The first ever FotoMarathon Yangon was held last weekend I was was lucky to be one of the 80 participants for this internationally known event. FotoMarathon is an opportunity for photographers to gather together and show off their skills. Contestants are asked to photograph towards specific themes that are released throughout a 24 hour period and then submit their top two unedited photographs for each theme. A variety of prizes are awarded to the most outstanding photographers.
I noticed the event on a Yangon facebook group but all I could read was the logo because the rest of the information was in Myanmar. After having my helpful assistant translate the information I was able to apply and get accepted into the marathon. At this point I still didn't know exactly what this FotoMarathon consisted of. I tried calling one of the organizers but my questions were not understood, I also looked at other FotoMarathons in other parts of the world but each had different expectations. Without any success all I knew is when the event started and ended and that I would be taking photographs. But that was okay because things seem to have a way of working out here and they certainly did for this.
All of the participants were separated into different groups, thankfully they put me in a group with an English speaking leader named Zwae. The first theme was presented to the whole audience then we talked as a group about where we wanted to go to photograph for that theme. There was no limit on where to go or subject matter. You could also go solo if you preferred but I was perfectly happy sticking with my group. After a few group pictures we were off.
For our first theme "I love Yangon" we decided to go down to Monument Park which is the center of downtown. Lots of people use this park because it is the only nice, clean, green space in the downtown area. There is a large monument in the center of the park that symbolizes Myanmar's independence. From here you can also see some of the fancy government buildings as well as Sule Pagoda. Although I have walked around the park countless times I had never actually been in it so it was nice just wandering around and photographing what interested me.
Our second theme was "Human in Yangon." It was just about sunset so I presented the idea of going down to the jetty. I wanted to hire one of the small boats to take me to the middle of the river so I could get a picture of Yangon from afar but when I got there they said that it was illegal for them to transport foreigners. I didn't want to take the ferry over so I just settled for some jetty pictures from land.
Our second theme was "Human in Yangon." It was just about sunset so I presented the idea of going down to the jetty. I wanted to hire one of the small boats to take me to the middle of the river so I could get a picture of Yangon from afar but when I got there they said that it was illegal for them to transport foreigners. I didn't want to take the ferry over so I just settled for some jetty pictures from land.
To finish the night we went to Kandaji Lake where there were a whole bunch of things happening. There was a huge German punk rock concert put on for free by the German Embassy, in one section they were holding an event for World AIDS Day where they had another concert, and I also found a live comedy show. I was great to see the variety of entertainment that the city can offer.
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Early Sunday morning my group met up at a well known breakfast spot called Morning Star Cafe. After some coconut noodles and Myanmar style tea we walked over to the zoo. I had been meaning to make it to the zoo but hadn't had a chance yet so I loved that this gave me the perfect excuse. Shortly after we arrived we got our first theme of the day "Green," and what a perfect place to be for it! As I was looking for green (which was everywhere) I got to see porcupines, lions, crazy ostrich looking bird creatures, monkeys, alligators, and more!
After two hours we met back up with the group to find out the next theme which was "Transportation." Luckily the train station was just a few minutes walk away. We all scattered around the station photographing anything that we found interesting then we hurried off to get a quick lunch at Cafe 365. After some fish and chips we found out that our last theme was "Faith." I felt pretty good about already having photographs that I could use for that theme so I followed along with my group who wanted to go to Sule Pagoda. This was another area in town that I have been by a dozen times but never actually walked in. It was nice to have a reason to be photographing around. Before heading back to the ending area we were tasked with one last mission "A group photo with a dog." I recalled walking by a box of puppies for sale so we went back there and got what has got to be the best group photo each holding a little puppy.
Returning to the Royal Rose where we started the marathon, we each took turns uploading our cards to the group computer and selecting our favorite two photographs for each theme. The hardest part of the whole marathon was submitting UNEDITED photos. Not that I do a lot of editing to my photographs but it is like seeing someone who always wears makeup with just their bare skin. On the bright side at least I know that all of the contestants had the same expectations so we will all be on the same playing field.
The following week we had a closing ceremony where they announced the winners. They printed out all of the submitted photos and held a huge exhibition where you could see each contestants work. They brought in expert judges like the lead photographer from the Myanmar Times and the president of the Yangon Photographers Association.
I know this was A LOT of writing without any photographs but here they are, my submissions for the 2014 FotoMarathon Yangon.
I know this was A LOT of writing without any photographs but here they are, my submissions for the 2014 FotoMarathon Yangon.
| "I love Yangon" | |
| "Human in Yangon" | |
| "Green" | |
| "Transportation" | |
| "Faith" | |
These are the other photographs that I took throughout the day.
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