Retired Monk, Rinchengang, Bhutan

Fujifilm GFX100S II, GF80mm f1.7 R WR, f1.7 @ 1/600 second, ISO 80

One of the most enjoyable parts of a road trip is stopping somewhere along the way and going for a wander. Invariably we'll photograph the tiny village of Rinchengang from the other side of the river and from time to time, we'll actually drive up to the top of the hill and walk down through the narrow alleys. It's much easier walking down!

However, first we walked a short distance up to the temple that crowns the village. Next to the temple is a small shelter with a large prayer wheel and, as luck would have it, there was an elderly gentleman sitting on a cushion, turning the wheel and praying.

When I nodded hello and pointed to my camera, the slight shake of his head indicated I had permission. It took me a few years to realise that the shake actually meant yes! When our guide Tenzin arrived we learned that our subject was a retired monk and 95 years of age!

As you can see from the unprocessed photo below, there was plenty of light being thrown around. It was a bright sunny day and the shelter was open to three sides. Still, I could see a nice halo being formed by the strong backlight, something that was relatively easy to enhance in post-production. Simply speaking, I darkened down the overall exposure, but kept light and contrast on the face. The bright areas in the background were also darkened down - and all this can be easily accomplished in either Lightroom or Capture One. In fact, with the AI masking these days, it's relatively quick and easy!

Bhutan is certainly changing, but it retains a wonderful charm. I feel like I'm stepping onto a film set and the people are so welcoming and wonderful! Come to Bhutan with David Oliver and me in 2028 and we'll see if our monk is still turning his prayer wheel. We're still working out the dates, but details will be available in the next little while.