Dana Anjali Photography

While visiting a very remote village in northern Laos, I encountered this beautiful baby in her basket.  I was so struck by the incredible presence of this little girl as she gazed into the light. 

I met this girl and her mother in a temple in Bagan, Myanmar (Burma).  The white face paint, thanka, is commonly worn as a protection from the sun.  This young girl has a gaze of engaging innocence. 

IIn a remote Akha village in northern Laos, this group of girls accompanied me as I explored. At one point they all went into a house and appeared on the rooftop above me. It was a very sweet moment of connection.

In an Akha village in northern Laos I passed this boy and his cat and was struck by how each of them was looking out of the house in different directions. 

I met this young boy in one of the villages that I visited in Northern Laos.  As we met I felt the directness of the contact between us even though our worlds are so different. 

I was lucky enough to be in Luang Prabang, northern Laos, when Hmong New Year celebrations were taking place. At this week-long festival, young women and men can meet and court one another.  The young women spend a long time creating their dresses for this occasion and some of the men also were amazingly attired. This young girl was all dressed up but of course is a long way away from marriage. As she posed for a photograph, I was particularly struck by the power and intensity of her gaze. I had a strong sense of her being an old soul. 

A moment of connection with two young children in an Akha village in northern Laos. It always amazes me how much joy and curiosity children tend to have when they see people from distant countries. 

While in a remote village in northern Laos I saw this lovely young Lao girl. Though shy, she was happy to have her photograph taken.  We shared a delightful few moments. 

As I passed this little girl's home, she was up on the balcony just finishing her breakfast. We made eye contact for a moment as I took her photograph. Such innocence!

As Inlé Lake, located in central Myanmar (Burma), is very shallow, fishing is done with these conical nets which trap the fish when placed in the water.  As I watched this boy fishing I clearly sensed how our worlds were so different from one another's.  

This young woman is embroidering a skirt for herself, which is a tribal tradition still very much alive in northern Laos. 

In Phongsali, a town in northern Laos near the Chinese border, I saw this vegetable seller in the market. It was quiet time of the day, so she took the opportunity to work on her embroidery in the morning sunlight. 

In a northern village near Luang Namtha, Laos, I watched this woman for a long time as she was preparing thread for weaving.  She had such finely attuned attention and patience. A woman's work is never done!

This Akha grandmother was delighted to have her photograph taken with her grandson.  More often than not in these remote villages in northern Laos, it is the grandmothers who are caring for the children while the mothers tend the fields and do everything necessary to care for their families. 

It truly was another world in this remote village in northern Laos.  The Akha people live high in the mountains. This woman was caring for her young grandchild.   

I stayed in a small village, Mueng Ngoi Neua, on the shore of the River Ou in Laos.  Every day I would see this striking older woman who lived close to my guesthouse.  One day she came into the local cafe which gave me an opportunity to ask her if I could take her photograph. To my surprise she was totally open to it. For me, she embodied grace and elegance.

In a small northern Laotian village, along the River Ou, I meet this beautiful elder who invited me into her yard and offered me some of her cooked potatoes. As I accepted her generosity, I was blessed by her radiant smile and her open-hearted friendliness.  

When I was in northern Laos near Luang Namtha, I made a lovely connection with this woman who was weaving grasses to make her roof. Her blue scarf was so eye-catching as was her joyful smile. It is  at these moments that the world seems like a small place.  

I spent  a long time with this older woman in a village near Luang Prabang in northern Laos. She was creating something from local grasses.  As I was leaving she wished me well in the traditional Lao way with her palms together.  

I was drawn to this older woman because of her hands. For me they express a sense of her being at peace with herself. Though these people of northern Laos live so remotely, with so little, there is an undeniable richness of culture and life. Sadly, many changes are happening in rural Laos with many new dams, roads and railways being constructed that will inevitably displace many of the people and their villages.

Whilst at a market in Luang Namtha, near the northern border of Laos, I met this delightful woman who was visiting with her friend. Her basket on her back was full of vegetables and other things she had bought. It was attached to a wooden yoke to support the heavy load. Her smile was warm and unforgettable and expressed her happiness despite the weight on her shoulders! 

I met this Akha woman in her traditional dress while we waited for a bus at the Boun Neua station in northern Laos.  I felt lucky to have the opportunity to photograph her as generally Akha women are very shy of having their pictures taken. Akha women are the backbone of their communities often doing most of the hard physical labour while the men stay home in the villages.  

Staying high up in a remote Akha village in northern Laos not far from Phongsali, I witnessed the women carry extremely heavy loads up and down the 16 km path from their village to market and out to the fields. I discovered, to my amazement, the men ride to and from the market on their motorbikes, and leave the women to carry full baskets! This woman was coming home from the fields many kilometres away where they grow their vegetables. To my delight she was open to my taking a photograph of her. 

At the Bac Ha Sunday Market in northern Vietnam, I encountered this group of Flower Hmong women selling incense.  These tribal people are known for their very colourful traditional dress. 

In Bagan, in Myanmar (Burma), this older couple were walking in a local temple. It was such a symbol of togetherness. 

While wandering in a village near Sapa in the mountains of northern Vietnam I encountered this beautiful older woman. Her presence was one that communicated strength and resolve and also great tenderness and kindness.  I so appreciated our connection.

This woman was my boat driver on a canal near Vinh Long in the Mekong Delta area of southern Vietnam.  She had such a beautiful smile!

This Lao fisherman who was preparing his nets had an absolutely magnetic smile.  I could have stayed there all day with him!

While at the Can Cau Saturday Market in the mountains of northern Vietnam near Bac Ha, I encountered this man who was so striking. He was such a contradiction with his soft pink umbrella contrasting with his stern expression and his formal uniform. 

While visiting a small fishing village near Hoi An in central Vietnam, we met this lovely woman whose smile was so welcoming. Needless to say we took her up on her offer of pancakes!

In a small fishing village near Hoi An, Vietnam, I visited a small fish sauce factory and was captivated by this woman working there. 

While on a morning photography tour in a village near Hoi An, Vietnam, we met this man who is known as the "bamboo man"  He is an absolute character and loves to be photographed. All his adult life he has been making round bamboo boats, one of which is in the background. These are the traditional boats local fishermen use on the ocean!

In Hoi An, on the coast of central Vietnam, it is a beautiful evening tradition for people to purchase lanterns to make offerings by lighting them and setting them afloat on the river.  It is enchanting  to see the river lit up by all these lanterns.  I love the way the candlelight shone on her face.  

A small fish sauce "factory" in a village near Hoi An, Vietnam, had about a dozen workers, mostly women, who covered their faces to protect themselves from the overpowering smell.  I love the fact that I could see only this woman's eyes; they were so expressive.  

In Nga Nam, in the Mekong Delta area of southern Vietnam, there is a floating market which takes place everyday. This woman boat driver, who is reading a shopping list, was often seen going back and forth ferrying people and purchases.

As the evening came at Nga Nam in the Mekong Delta area of southern Vietnam, I was struck by how beautiful this woman boat rower was in the evening light.

These women in their beautiful traditional cone hats, which are a great protection from the strong sun, caught my attention as they shared time together. This image was taken at the Nga Nam Floating Market, in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. 

This is such a familiar sight in Nga Nam floating market in Vietnam.  I noticed that the rowers were mostly women. 

While walking in what is known as the "Mushroom Village" near the Duoyshui Rice Terraces, in the Yuang Yang area of Yunnan, China,  I met this very old women who was sitting in the sun watching her husband repair a shed. The traditional people of this area, the Hani, are incredibly resilient and strong.