Images from travels through Bagan, central Myanmar, which holds ruins of thousands of Buddhist temples and stupas from the 9th-13th centuries.

Edited gallery version found here: Wander: Burma http://quinnmattingly.photoshelter.com/gallery/Wander-Burma/G0000tdTI937t6QA/P0000vM6r61eAdJE And here: Yangon Railway http://quinnmattingly.photoshelter.com/gallery/Yangon-Railway/G0000US1x.7iHF2c/P0000vM6r61eAdJE

For me, as most of us non-nationals living here in Saigon, the word funeral only evokes ideas of dreadful sounds emanating from a tent set up halfway in the street and haltering the flow of traffic. They can be bad enough to drive by, god forbid having one posted outside your own window. Three days of disturbances can seem like an eternal punishment at times. There is, of course more to the story than just making noise, as it can tend to seem sometimes. Recently, I had the opportunity to get an inside look at the last funeral rites of a Catholic woman whose family granted me special access to photograph. The day began at 4:30am to leave District 7 in time to find and arrive at a very back alley location somewhere in district 11 for the prompt 5:30am start. I managed that, but there was another issue. My eyes were functioning as if all they wanted to do was close again. I have never been, and probably never will be well suited for these initial hours of the day. However, once I took out my camera, both my eyes, and the other congregants attending the ceremony quickly warmed up to the idea of photography, and I began to capture what was unfolding. Yes, there was the noise of the band marching through the alley before dawn, but upon this new perspective from the inside, it seemed more justified when you see the real, powerful emotions coming from the departed’s loved ones. In this case, it was a fairly short march from the home to the church just around the corner, so the band had minimal duties. Once she was lying in the house of God, the minister and the family proceeded with all the proper formalities. Upon completion, the casket was loaded in the van of the mortuary corps, with the family walking behind it through the allies until the junction of a main road. At this time, they all loaded up in vans and on motorbikes, with the immediate family in the same car as the deceased, and began the trek to the crematorium on the far western edge of the city. Somewhat fortunately, they arrived there first, and did not have to wait in the usual lineup of other funerals and families to use the facility and say their final goodbyes before the casket was lowered into the flame room. While obviously the emotions of the woman’s daughters were running high previously in the church, when the time came to say the final goodbyes, they reached a peak of grief, as I believe most of us would. The ceremony here was a fairly short one; a few words were spoken by the family and a minister, and incense was laid at the base of the casket. It was lowered until out of sight. The family, having said and done all they could, returned home to begin living again as normally as they could. To read the original article, head over to Oi Vietnam.

Images from a Cham Muslim wedding near Chau Doc, Vietnam.

Images from the former prison complexes on Con Dao Island, Vietnam. They were built by the French originally, and later used by the Americans to hold Vietnamese fighting for Communism.

The highlands and minority residents of Dak Nong Province, Central Vietnam.

Images that would make a nice print for your wall. Prints may be purchased directly through this website, or custom sizes and materials are also available. Please inquire within.

Images from Hau Giang Province in the Mekong Delta region of southern Vietnam.

“I Am Now” is a long term personal project looking at the modern day effects of dioxin, more commonly known as Agent Orange, in Vietnam. Most associate this chemical with the warfare that happened here four decades ago, but far fewer are aware that the effects of one of the most toxic substances ever made by man, still continue today, and are estimated to continue for up to five more generations. It can take hold of the body in many different, yet now fairly predictable ways. Physical defects, mental defects, and at worse, both. Some of the luckier ones have dealt with the disability, are working toward fruitful lives. Others, with no such speck of hope, remain caged in their body and whatever thoughts might be in their mind. They did nothing to deserve this. Their parents did nothing to deserve this. No humans on Earth did anything to deserve this. How can corporations, governments and man unleash such substances on the world, and then wash their hands of it, offering not a single shred of responsibility? Countless stories and images of these plights have already been recorded, yet in order for us to never forget, I will continue to show that this is happening right now, and every instance of now into the foreseeable future.

Images from the Inle Lake region of central Myanmar (Burma)

Images of Buddhist monks around Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. Ready the stories on my blog http://quinnmattingly.com/life-on-the-path/

Images from a day out with the new Sony A7RII.

Images from the Mekong Delta region of southern, Vietnam.

Images from the streets of New York City as seen with the Fuji X100.

The following was my project at the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop, held in in Chang Mai, Thailand a few weeks back, and was pretty awesome times with a lot of great people. I decided to shoot at Children’s Shelter Foundation, a German-Thai run NGO, that helps less fortunate kids, mostly from Burmese minority groups, regain their youth through nature, education and work. About twenty-five children live, study, play and work on a large organic fruit farm about an hour outside of Chang Mai City. Below are the images from here that were presented on the last night of our workshop. A big thanks to my class, teachers James Whitlow Delano and Paula Bronstein, and to Ashley Gilbertson for helping me nail down the final edit.

Images from Behind The scenes at the Saigon Xin Chao! Circus in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Short Edit: http://bit.ly/hNzWIZ Blogged: http://bit.ly/ig9UbP

Images from the Xin Chao! circus in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Edit and story on my blog: http://quinnmattingly.com/in-front-of-the-curtain/

It's about an hour ride from Saigon to Ben San, one of many leprosy centers in Vietnam. On the way, I chat with Dr. Hai, the current director of the center, and learn an interesting fact. I ask questions about the patients, and he corrects me. "Actually, we don't have any leprosy patients here. We call them ex-patients." The bacterial skin disease was totally wiped out here more than ten years ago he goes on to explain to me. Yet, referring to those in his care as such is both a correct statement, and a misnomer at the same time. Yes, leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease, is treatable and with antibiotics and other treatments can and has been eradicated. But its effects, both physical and social, last a lifetime. Not different from any other countries where it claims victims, lepers in Vietnam are essentially cast from their homes and from society, generally never to return. Ben San, among many other similar places in Vietnam, are both hospitals to treat those with lingering effects, and refuges where those who are well enough, live with alone or their families in a safer and more comfortable environment than living at large outside its gates.These images were made on several trips to Ben San in the south and Van Mon village in the north, two of many such places in the country, that hopefully I’ll have the opportunity to visit as well.

These squares are a collection of a few of the faces, scenes and lives I've come across in travels of the more rural parts of Vietnam. While the urban centers ooze with chaos , congestion and frenzy, those who call the more rural environments home, lead much slower and more peaceful way. While I enjoy my life in the city, with all the comforts available, I often wonder if life in these rural surrounds may lead to more happiness. Judging by the warm response I'm generally greeted with when traveling here, I'm beginning to think so... IN BOOK FORM: http://blur.by/1xSmqVg Large 12" version http://blur.by/1DuPI0I Small 7" version with additional images

In my travels at least, I don't think I've ever found a nation that differs so vastly from north to south as does Vietnam. According to my own, admittedly fabricated lore, I imagine the great hills and sharp peaks of the North as the scaly, rugged head of the dragon, as the body winds its way down the majestic panoramas of coastline, ending in a collection of watery tails in the Mekong Delta. These images, captured on several excursions in the region over the years, are a look at the lives and land of Vietnam's great North. Busy city streets are nowhere to be found. Instead, bikes barely more durable than scooters ply their way up and down the pastoral slopes on imperfect trails, and trucks wind their way though endless curvature as the roads ascend and fall, all at a snails pace compared to the clip of city life. The work that sustains life comes in a much more manual flavor than it does in the cities as well, where even most earn a living only by long days and sweat of the brow. Here, a living can only be borrowed from the soil. Nothing valuable is given without effort. And of course the faces are measurably different too. The Kinh features and language so familiar to us who've spent time in Vietnam, are traded for ethnic features, dress and cultures in numerous varieties, 54 if I'm not mistaken. These hills hold great intrigue for me, offering sights and scenes not found anywhere else in the country, and I will surely make my way back again soon, when I hear the dragon calling myself and my lens away from the city and toward the great northern skies.

Images from travels through Yangon, Myanmar, and its rural surroundings. Edit and story on my blog: http://quinnmattingly.com/burma-v-scenes-around-yangon/ http://quinnmattingly.com/burma-iii-road-trip/ http://quinnmattingly.com/burma-ii-rural-exploration/

Images and countryside scenes of rural Cambodia.

Mongolia rests in the nether region of several worlds. Officially Asia, but with many Caucasian infusions from their neighbors to the north. Inhabited, but nearly as sparsely as any nation on Earth. Its people live a rugged, albeit fascinating life, in great contact with the lands, though they're not always kind to them. In vast desert sections lacking all but the toughest vegetation, the people's livestock become their life and living. All aspects of live revolve around, and come from their animal brethren. They still follow the nomadic ways of their ancestors, moving everything they own several times a year to follow the resources.

Images from travels in Kathmandu and Chitwan National Park, Nepal 2007

Images, scenes and people from all over Vietnam

Images from Yangon, formerly known as Rangoon, the capital of Myanmar (Burma)

The Yangon, Myanmar Circular Railway is the local commuter train network that serves the greater Yangon area. Stretching for 40 miles and 39 stations, the train runs 200 times and sells 150,000 tickets daily. The loop takes about three hours to navigate, and is a superb way to take in a cross section of Burmese life, both urban and rural. The train is all open air, and passengers frequently hang outside the doors as it travels as a means of cooling down and taking in some fresh breeze. Edit and story on my blog: http://quinnmattingly.com/burma-i-a-sunday-rail-ride/