In Vietnam for ‘Welcome Back!’
Some stills from my film ‘Welcome Back!’ and photos taken while travelling and sightseeing in Vietnam (Hanoi and My Son).
Ramana’s Garden
I took some photos during one of my many visits to the orphanage. I visited Rishikesh, North India, to meet my friend Prabavati and to shoot my award winning ‘Children of Ramana’s Garden’. Ramana’s Garden is a home for destitute children, many of whom have survived horrific abuse. But in this loving environment they have the chance to fulfil their potential.
Kidnap
Photos (and also some stills) from my second visit to Ramana’s Garden where I shot the film ‘Kidnap’. This is the story: a 15 year old girl is kidnapped and sold to a brothel in Nepal. An American woman who runs the orphanage where she lives manages to rescue her.
Guo’s Childhood
I took photos while shooting the film ‘Guo’s Childhood’ – Guo Deping and his six siblings grew up in a cave and nearly starved to death during the Cultural Revolution in China.
Master Wu Nan Fang & Shaolin
Veena Schlegel took photos while I was shooting the film ‘Master Wu Nanfang and Shaolin Wugulun Kung Fu’ where Master Wu Nanfang teaches Wugulun Kung Fu, more internal than the acrobatic Shaolin form, and talks about the relationship between Kung Fu and Zen.
Master Wu Nanfang on Song Mountain
Veena took more photos while I was shooting the film ‘Master Wu Nanfang on Song Mountain’, in which the Master practices some amazing forms perched precariously on a mountain crag, and also does some calligraphy, an art which uses the same skill and presence as Kung Fu itself.
Ramesh and the Quality of Life
I took these photos while shooting the film ‘Ramesh and the Quality of Life Project’ – Ramesh, a young man from a poor family in southern India, builds eco toilets for the villagers to improve their quality of life. But many Westerners come to this famous temple town to improve the quality of their lives by meditating.
Saving the Libel Lark
Photos taken by professional nature photographer Amano Samarpan during our visit to Ethiopia where I shot ‘Saving the Liben Lark’, a film which investigates how Ethiopian ornithologists struggle to save the habitat of the endangered bird.
