taken in Myanmar in 2017: portraits of ordinary people and their places, whether a farmer crossing a hillside with his family and oxen in the Mandalay Region; a fisherman at work on his long-tailed boat in Shan State; elder monks meditating in an ancient temple in Rakhine State; curious young boys in Chin State; or a young novice monk reading a book in the light of an ancient temple in the Mandalay region.

A small country surrounded by Bangladesh, India, China, Thailand and the Bay of Bengal, Myanmar is a predominately Buddhist nation. There are over 2000 monasteries, temples, shrines, and stupas throughout the Bagan area alone. From the age of seven, nearly every Buddhist boy spends time living as a monk in a monastery. Myanmar is considered one of the poorest countries in Southeast Asia, relying on agriculture to meet the needs of its poor. Buddhist philosophy and morality no doubt influence the way many live their lives.

The Burmese-speaking Burmars comprise approximately two thirds of the population and dominate Myanmar government, civil, and military service. The outlying regions of Myanmar provide settlements for several ethnic minorities, such as the Intha and Padaung in Shan State located in eastern Myanmar. The ethnic Chin and Thet tribes, Muslim Rohingyas and other minority peoples reside in the very poor states of Rakhine and Chin that border Bangladesh and India to the north. Several of these groups have fought – and are still fighting – insurgencies against the Burmese state. The focus of the United Nations and many countries worldwide, Muslim Rohingyas have been fleeing by the thousands to Bangladesh since August of 2017.