For our second day at Bagan, we hired a local professional photographer, Maung Maung (pronounced Moo Moo). As with almost everyone here, he speaks very little English, using mostly, “you happy?” What else were we to say other than “yes, very happy.” The other word he used often is, “shoot!” I would often try to argue with him about camera settings, where he would listen impatiently for a moment, then look me in the eye and say, “shoot!” So, shoot I would. And the photo would be good. I stopped arguing.
During our sunrise shoot, he dropped his telephoto lens. It was broken. I was going to tell him he could use the word, “shoot” for this but decided to keep my mouth shut. The outshoot of this mishap is he would come to me all day and want to borrow my lens. Then he would borrow my camera saying he was setting up a shot for me. After a bit, I was unsure whether I was shooting or he was shooting. It didn’t matter as there was some really nice shots on my camera. Moo Moo worked more from the artistic side of photography than the technology side. This turned out to be great for me as it pushed me to see the scene in a different way. He kept “talking” about using layers (not Photoshop layers), shadows, and mist. It took a while but I think I finally got it.
Mystical Sunrise at Bagan. Notice the layers of mist and trees.
After sunrise we did some staging, renting a local monk. Rick Sammon, a professional I have been following, always says, “make the shot, just don’t take the shot.” Well, make the shot we did. We made good use of shadows and light while positioning the monk just so.
Our rental monk amidst the shadows and light.
We finely positioned him getting the color and shadows we desired.
Our Monk and his shadow.
Candle light is beautiful. Our monk had to sit very still.
The day concluded with us being “very happy” – we really were. Moo Moo really has a fantastic eye. Wanting to see more of his photos, we stopped by his store (you really can’t call it a store, it is more of a stall). After sitting for tea with Moo Moo and his wife, we settled on a book of his images for purchase. He gladly autographed it for us.
Maung Maung and Us
What a day… Remember, it’s all about the light, layers, shadows and mist!
Never would have thought to rent a monk. Nice work.
Hi, do you have contact details for Maung Maung and can you tell me how much yo upaid
Hi- We met Maung Maung as part of a tour – hired by our tour leader. Sorry, but I do not have the information you request.
We sent with Maung Maung about a year after you did. It was quite a mixed experience. He is a very good photographer but the experience was more one of following him around than receiving instruction. He charged $250 for four hours (technically six but he dropped us off at the hotel mid-day during the most intense heat) and we had to pay about $7.50 to each model he hired (there were quite a few). It was hot and the car he drove us around in had a broken A/C and there was no water. Most of the stops we for prestaged photos and we really enjoyed them. However, he took us to one place which was a temporary village where the locals nearly attacked us demanding money. Maung Maung didn’t intervene and kept shooting after we told him we didn’t want to take photos there. His additional shooting caused us to miss sunset. Given all that, it was an interesting experience that I am glad we had but wouldn’t want to have again.
Just got back from a trip with him myself. He can be reached at baganmaungmaung@gmail.com if anyone wants his services. I had a great day. Quite appreciated the break at midday as the sun was really belting it down.
I agree, a lot of the time he is kind of doing his thing, however, if you pipe up and say ‘how’, ‘what’ etc etc, he steps back and talks you through the frames bit by bit. I learned a lot.