International Portraits

Students in my digital photography course on the Semester at Sea voyage in the spring of 2006 had to pick a theme and build a multi-national portfolio around it. I believe that a professor should be able to complete any assignment requested of students, so I worked on a thematic portfolio as well -- my focus was on portraits of people seen in ports we visited.

Woman working in a gift shop on the island of Mauritius. (2006). She was sitting this way when I walked in the shop and after asking permission to take her portrait I asked her to hold this "pose."

Chinese man with a pipe at the Great Wall (2006). I think he made extra income from tourists seeking his photo.

Woman watching street life in Salvador, Brazil. (2006) She is watching a group of men playing soccer in the street in women's dresses -- we were not able to understand this unique custom -- perhaps a lost bet.

Man with monkey, Mamallapuram, India. (2006).

Buddhist woman praying at Shwedagon Pagoda in Rangoon, Burma. (2006). I tried to not interfere with her prayers by taking this from a distance with a telephoto lens.

Music professor Jonathan Kramer and the MV Explorer in Port Louis, Mauritius. (2006). Jonathan is a talented cellist and a bon vivant.

Japanese woman in Kyoto dressed as a "mako," an apprentice geisha. (2006). She was at a temple on the edge of the city with a professional photographer and another model, so this may have been a fashion or tourism shoot. Note that her traditional headpiece mirrors the cherry blossom branches in the background.

Street vendor in Port Louis, Mauritius. (2006). A beautiful face of a man who's worked outside his entire life.

Art gallery owner in Mauritius -- another beautiful face. (2006).

Outside Himeji Castle in Japan. (2006). This image is a bit disconcerting -- the women are having a good laugh, but the man at right looks sad or depressed.

Nanci Seel under the cherry blossoms in Kyoto. (2006)

Young novitiates at Shwedagon Pagoda in Rangoon. (2006). The girls have their heads shaved for this aspect of their Buddhist faith in a process that lasts for one year.

Louise Hudson in Mamallapuram, India. (2006). Louise, husband Simon (below), and their two sons were frequent traveling companions with us while on the voyage and are now our good friends. Louise and Simon are both from England in the U.K.

Simon Hudson, Mamallapuram, India. (2006)

Photos by Peter B. Seel, 2006. All rights reserved.

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