Photographing Bhutanese Dance: the Michael Aris Collection

There is an event at The Pitt Rivers Museum this weekend that might be of interest to photographers.

“Michael Aris was a leading authority on Himalayan Studies and worked in Bhutan during the 60s and 70s. His photographs show this mountainous kingdom before the arrival of planes, tourism and television. The talk will explain elements of Bhutanese dance traditions by teasing out stories captured within the frozen frame of these still images. More recent film footage will be used to show the context of the dance images.”

©Michael Aris

The times are 2.30 – 3.30 on Saturday 18th. Full details of this event can be found on the BBC website here is the link

Pictures of the Week: October 21, 2011

Our ever popular Denver Post blogs brings another set of remarkable images, the full set of images are here

An Irish traveler resident holds up a cross for the media, in front of a burning barricade during evictions at the Dale Farm travellers site, near Basildon England, 30 miles (50 kilometers) east of London, Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011. Police in riot gear used sledgehammers to clear the way for the eviction of a community of Irish Travellers from a site where they have lived illegally for a decade. A large force of police and bailiffs faced resistance from several dozen residents and supporters who threw bricks and struggled with officers. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

Two Red Deer stags ‘rut’ in the early morning mist in Richmond Park on October 15, 2011 in London, England. Autumn sees the start of the ‘Rutting’ season where the large Red Deer stags can be heard roaring and barking in an attempt to attract females known as bucks. The larger males can also be seen clashing antlers with rival males. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Novice Bhutanese monks Sangey, 6, and Tenzin, 7, and Tandin, 4, and Pembar, 10, rest after hours of prayer at the Dechen Phodrang monastery October 18, 2011 in Thimphu, Bhutan. About 375 monks reside at the government run monastery that also doubles as a child care facility for under privileged and orphaned males. The monks average about 10 hours of study a day waking up at 5:00am. Mahayana Buddhism is the state religion, although in the southern areas many citizens openly practice Hinduism. Monks join the monastery at six to nine years of age and according to tradition many families will send one son into the monk hood. They learn to read chhokey, the language of the ancient sacred texts, as well as Dzongkha and English. (Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)