Portrait of Myanmar by Shirren Lim

Earlier this year, Shirren Lim, a photographer from Jakarta, visited Myanmar to experience the culture and beauty of the area. She came back with a lot of great memories and photos of the people in Myanmar, the landscape and many other well composed shots.

Burma (The Republic of the Union of Myanmar) is one of the poorest countries in southeast Asia and has experienced its fair share of hardship, human rights violations, and civil war. Myanmar also has many beautiful locations to visit and its culture is very diverse, but most of the country is off limits to visitors so there isn’t much tourism.

.temple and the sun.

Shirren’s photos of Myanmar and portraits of the people there bring to life a culture that many of us will never experience. We were able to ask her a few questions about her photography as well as feature some of her favorite shots from her travels. Check out the rest of Shirren’s pictures of Myanmar and more of her work on her website.

.ode to joy.

What was the inspiration behind this project?
I was interested in exploring the country and documenting it with photos. I appreciate the people I meet, the places I go and the spontaneity involved in photographing the culture and the scenery.

.novice monk.

.musings from a burmese teahouse.

What are some of your favorite composition techniques?
Many times I like to use the rule of thirds. I also enjoy playing with leading and diagonal lines; and especially placing the dominant eye in the centre of the frame.

.nuns prayers.

tête-à-tête

What is the message behind these photos?
I just wanted to share the images of the beautiful people and landscape that I hopefully managed to capture. To appreciate the raw reality of everyday life and the fleeting beauty of those in-between moments. I want my viewers to relate to the emotions, and the energy behind my photographs.

.Paduang.

.Sweeper.

.[a] portrait.

.caught in a sunburst.

.motherhood.

Favorite part of the trip?
My favourite part of the trip was the hot air balloon ride in Bagan. There is nothing more magical than watching the sun rise over thousands of ancient Bagan pagodas.

.balloons over bagan.

Website: shirrenlim.com