The rice bowls carried out for alms every morning by the monks of Mandalay are manufactured by hand in a small "factory" just outside the city. This is one of the workers, taking a stogie break.

This is an effective portrait in both color as well as in black and white because of the degree of abstraction created by light and shadows falling upon the subject. I wanted to express the character of this man – tough but thoughtful, confident, skilled and experienced at what he does.

In the original color version, which can be viewed in my Myanmar travel article at: http://www.worldisround.com/articles/139134/photo108.html , the rich skin tones and purple tank top add immediacy to the play of light and shadow in this image that puts him in our presence.

In this black and white version, the interplay of light and shadow alone is stressed. It brings a sense of the unknown to the picture. Each version has its merits. For sheer realism and presence, the color version is hard to beat. The black and white version stresses the mysteries of life, and his thoughtful approach to them. He becomes a universal symbol when another layer of abstraction, this time the removal of all color, is applied to the image.