Pilgrims Of The Spirit, Kathmandu, Nepal
Documenting the Living Traditions of Our World
Documentary Travel Photography from Around the World
by Raku Loren Mayers
This documentary travel photography portfolio grew out of walking, waiting, and spending time in places rather than moving quickly through them. The photographs come from streets, markets, temples, workshops, rivers, festivals, and long journeys across Asia, Latin America, and beyond.
I am drawn to what happens between the obvious pictures: work, ritual, conversation, weather, humor, and the brief exchanges that make a place feel lived in. Some photographs came from planned stories; many came from simply being there when something unexpected happened.
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Featured Images:
Along the Back Roads of India & Beyond
A woman pauses in prayer as soft afternoon light filters through the intricate geometry of Fatehpur Sikri’s carved stone jali screens.
Explore India: India Photography · Bihar Photography · Gujarat Photography · Agra Street Photography · Fatehpur Sikri · The People of Fatehpur Sikri · Eid in Fatehpur Sikri · Taj Mahal Photography · Ganges River Photography · Narmada River Photography · Uttarayan Kite Festival · Mandvi Shipbuilding · Roadbuilders of Ladakh · Buddhism Photography
Elsewhere in South Asia: Nepal Himalaya Photography · Bangladesh Photography · Bangladesh Fish Market · Bangladesh Shipbreaking · Bangladesh Movie House
Featured Series:
A Journey Into The Heart Of Myanmar
Boy leaping across the white temple terraces
A boy bounds across the whitewashed curves of a pagoda, his brief flight suspended between earth and sky, turning centuries-old architecture in northern Myanmar into a backyard playground for a few fearless and joyful seconds.
Monk Crossing the Teak Bridge at Sunrise
At first light, a lone monk crosses the old teak bridge, suspended for a moment between water and sky in the soft gold and stillness of sunrise.
Fisherman on the lake
Balancing on the narrow bow of his boat, a fisherman works his net by hand as the lake brightens behind him—a skill learned through repetition, balance, and years on the water.
Buddha figures among the hills and vegetation
Rows of weathered Buddha figures appear among the trees and limestone hills, quietly occupying a landscape where forest, devotion, and time have grown together.
Myanmar was one of those places where the sacred and ordinary rarely felt separate. In Bagan and Mandalay, along river villages and city streets, I photographed monks on morning alms rounds, craftsmen at work, markets, families, and children living in the shadow of pagodas.
The work is divided into two galleries: one centered on Bagan, Buddhism, workshops, and devotional life; the other on streets, tea shops, markets, and everyday encounters.
At the meeting point of great civilizations, Myanmar is a land where ancient traditions continue to shape everyday life.
Bordered by Thailand, India, China, and Bangladesh, the country has long served as a crossroads of cultures, trade routes, religions, and ideas.
Fire procession — alternate caption for the repeated image
For an instant, breath becomes flame. Around it, dancers, dragons, and onlookers turn an ordinary street into a place of shared wonder.
Balloons over Bagan at sunrise
Hot-air balloons drift above Bagan’s ancient temples as the first light reaches the plain, revealing pagodas and stupas through the morning haze.
Gulls over the river at dusk
Gulls sweep alongside the ferry as evening settles over the river, circling fishing boats and passengers before scattering into the fading light.
Fishing Beneath the Limestone Cliffs
From the shadow of a rocky overhang, I watched a fisherman stand in his narrow boat and cast a wide net into water enclosed by jungle and stone. For an instant the net hangs open in the light before falling back to the river, a practiced gesture repeated countless times and never quite the same twice.
At Day’s Edge
As the sun lowers and the water turns amber, a solitary boatman makes his way home across the lake.
A Shrine Beneath the Mountain
Following the monks into the cave, the darkness suddenly opened around an ancient stupa, lit by a shafts of daylight entering through the rock high above, illuminating a shrine that has stood quietly beneath the mountain for generations.
The Boys with the Best Hair in Town
They spotted the camera, struck their poses, and turned an ordinary doorway into a small stage of friendship, style, and swagger.
The City Through an Open Window
Paused in traffic, I watched a street vendor prepare his cart beside the road—one of those small scenes that appears for a few seconds and is gone again.
The Gift and the Bowl
Rice passes from one pair of hands to another in a quiet exchange of giving and receiving, repeated each morning across Buddhist communities in Myanmar.
The Shape of a Morning Meal
Dough passes from hand to hand until it becomes thin enough for the griddle, one small practiced motion inside the larger movement of the city.
More From Myanmar:
Also Featuring:
India, Nepal, & Bangladesh
Years of travel through India, Nepal, and Bangladesh led to photographs along sacred rivers and Himalayan trails, in city streets, markets, shipyards, villages, festivals, and places of spiritual pilgrimage.
In the Bay of Bengal, where the Ganges River meets the sea.
A Tibetan Buddhist monastic ceremonial procession unfolds outside the monastery On the outskirts of Kathmandu, Nepal. Gelug monks ring bells and play the Gyaling instrument during the Buddha Jayanti (Buddha's Birthday) celebration.
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Also Featuring:
Naturally Oregon: From The Mountains To The Sea
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More Projects
Ancient, Spiritual, Chaotic, Local
Carnival in Oaxaca, Mexico
Corpus Christi in Chiapas
Waves & Ocean Landscapes
In The Mountains Of Guatemala
Walking In The Nepalese Himalaya
Bangladesh
Life At Sea Level
More Favorites From S.E. Asia: Thailand, Laos, & Cambodia
Anything Recyclable:
Living On The Edge With Indonesian Garbage Pickers
Fatehpur Sikri, India
Peru & Bolivia
Bangladesh Movie House
Along The Narmada River, India
Explore The Photography
Browse the work by place, by cultural tradition, or through landscapes and the natural world.
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© Raku Mayers Photography
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Selected photographs from these galleries are available as fine art prints.
Please inquire for sizes and availability.