Kyoto, Japan · Northern Thailand
East Asia
Ancient traditions, quiet mornings, and two countries that hold their history differently.
“The pavilion has been rebuilt, burned, and rebuilt again. What you photograph at Kinkaku-ji is not the original — it is the idea of it, which has survived every version.”
Kyoto, Japan
The Golden Pavilion
Kinkaku-ji — the Temple of the Golden Pavilion — is a Zen Buddhist temple in northwestern Kyoto whose upper floors are covered entirely in gold leaf. The structure dates to 1397, though the current building is a 1955 reconstruction after a monk burned the original in 1950. The act of arson became a novel by Mishima. The rebuilt pavilion became more visited than the original ever was.
Shot at 28mm on the Nikon Z50 at f/5.6 and 1/250s. The reflection in Kyōko-chi (Mirror Pond) holds for about twenty seconds before wind breaks it. You wait for stillness and you release the shutter when it comes.
Northern Thailand
The Kayan villages
In the highlands of northern Thailand, near Mae Hong Son, live communities of Kayan women who fled Myanmar over the past several decades. The brass neck rings — added incrementally from childhood — are a tradition carried across borders and generations. Whether the practice continues is a question the younger generation is beginning to answer for itself, differently than their mothers did.
Own the Work
Travel prints available
Japan and Asia travel photographs available as museum-quality fine art prints.