Social Documentary Photography and Film
Posted in Tibet on Mar 17th, 2011
Evidence of the Tibetan daily devotional practice — a practice intended to expand their compassion to include all “sentient beings” and remind them of our “interconnectedness” – is seen everywhere. Every morning Tibetan Buddhists walk clockwise around various objects of veneration such as monasteries, stupas or sacred mountains. I’ve watched hundreds of devotee’s make their [...]
Posted in Tibet on Sep 9th, 2010
Mt. Kailash, Tibet I just finished my first Kora (walk around) Mt. Kailash in Western Tibet. The 52 km trek that crosses one pass at 18,600 ft has served as a spiritual quest for thousands of Buddhists, Hindus, Jains and the pre-Buddhist Bon Po of Tibet. Serter, 39—Has been a porter on the Kailash since [...]
Posted in Tibet on Aug 18th, 2010
Tibetan woman inside her home showing a computer in the background. I am heading back to Mount Kailash and the western Tibetan Plateau to finish my next book documenting the rapid lifestyle and environmental changes occurring on the plateau. Arranging for support and logistics for a trip into the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) presents its [...]
Posted in Guest Post, Tibet on Jul 22nd, 2010
Inigo de Angulo, a photographer from Spain, also accompanied me on one of my trips to Tibet in May. It was such a pleasure to watch Inigo interact with the people as he shot and gave Polaroids to his subjects. Inigo has been working on a long term project documenting many religious practices around the [...]
Posted in Guest Post, Tibet on Jul 14th, 2010
Over the years I have had many people ask me if they could assist me on one of my trips. I’ve never been too anxious to do so because I felt it would be too disruptive to have more “foreigners” than necessary show up in a remote village or at a nomad’s tent taking photos. [...]
Posted in Production Notes on Jul 1st, 2010
One of the things that amazed me as I traveled through what was formally Kham and Amdo on the Tibetan Plateau was the amount of new construction at many of the Tibetan Monasteries. It was not only the amount of new construction but the size and quality of the new monasteries and prayer halls that [...]
Posted in Production Notes on Jun 2nd, 2010
Pilgrims about to cross the 15,000 foot Chola Pass on their 2500 kilometer pilgrimage to Lhasa, prostrating the entire way. The devotion of the Tibetan people is unbelievable. As I travel through the Eastern Tibetan Plateau, one thing has become very apparent. Tibetan Buddhism is enjoying a strong resurgence. Almost every Monastery I visit is [...]
Posted in Production Notes on May 19th, 2010
We met Choqhua, a monk from the small and remote Trakkar Monastery near Labrang in Gansu Province. We spent 3 days staying with him in his little cottage. He took us to the tiny remote village where he grew up and to a nearby cave where the 9th Panchen Lama was said to have meditated. [...]
Posted in Production Notes on May 13th, 2010
News sent from Phil while working on a second book in Tibet: I’m in Gansu Province on the Eastern Tibetan Plateau adding to my collection of stories of people who live on the plateau. I’m traveling with Stevan from North Carolina and Inigo who is currently living in Singapore — Both are photographers that I [...]
Posted in Stirring The Fire on Aug 26th, 2009
Once One HEART’s work was terminated there was nothing I could document other than the frantic two weeks Arlene Samen (Executive Director of One HEART) spent trying to get permission for her organization to continue its work. After the decision to stop One HEART’s work in Tibet had been made, Arlene left for Nepal. She [...]