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avotius β Modern Monk
Published: 2004-09-29 14:28:29 +0000 UTC; Views: 3981; Favourites: 110; Downloads: 1041
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Description
βProgressβ has made its way into western China, but slowly. Most of the people there prefer to cling to a traditional style of living. But some things eventually become ubiquitous in the world, like bottled water and cell phones. These three monks sitting on the side of the hill watching the sun set were just sort of lounging around, one of them drinking a coke, another drinking bottled water, and one was even talking on a cell phone. Turns out they all had cell phones and the guy in the middle even had a car. The guy on the right even spoke English, and they all seemed to have a laugh over the bad pronunciation of words. Just goes to show you how far the penetration of western culture has gone.Seemed pretty amazing to me when everyone was gone and they got up and walked down the hill and got into a blue Citroen and drove off. I really got a kick out of that.
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Comments: 59
Yes, in my country, you have franciscian priest who are supposed to be poor with the most expensive accessories and 10 s of millions in banks...
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Very good composition. I like the hint of blue sky in the upper right corner and the yellow-ish/gold walkway. Those two things really make it a good photograph to my eyes.
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dude - I know EXACTLY what you mean.
I was sitting in the back of a sangtheaw in northern thailand - my first week there and this monk in orange robes is smiling peacefully across at me - then his phone starts bleeping out the tune to some pop song and he reads a txt message off it and starts typing one back... cracked me up.
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It reminds me of Ladakh as well.
Yesterday I discovered ELIOT PATTISON, an author writing thrillers based in Tibet.
I'm going to read them soon!
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your stories are so colorful, i love them, it really touches me. even though that sounds really stupid, your pictures realyl say something about being human, how far reaching certain emotions and experiences are common to all of us.
really enjoying your gallery! youve made my day!
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It's definitively a 
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rofl i wish i was there to witness that. nice photo
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Wow colors are such delicious, beautiful ! and very modern touch but they're wearing some traditionnal clothes
I like their expression and the composition is just perfect !!! Very well done !
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its funny, this is the photo that most people talk about when they look ay my work. In class we had this big hour long discussion over this one photo and the style and technique taken for it and I was just like....uh....I saw it and took it and thats how it is....
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Excellent angle for such a dramatic backdrop.
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I haven't been to your gallery in quite a while. And thus far, upon my recent visit, I have decided to comment on this. The colors are beautiful, and striking...and the natural "placement" of the subjects is almost overwhelming in impressive stlye, although remaining somewhat candid. Perfect. It's uncanny, the draw this photo has. It is fantastic.
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chinese-tibeten buddhist (there is a slight difference between the "normal" tibeten buddhist monks) from western china
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i see... 
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yes, I have been picking into it a bit myself and there are so many offshots of the original idea but they all tie into eachother rather neatly it would seem
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amazing photo! although I was really hoping to see the coke can and cell phone... if the blue citroen was up in the background it would be truely amusing! hahaha
perhaps it is better without these...
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ya know, I do have a few photos that are interesting in that way, I got one where he is looking at his phone but its not "post worthy" I guess. For every photo I post here I probably got 50 more that I didnt post.
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oh well, this one is definately worthy anyway
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they have hair!!!
this may seem totally american of me, but aren't monks supposed to be... bald?
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you know I had the same thoughts when I took some of these photos but aparently its a different sect that is susposed to be that way or something, frankly its still something of a mystery to me as when a chinese person tries to explain it they get confused and dont really know either
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lol.
i see. lots of things like that which are important to different cultures confuse its people. there are things about america you could ask me and i'd just be like "uhm, i really don't know, we just sorta do it..."
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heh I hear that, being from seattle and living here in china a whole lot of people like to ask me questions, most of which im like....why the hell would you want to know that or I duno.....I mean what do american TYPICALY eat......for instance, in china they typicaly eat rice with everything, america really doesnt have a typical univeral food like that.....heh.....I hate it when people ask me that....
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pizza and burgers. french fries. anything fattening.
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I really got a kick out of the description and the awesome picture. Bravo!
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wow I am absolutly impressed by your pictures from this trip your on...."Lazy old men" and this photgraph are just awesome....
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great story man... But anyway, I really like this picture... Though it doesn't seem as crisp or sharp (are you using film?) I still enjoy it.
I like the color of the monk's robes and how it differs from the green hills. Very cool
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yeah, film, my scanner is a cheap pos so it doesnt really scan that sharp
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Although it would problably a "ClichΓ©", it would be more to the point if you could show them using the cell phone, and drinking the Coke 
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im really impressed with the colors. the image is not sharp but natural. whatever people say, film looks more real than digital.
composition is also nice.
and about the monks with cell phones; i live in Turkey and nothing can surprise me anymore
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Interesting in that there is a repetition in the poses, facial structures but still you have come up with a photo of considerable strength.....along with the colors, avotius. I am trying to figure out whether the steps help or not. Also having trouble figuring out the steps. Are they wood?
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Interesting. You should have taken a photo of them using their cell phones too.
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what a great shot... i love the colour scheme. the reds and the greens... if it was a print, i would totally consider buying it
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i would like a black&white version of this shot, but it's well made here anyways.
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Colours man. I love your colours! Not to mention your fantastic-as-usual composition. And what an interesting story to go with it!
I'm having a sudden craving for chips and coke.
I don't know why.
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I love the picture and the colours particularly are amazing. I wish you had included their modern acoutrements... would have been a good statement. Anyway, thanks for the wonderful addition to the DA galleries. Keep up the wonderful work.
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awsome!!
Monks, I wish I could see one in real life
though I heard monks don't like to be commercialised (sp?) and such things
that it's not part of their beliefs or something of that nature
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WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! REAL KICK ASS MONKS THATS AWSOME.......great photo too 
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really nice photo and comment...............yeah....our culture......is destroying your culture........well "our".......no the american way of life........because we had a more calm......and peaceful way of life
i really like your deviation
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wow. American culture has givent he biggest reaction to anything that I've ever seen.
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lol weird O_o kinda hard to believe! My grandmother is a monk but shes very traditional..and dont monks usually wear only orange, yellow, grey and brown? ;o
Beautiful colors and the grass is just amazingly green ;D
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wow... kinda hard to believe all wat you said.... though i'm not completely surprised...
i wonder though... why do they have hair? and not shaved heads?
maybe the cold there.... hm...
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They can adopt and accept these western-created tools, yet consider them no more than tools in the now, and still be the same traditional people, just with a different variation of materials about. The grass is very green and alive.
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Wel, it's like the car commercial . . some freeing people gto on a safary and take photos of some people, those go away, sit into their new fance car and drie and the stupid white man is wondering . . . .
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