Reflections

(Eternity, Myanmar) Monks live in monasteries along the shores of Inle Lake, the second largest lake in Myanmar. The practice of Theravada Buddhism includes a ritual of collecting alms in neighboring villages via boat.

 

(Terraces, Vietnam) Extremely labor intensive to build the structure for, terraced farming allows the land to support a greater quantity of crops, livestock and poultry by making the best of poor soil and mountainous terrain and maximizing limited water supplies.

 

(Curiosity, Mandalay) Burmese nuns serve as ritual specialists and educators in the Burmese religious community. Nuns shave their heads and may begin their practice early in life.

 

(Clay Pot, Myanmar) The young nuns have strong bonds with one another and often study in small groups.

 

(Tiger’s Guardian, Thailand) Founded in 1994, Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua is a forest temple and sanctuary housing numerous wild animals, tigers among them. More than 21 cubs had been born at the Tiger Temple by 2007 and now there are nearly 50 tigers in the sanctuary. The great cats are fed large quantities of boiled chicken to prevent primal instincts from being triggered by the smell of blood.

 

(These Tusks, Thailand) Deeply rooted in Thai culture, elephant training has been a familial practice passed down through the generations. A mahout, one who “drives” an elephant, is typically young when he is entrusted with an adolescent elephant to train.

 

(Dunes, Sahara) The Tuareg tribes, a Berber ethnic group, have operated the trans-Saharan caravan trade for more than two millennia.

 

(Kumbh Mela, India) To witness tens of millions of people praying in the confluence of the Yamuna and Ganges rivers is an impressive and poignant experience. The largest religious gathering on the planet, the Kumbh Mela in 2001 attracted more than 70 million Hindu pilgrims, who regard the river here as holy water that washes away impurities.

 

(The Game, Budapest) The palace-like edifice of the Széchenyi Baths contains a huge thermal pool where gentlemen often play chess on floating boards while immersed in medicinal mineral water. The numerous baths in the area are fed by more than 40 million liters of warm mineral water gushing forth daily from more than 120 springs.

 

If Lisa Kristine is not in a remote corner of the world photographing the people and places most of us will only get to see through her lens, she can be found hiking the hills around her Mill Valley home. During her 30-year career as a humanitarian photographer, Kristine has published five books and has been the subject of four documentaries. While her subjects can vary, she has received global attention for shining a light on slavery. This year that work will be the focus of a film titled Sold — made by Oscar-winning team Emma Thompson and Jeffrey Brown — which includes a character modeled after Kristine, played by Gillian Anderson. The photographer has been a featured artist many times at the Sausalito Art Festival; this photo essay is a small sample of what to expect at her installation this year.


Mimi Towle

Mimi Towle has been the editor of Marin Magazine for over a decade. She lived with her family in Sycamore Park and Strawberry and thoroughly enjoyed raising two daughters in the mayhem of Marin’s youth sports; soccer, swim, volleyball, ballet, hip hop, gymnastics and many many hours spent at Miwok Stables. Her community involvements include volunteering at her daughter’s schools, coaching soccer and volleyball (glorified snack mom), being on the board of both Richardson Bay Audubon Center. Currently residing on a floating home in Sausalito, she enjoys all water activity, including learning how to steer a 6-person canoe for the Tamalpais Outrigger Canoe Club. Born and raised in Hawaii, her fondness for the islands has on occasion made its way into the pages of the magazine.