A Blurry Hello

A group of females in colourful outfits move towards the camera down a flight of stairs. To their left, right and behind them are golden Buddha statues

It would be brilliant if every photo was crisp, clear and in focus. It would be great if my daily vision was like that too. They are not of course but sometimes the blurryness is part of the story rather than a detraction.

Travelling around South East Asia and in particular Myanmar, means many visits to temples. I enjoy taking photographs in these places so that I can have a better look at what they contain when I view the images on a computer screen. These temples aren’t just sites for the fleeting enjoyment of tourists though, they are important and longstanding places of worship, full of meaning and protocol for the locals. I do my best not to annoy people with my camera while they are praying. It is their private moment, not my moment to intrude on and steal.

Blurry photo shows four females in colourful clothes sitting on the top of a set of stairs. They are looking towards the camera. Behind them and to their left are golden Buddha statues

When visiting Mrauk U in Rakhine State, Myanmar in 2016, I was doing my best to keep out of the way of worshippers while taking in the area’s amazing Buddhist temples. My excellent guide was encouraging me to take lots of photos as he knew that doing so was important to me. As we approached an alter featuring yet another golden Buddha image my guide pointed and said to take a photo. I thought I could see people praying and I didn’t want to interfere with their experience, I also didn’t want to ignore my friendly guide so I compromised and vey quickly raised my camera and fired off a few shots without taking the time to frame or focus.

“Oh no”. The people that had been praying did indeed notice me. They were making their way towards me quicker than my camera’s flash. I had interrupted them and now they were either coming to let me know they weren’t happy or to at least get out of the view of my camera and I.

One of the most frustrating things about being visually impaired is not being properly able to see people’s facial expressions or body language. It makes it difficult to approach people as I never know if they appear welcoming or otherwise. It means missing out on amazing things like smiles. It means being in a constant state of anxiety. My anxiety started to race as the figures came towards me.

Before I knew it I was surrounded. There were at least five individuals around me. Even when up close I couldn’t see body or facial expressions though I thought I glimpsed a smile or two. Then laughter. First those that surrounded me, then my guide, then me; though I wasn’t totally sure what the joke was.

My guide translated for us. The group weren”t at all annoyed that I had taken their photograph. In fact they wanted photos of their own At first one girl approached me with equal amounts enthusiasm and shyness. She stood next to me while our picture was taken. Another girl approached, a little braver than the first and stood pressing against me. The next girl had gained confidence from the first two and to the shreik of giggles from the crowd, she put her arm around me for her photo. The boys who were taking the photos then swapped places and got their pics taken with me. For a minute at least I felt like a rockstar, still haven’t got the rockstar paycheck though!.

Two females in colourful clothes move towards the camera

The group departed in a fit of noise and happiness and my guide told me why they were so excited. Apparently the group came from a remote village and this was their first trip to the relatively big Mrauk U, itself in a remote part of western Myanmar. Amazingly I was the first westener or white person they had seen or met hence the inquisitiveness and desire for a photo. They were by no means uneducated or ignorant villagers. They all had mobile phones which were no doubt connected to the rest of the world, it just happened that this was the first time a bit of the outide world stood in front of them.

My guide said they were all amazed at my white skin and we laughed that quite often those with pale skin desire a darker shade while those with naturally darker skin often try to lighten it. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence wherever that fence may be. I was also told that the group planned to get their photos printed out in large format while they were in town so that they could proudly display the image back in the village. This still makes me laugh, somewhere in Myanmar people might still be talking about the time they met a short, sweaty, pale skinned guy with a funny stick and an eye patch! I would never consider myself the poster boy for the West but there we are!

I had given my guide my camera to take pictures of the group for me as well but unfortunately I didnt give proper instructions on its use so no photos were actually taken. That is ok though. I may not have much more proof than a couple of blurry images but I do have the memories, as do the group in my blurry photos, and Im sure we will all remember and occasionally tell the story for a long time to come.