Young women getting drenched with yellow-colored water

Last month I went to Luang Prabang in Laos for the Lao New Year celebrations.  I was there for about one week and did lots of work.  Most of it has already been posted on the Laos Photo Library, but I’m going to start posting more of my Laos stuff in galleries on this site.

This new gallery showcases the insane street celebrations that take place during Lao New Year.  During the New Year festivities, Lao people traditionally wash the Buddha images housed in the local temples, and also have ceremonies where they wash their elders’ hands in a show of respect.  In the modern interpretation, young people crowd onto the streets to toss water at each other, throw talcum powder in people’s faces, and smear kettle grease all over their friends.  The whole thing is quite chaotic and a bit stressful for a photographer who doesn’t particularly want to get water, handfuls of white powder, or grease and soot on/in his camera.

I really wanted to capture the sense of constant movement, the streams of water flying through the air, and the general sense of friendly mayhem.  In order to do this I used slow shutter speeds for much of my work, and I’m rather pleased with the results I got.  I hope you enjoy this set, it’s one of my favorites!