A portrait from Inle Lake, Myanmar

Inle Lake Myanmar portrait in black and white

As our teak wood boat slowly drifted into the dock of a shop perched on stilts above Inle Lake, I noticed the man in the window.

He looked my way and we exchanged glances. I wondered if he was the owner or if he worked there.

I gestured towards my camera and as I pulled it up to my face to frame the shot, I looked for his approval.

He nodded and went back to what he was doing as I hoped he would.

Walking towards the shop I looked his way once more, smiled and nodded to thank him for the photo.

In that moment I wished my father and grandmother taught me Burmese growing up so I could’ve had a conversation with him and the many relatives I met in Myanmar.