Burmese Days

Firstly, my greatest apologies for not posting in a while. I've returned to Melbourne, Australia to work on personal stuff, as well as to work on my website.

Secondly, here is a photo I bought from a street side antique dealer in Yangon, Myanmar (Rangoon, Burma).

Occupy Central With Peace And Love

The normally bustling streets of Hong Kong are more commonly known to be a thriving hub of activity for different reasons. Last Sunday (28 Sep 2014) peaceful protestors demanding the resignation of Hong Kong Chief Executive C.Y. Leung and for free and fair elections were met with riot police and tear gas. Last night, three times as many protestors turned up in solidarity. 

 

Protestors use the torches on their phones to illuminate the streets while chanting for CY Leung (pictured in a cardboard cut out with fangs), Hong Kong's Chief Executive to step down. 

After Sunday's barrage with tear gas, protestors have taken to protecting themselves with cling wrap, goggles and surgical masks. 

Protestors sleep on the streets en masse. 

In Summary

Okay, so it is quite difficult to condense a couple of weeks shooting into one or two posts. Especially when those posts contain fairly strong imagery. I guess the best way to do this is to post the images and let the captions do the talking. Those who follow me on Facebook, I apologise for some of the repeats.

28 July 2014, Gulf Province, Papua New Guinea. Patients queue at the front of the Baimuru health centre where a Youth With A Mission Medical Ships Australia (YWAM MSA) clinic offers medical care. Baimuru is located in the remote Gulf Province of Papua New Guinea where quality health care can be sparse. 

28 July 2014, Gulf Province, Papua New Guinea.  Final year medical student Erin Nicole performs a check up on Koike, approximately 3 years old, at the Baimuru health centre where Youth With A Mission Medical Ships Australia operates a medical clinic. Koike's mother passed away when Koike was one year old, leaving his grandmother Vaipie to take care of the young child. Doctors suspect that Koike suffered from suspected TB meningitis at a younger age resulting in intellectual and physical disability. Baimuru is located in the remote Gulf Province of Papua New Guinea where quality health care can be sparse.

28 July 2014, Gulf Province, Papua New Guinea.  Final year medical student Erin Nicole removes a splinter from the foot of three year old Koike at the Baimuru health centre where Youth With A Mission Medical Ships Australia operates a medical clinic. Koike's mother passed away when Koike was one year old, leaving his grandmother Vaipie to take care of the young child. Doctors suspect that Koike suffered from suspected TB meningitis at a younger age resulting in intellectual and physical disability. Baimuru is located in the remote Gulf Province of Papua New Guinea where quality health care can be sparse.

29 July 2014, Gulf Province, Papua New Guinea. A patient waits for treatment at the rundown Baimuru health centre as curious young children stare through the remains of mosquito meshing. Baimuru is located in the remote Gulf Province of Papua New Guinea where quality health care can be sparse.

28 July 2014, Gulf Province, Papua New Guinea. A young boy waits at the entrance to the Baimuru medical centre.

29 July 2014, Gulf Province, Papua New Guinea. Local community health workers gather to watch Chief medical coordinator for Youth With A Mission (YWAM) Ships Australia Hannah Peart insert and Implanon contraceptive implant into the arm of a young woman at the Baimuru Health Centre. Baimuru is located in the remote Gulf Province of Papua New Guinea where quality health care can be sparse. 

30 July 2014, Gulf Province, Papua New Guinea.A young boy from Korovake Village poses with a spear. Villagers continue to use spears and other weapons to hunt wild boar and crocodiles. 

30 July 2014, Gulf Province, Papua New Guinea. Patients sit next to drying clothes at theTB ward at Kapuna Hospital. 15000 new cases of TB are recorded annually in PNG with one quarter proving fatal.

01 August 2014, Akoma Village, Papua New Guinea. Kuime Ipai, 50, is surrounded by family at a remote clinic run by Youth With A Mission. Kuime, who has suffered from TB before, was carried into the clinic after a relapse. Severely dehydrated, Kuime was placed on IV fluids, given antibiotics and sent to Kapuna Hospital for further testing and treatment. 15000 new cases of TB are recorded annually in PNG with one quarter proving fatal.

Keep your eyes peeled. When I get more time, I'll upload more images from this journey!

Mirimailau

I've spent the last few weeks run off my feet. I've been working with Youth With A Mission Medical Ships Australia - A non-denominational Christian organisation which provides health care to rural Papua New Guinea. Over the past fortnight volunteers from around the world helped treat patients in rural PNG; some who had never seen doctors or dentists in their lives.

I'm currently busy editing and my internet in PNG is a little slow, so I will be updating more pics once I get to Singapore.

07 August 2014, Gulf Province, Papua New Guinea. A young child  from Mirimailau village rests on the remnants of a mosquito net after receiving immunisations from Youth With A Mission volunteers. Mirimailau is located in the remote Gulf Province of Papua New Guinea where quality health care can be sparse.

Correction 11 August 2014. This was originally posted with the village name Kivaumai No 1 Village. Kivaumai No 1 is located nearby to Mirimailau, Gulf Province - Mat

Have you ever? Ever felt like this?

Couldn't sleep this morning so I drove to the Split Point lighthouse near Aireys Inlet.

Exhibition!

Do it.

Russel St / Bourke St

Its been a crazy few weeks. I'm currently in Melbourne and have been fairly busy with non photography stuff. Here is a photo from a few days ago.

27 Jun 2014, Melbourne, Australia. Corner of Russel Street / Bourke Street. 

Martial Law Day 1

In the wake of a six months of violent protests and a tense political standoff, the Royal Thai Military has declared a 'State of Emergency' and a instituted martial law. The order without government permission in the early hours of this morning. Media outlets were closed and guarded by armed soldiers. The political situation is somewhat tense, however, a different story follows on the streets. Passers by have taken the opportunity to stop and pose for 'selfies' with soldiers while the stand off continues.  More to follow...

Soldiers stand guard outside Thailand's 11 NBT TV station. 

A police officer looks on as Thai soldiers set up position on Ratchadamri Rd. A calendar with HRH Bhumibol Adulyadej sits on the wall of the office. 

Soldiers take position out the front of Royal Thai Police Headquarters, near Siam

Tourists pose for photos in a Royal Thai Army helmet. 

A Royal Thai Army Master Sergeant sleeps in his Humvee 

Visa Run

15 May 2014, Yangon, Myanmar. Restaurants prepare food before the Bogyoke Markets open.

The calm before the storm.

09 May 2014, Government House, Bangkok, Thailand. People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) leader Suthep Thaugsuban addresses a gathering of antigovernment protestors as part of his 'Final Battle' against the Thaksin Regime. 

More from Thingyan

Young people dance while being sprayed with water. Town Hall, Yangon. 

Myanmar Disney T

I love the fact the kid is the only one fighting back. 

This. This is what destroyed my baby doll Effy (my camera). 

She was really cute and would walk over to me and dump that bucket of water on to me. Adorable.. until the ice water came out and she found my shrieks hilarious. 

3 year old Burmese Sid Vicious

This young guy was posing for a photo before his brother came and dumped a bucket of water on his head. 

This guy kept slamming me with water.

All aboard the ear as reins express! 

Burmese Hug

"Burma gave you a hug.. it just hugged a little too hard" smiled Lauren as she sat with Andre at a cafe in Yangon. The two had come primarily to use the wifi. The fact the small upstair's coffee shop served food was a bonus.

My last few hours in the colonial era city were punctuated by bouts of coughing and sniffles. I felt although it was a relatively minor chest infection, there was little point in sitting idol in a hotel room blowing my nose and feeling sorry for myself. I decided yesterday to head back to Bangkok to get my camera gear serviced, some film developed, to pick up real meds (something which can be quiet elusive in Myanmar) and to assess how the protests between the UDD and PDRC had developed.

Thingyan is the most important day in the Burmese calendar and what most likely made me ill. If it wasn't ingesting water, it was the temperature changes between cold water, hot air, and then air con in our hotels. The festival celebrates the passing of the sun from Pisces to Airies and is seen as the New Year for Theravada Buddhist countries in SE Asia. Thousands flock to the streets and engage in combat. Water pistols and buckets being the weapon of choice. For those who have a little more foresight (and often money), firehoses trump squirt guns often with devastating effect. At one stage, I had managed to drown both my camera bodies. One was resurrected with a hair dryer, the other is for now one of the many cameras which fell to the festival. On the final day of festivities, thousands flock to pagodas around the country. The oldest and most well known, Schwe Dagon in Yangon is filled with thousands of devout buddhists worshipers from sunrise to evening.

The festival itself was brilliant. Adults, children, and young punks alike danced in the rain. Strangers offered me alcohol which was generally followed in adorably broken English  'Are you happy? ITS THINGYAN!'. My face hurt from smiling for 12 hours a day.

Revellers party out the front of town hall. The ancient Sule pagoda can be seen in the background. More pics to follow in the coming days. 

Ermahgerd

14 Apr 2014, Yangon, Myanmar. A man sleeps out the front of his store at 1 am. I love this place. 

Timor

Going through old pics. Found this one.

08 May 2011, Beto Tasi Timor. Fishermen cast nets at sunset. 

Hard Edit

I've started going through images from the past 3 years of dealing with mum's demise and passing from lung cancer. Photographically, it's the hardest thing I think I've ever done.

30 Nov 2012, Footscray General Hospital, Australia. Mum's face is covered in painful acne and her fingers swollen after taking a trial drug for her stage IV lung cancer. 

Tick tick tick

The situation in Bangkok is growing increasingly ominous as tension between the United Front For Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD - commonly associated with red) and Peoples Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC - commonly associated with yellow) rises. 
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's likely imminent removal from power has led to tens of thousands of UDD supports rallying to her aid on the outskirts of Bangkok. Meanwhile, thousands of PDRC protestors have been camping in Lumpini Park. Bellicose threats from both parties add to the uncertainty around the world's most visited city. 
Here are some images from the first day of the UDD camp at Utthayan Road.

One thing both sides have in common with each other is mass produced crap. 

The man with the white face pain is the UDD shaman.  Allegedly he poured blood on the steps of the government buildings during the 2010 uprising. The rifle in the pic isn't real. 

UDD supporters turn up around dusk.

Crowds flock in to the protest site. 

Pets welcome. They may not have any effin idea whats going on, but they are welcome.