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Sitting by the Yamuna River, a boy awaits the coming of dawn at the Taj Mahal.

Young man in New Delhi totally enjoys his shave.

A rickshaw driver in Jaipur patiently waits for his first passenger.

Early morning, an Indian man in Delhi shines up the pots and pans he will sell in his shop.

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g e n u i n e l o v e f o r h u m a n i t y i s w h a t makes Claude Peschel Dutombe’s life as

a photographer meaningful. He finds a sense of purpose in depicting lives in all their hardship, poverty and joy by telling stories through the captured images. Whenever the desire to escape the city heat surfaces, this Bangkok-based photographer travels to various locales around Asia. First on his agenda is to capture as many candid images as possible, especially when people are in their most unguarded moments.

According to Peschel Dutombe, “The best time to capture the true picture of people is the very early morning hours just right after the sun rises. These are the hours where everyone attends to their own business

A Photo Essay by Claude Peschel DutombeText by M. Arlene Rafiq

preparing or heading for a busy day. People go over their daily routine such as food preparation, cleaning their habitat or just being lazy, having a smoke or dozing.” He continues, “The faces are still in their simplistic, nonchalant appearance which disappears as soon as the sun is up. People do not bother about their surroundings and therefore allow a stranger with a camera to record this early day event.”

Peschel Dutombe has visited a variety of locations such as temples, markets, alleyways, oceanfronts and small communities. Like Sherlock Holmes, he glimpses life through the corner of his eyes, but unlike the famous sleuth, he takes his camera and points it at a subject to capture the image in its innocence and splendor.

Novice monk and his mentor rest on the steps of a temple in Thailand.

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A woman miner in Kathmandu, Nepal, finds it amusing that a young man would be so interested in photographing her. After a short chat, she allows her picture to be taken, but what takes the photographer’s breath away is her wonderful laughter, which has been captured without her knowing it.

One of the most amazing sights in Nepal is the sadhus doing their yoga exercises and meditation. The sadhus are considered holy and live a spiritual lifestyle. Abandoning material things, they leave their families, possessions and careers behind to live austere yet fulfilled lives.

Beijing, China, is one of the most interesting places to visit in Asia. Being industrious people, the Chinese do not waste precious time—they go about their chores even before washing their faces in the morning.

Tinkering of any sort, eating a bowl of noodle soup, sitting in the park waiting for a friend or visiting the Echo Wall in the Temple of Heaven are just a few of the activities that this photographer finds appealing to photograph.

Words cannot articulate the individuality of each image. During the day the Taj Mahal is noisy and congested, but in the early morning the serene beauty of this architectural wonder becomes vivid. The photographer has never-ending stories of how he enjoys watching people going about their early morning chores and preparing for the day ahead, all before the cock crows as is the natural routine in Asia.

Every location has its own characteristics and therefore its own special charm. Places frequented by tourists cannot truly be appreciated on their own, but

Young Nepali girl in Bhaktapur shyly watches the photographer take her picture.

Sadhu in Kathmandu, Nepal, performs his yoga exercises at dawn as if he were alone.

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A hilltribe woman is in obvious reverie in Chiang Rai, North Thailand.

Flattered by the photographer’s interest, a woman miner in Bhaktapur, Nepal, expresses her

amusement with a boisterous laugh.

Nepali musician is ready to entertain passersby.

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A bowl of noodle soup makes for a good start to the day in the bird market of Beijing, China.

Chinese man in Beijing enjoys the melodies of his songbirds in the quiet of an early morning.

A Mon village elder in Thailand laughs at his peers’ jokes only to

discover that the laugh is on him.

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at the dawn of a new day when only the locals are seen performing their daily rituals, any artist will appreciate what the place has to offer. Likewise, places that have never been part of the tourist agenda, such as spice markets or crowded chowks (markets), in Old Delhi are where life begins. They truly provide a visual feast.

A photographer can only be grateful for the gift of curiosity. There is no end to what can be captured through discovering new places, people and scenery. Once a mind is open to such curiosity there is no place where an interesting subject cannot be found: the search has its beginning but there is no end. v

Claude Peschel Dutombe is a professional photographer and Vice President for Creative Services of Lenscape Workshops Co., Ltd. A world traveler, he has contributed his art to Sawaddi Magazine in collaboration with the author on several articles.M. Arlene Rafiq, a seasoned traveler, has contributed numerous articles to Sawaddi Magazine since 1998. She’s also the managing director of Lenscape Workshops Co., Ltd., an image-editing company based in Bangkok.

Old man tends to business at his bicycle repair shop in one of the old quarters in Beijing.

Bathers in the Mekong River enjoy the peace and beauty of dawn.