Facing East - Photos from the Heart

by Roger Morgan

Overview

I am a hunter. I haunt the walled lanes of far away villages, hang out in markets and bazaars, walk clockwise in a kora of prayer-spinning old ladies, earning my points from the gods and the spirits that frequent this monastery or that. I eat with the truckies, the farmers, the monks. My bearing relaxed, camera always at hand, pointing, its long lens inhibiting, always questioning: who are you, who are you? Then I stop, a face holds me, I try not to stare yet I want so much more: What have you done? What have you seen? Your past, what of the future? I can only imagine. I take a picture, then another and another. No counterfeit smiles for me. I want the real thing. Get under the skin, enter the personal, the space that divides, that calls for reflex. The shutter snaps to snare that involuntary retort that says this is me, this is me - the moment when all those facial muscles spring into play; so hard to replicate – that which cannot easily be copied has value. I like faces. For the old, the lines and the wrinkles like growth rings in a tree. For the young their countenance fresh like tabula rasa, their story yet to be written. Old ladies and the young, they work well for me. The former not reticent to confront, the latter once through the hurdles of shyness - having seen their image on the camera screen - become charming actors in a world of the could-be. What makes a good face? I don’t know - I believe if I did the dialogue would stop coming.

www.rogermorganfacingeast.com

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781483603797
Publisher:	Xlibris AU
Publication date:	04/17/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	228
File size:	7 MB

Editorial Reviews

2014-03-05
An avid traveler and portrait photographer shares images and experiences from his journey across the Himalayas. In his debut book, Morgan conveys via photographs the recent changes in the lives of many Himalayans. The dramatic geography of the Himalayas and their surrounding rivers created isolated regions where unique cultures developed, relatively uninfluenced by the rest of the world. Morgan explains that these cultures had maintained traditional ways of life in their almost total isolation. Immigration from surrounding regions, global warming and rapidly expanding technologies are now affecting these previously independent cultures, and Himalayans must decide whether to change or maintain their traditions. Morgan traveled across the Himalayas between 2009 and 2012, staying with families along the way. He photographed people in isolated regions of China, India, Pakistan and Nepal and shares the images and vignettes of his travels. Photographs are organized into a four-part travel book—one for each country. Morgan introduces each section with a short discussion of the region's history and culinary culture; a brief caption accompanies each image. His funny, thought-provoking essays lead the reader to wonder about the consequences of globalization. During his travels, Morgan made attempts to wholly immerse himself in each culture by living with families in their homes. The result is an arresting portfolio that offers glimpses of cultures rarely seen by the Western world. Through precise lighting and attention to detail, Morgan's portraits reveal the emotions and resilience in the faces of those featured; atmospheric landscapes complement these intimate portraits. An arresting travel book about the way geography and people intersect.

Kirkus Reviews