Dong Nam A

Yangon Circle Line

CB — Wed, 15 May 2013 07:19:36 +0000

I continued exploring the city before starting on any specific story.. Yesterday I took the 3 hour ride along the circle line through Yangon’s suburbs to get a better feel of the city and people.

After the train started and I was casually sitting on the steps in the open door a surprised local asked my why I was not riding in the carriage especially for foreign travelers? I told him that I did not knew such a thing existed, but also that this would defy the purpose of taking the train..

What strikes me most so far in Yangon is the sheer variety of colors and people in the city.
Of course I know that not all is peaceful and happiness below the surface…

Yangon – very first impressions

CB — Mon, 13 May 2013 06:23:34 +0000

I just touched down in Yangon less that 48 hours ago. It seems to me to be an incredible interesting and exciting city…

just a first few visual impressions:

more here http://www.flickr.com/photos/cuulongden/sets/72157633468059507/

Heart of Bangkok

CB — Thu, 09 May 2013 09:51:55 +0000

on my way to Myanmar – stopover in Bangkok…

a few shots from the Erawan shrine – in the “heart of bangkok” at the Ratchaprasong crossroads

Editorial Photography: Recent work for Modus Asia

CB — Mon, 06 May 2013 07:17:29 +0000

Here a tear sheet of a editorial photo shoot that I did for the UK based Modus Asia Magazine.

Christian Berg is an editorial Photographer based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Streets of Hongkong

CB — Fri, 03 May 2013 11:44:03 +0000

Last week I was for a long weekend in Hongkong. Had time to do some street photography in my favorite city in Asia….

some more shots here http://www.flickr.com/photos/cuulongden/sets/72157633409090384/

back at the blogs…

CB — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 10:55:28 +0000

I confess it has been really really long since my last blog entry… a lot has happened since then in terms of my photography career. Specifically 2 months back I finally made the step to jump into the fulltime freelance life of a documentary photographer in Southeast Asia, which so far has been exciting – and also it means I don’t have any excuses anymore not to blog… while surely more interesting stuff is coming up, for now I just like to share a few cool shots that I took at the “Soul of Vietnam” show at Saigon’s Opera house – here you see a few background scenes of the “Hai Ba Trung” – the legendary two sisters that defeated China in the past.

Lipstick Soi – Tongphoon Wilaijai

CB — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 14:55:50 +0000

Tongphoon Wilaijai (39 years old) “I am working here since 9-10 years. With this job I can make good money and this makes my family happy too. If people use our services they not only get transport but can also see beautiful women with a sweet smile.”

Lipstick Soi – Ubol Suktes

CB — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 11:17:02 +0000

Ubol Suktes (57 years old) from Uttaradit works in the Win since 13 years. “My children do not want me to work here anymore, but I like this job. I do not like to have a boss. I funded my children’s university degrees with this work.”

The Lipstick Soi

CB — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 03:06:50 +0000

Last September I was in Bangkok to work on a story about women as motorbike taxi drivers. While it was published in the German media in the meantime I will take the chance to post the whole series of portraits here in the following weeks…

Motorbike taxis are a common means of public transport in the urban chaos of Bangkok. Organized in groups, so called “Win”, like the arms of an octopus they reach out from the main roads to bring their passengers deeper into the maze of smaller roads, the “Soi”, where no other public transport (Skytrain or Buses) go.

While driving a motorbike taxi is usually a male domain, there is one group of motorbike taxis that is known as “Win Pak Daeng” or “Win of the red lips”. More than 20 housewives, most of them married to soldiers work here together to earn some extra cash for the family household.

Despite occasional moments of discrimination or even harassment through male clients all of the women are very proud to be part of this group and enjoy the work. The great level of independence they have being their own boss is probably the major reason for them to brave the cities burning sun and tropical rains every day again. Being amongst friends is another one.

Outside Angkor

CB — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 13:16:18 +0000

When I visited the Angkor Photo Festival last year I also had the chance to stroll around through the streets of Siem Reap and around… here a few shots of encounters outside the ruins of Angkor.