People from the Lake

This post will be dedicated to people that live by the lake and from the lake. Inle Lake region is totally dependant on the water. Fish comes from there, water is used in agriculture, people go to markets by boat, factories and villages are built in and around the lake.

Fishing is one of the main economic activities in this region. This image shows a fisherman north of Nyaung Shwe checking his nets. Unfortunately I followed this man for some time and didn’t see him catching any fish.

Fisherman north of Nyaung Shwe
Canon 5DII, Canon 70-200 f2.8 II IS L
200mm - 1/640s - f2.8 - ISO 100

The most famous fishermen in the lake are from the Intha ethnic group. These are famous by their leg-rowing which involves standing at the stern of the boat on one leg and wrapping the other leg around the oar making snake-like movements with it. This way, both their hands are free to manage the nets.

Intha fisherman
Canon 5DII, Canon 70-200 f2.8 II IS L
200mm - 1/800s - 4 - ISO 200

Young Intha fisherman
Canon 5DII, Canon 70-200 f2.8 II IS L
200mm - 1/640s - f5 - ISO 400

Other fishermen try a more direct approach…

Fishing in the lake
Canon 5DII, Canon 70-200 f2.8 II IS L
200mm - 1/3200s - f2.8 - ISO 200

Some people earn their life by owning boats or just being a driver for some boat owner. This job may including carrying people, like a boat taxi, or trading goods.

Boat driver
Canon 5DII, Canon 70-200 f2.8 II IS L
200mm - 1/320s - f2.8 - ISO 800

Lady driving a boat
Canon 5DII, Canon 70-200 f2.8 II IS L
80mm - 1/400s - f2.8 - ISO 800

Other people live in wood houses over the lake. Like one has a car garage in a modern city, villagers like those in Ywama have a large space between the house and the water where they put their small personal boats. This is the way they carry their daily lives, go the market, go to school, or even having some fun with friends.

Ywama by boat
Canon 5DII, Canon 70-200 f2.8 II IS L
200mm - 1/1000s - f5.6 - ISO 200

Woman rowing in Inle Lake
Canon 5DII, Canon 70-200 f2.8 II IS L
182mm - 1/500s - f5.6 - ISO 400

Photographically, although it rained a good amount of time I was in the lake, living landscapes are a good subject to try when the waters are still. I was lucky enough to witness the daily life scenes below on a such an amazing place.

Inle Lake reflection
Canon 5DII, Canon 70-200 f2.8 II IS L
200mm - 1/500s - f4 - ISO 200

Daily life reflection in Inle Lake
Canon 5DII, Canon 70-200 f2.8 II IS L
170mm - 1/500s - f3.2 - ISO 200

Posted on Sunday, October 30th, 2011 at 9:30 pm. Filed under: Culture, Myanmar, People Tags: burma, inle lake, lake, landscape, myanmar, people RSS 2.0 feed.