In all seriousness, however, this work is most definitely a labor of love, and the Tibetans have become like family to me. I'll gladly sacrifice hiking time for them.
Today I thought I’d post excerpts from three shoots I’ve done recently for the Tibetan Association of Washington.
The first five pictures are from Tibet Fest, held annually the last weekend in August at the Seattle Center. It’s an event where the local Tibetan community shares its culture of food, dance, and song with the city of Seattle. I do lots of pictures of the various on-stage performances, and the Tibetans post those images on their web site and Facebook page.
What I’m posting here, however, are off-stage and behind-the-scenes moments from Tibet Fest -- a few of my personal faves from the two-day event.
A couple of Saturdays ago, one of my Tibetan monk friends was giving a teaching, but it happened that I was booked to shoot a wedding that day. Fortunately, the timing of my “work” shoot was such that, on the way to the wedding, I was able to first make a stop at the Tibetan monastery, listen to at least a little of my friend’s teaching, and quietly shoot a few pictures, which I later emailed to him.
Because Tibet Fest was such a success, a celebration dinner was held last weekend so that the Tibetan community as a whole could thank the many individuals who had volunteered at Tibet Fest (myself included.)
Seventeen monks from the Namgyal Monastery in northern India, currently on tour in the US, happened to be visiting Seattle that day. The monks were invited to the dinner and enthusiastically took part in the laughter and celebration. At the end of the evening, a ceremonial scarf was presented to the monks, who, in turn, offered a prayer to the community.