Bhutan has been called the happiest of countries. Every Bhutanese I met, watched, eaten with, exuded happiness and smiled – a lot. It didn’t matter whether they were poor, wealthy, old, or young. Why are they so happy? It is because of their strong sense of community, deep spiritual traditions, and connection to their cultural heritage. Additionally, Bhutan’s emphasis on Gross National Happiness, prioritizing well-being over material wealth, contributes significantly to their overall happiness. Couldn’t the U.S. use a bit of this?

All this happiness was great to be around. Unfortunately, this increased the difficulty of my portrait photography.

When photographing travel portraits, I like people with a more serious countenance. This will be a problem with the Bhutanese. Just about everyone I asked if I could take their photo, almost immediately they began to smile. Even most of the monks (and there are a lot of them)! I would get them in position, face positioned just so, and steady the camera. Just before I press the shutter, a big smile appears, and their hand raises with their fingers in the peace position. I took many a photo this way. How could I get these people to look sad, mad, sullen when they weren’t?

I realized I would need to act surreptitiously, spotting my target from afar, and shoot before they fully realized what happened. I don’t like to operate this way. I’d much rather get their full cooperation up front. But one must do what one must do. The following are a set of my portrait photos from Bhutan, monks and not.

This monk was concentrating heavily on his work. I came close to him with my camera up. His friend (not pictured) nodded approval so I photographed him as he lifted his head.

There are no traffic lights in all of Bhutan. One place in the capital city is heavy with traffic, requiring a traffic director. I stood in the middle of the street to get a closeup.

These two school children agreed to a photo. You can see the sister giving me the peace sign.

I suppose this monk (his orange robe signified that he is a high-ranking monk) was not too happy with me. I misread his expression, later he offered me a beautiful photo of him walking out of a temple.

A monk rotating a traditional prayer wheel.

You try getting five novice monks to look at you at the same time. It was like putting cats into a box.

This is from a planned photo shoot. We positioned this monk next to a window and lit some incense for a mystical feel.

A novice monk posed but did not smile – perfect!

An action shot! From a festival procession. I ran along side the processional until I found a worthwhile subject. I guess I didn’t give him a chance to say no.

Totally relaxed, both him and me.

A special thanks to David Lazar of Luminous Journeys for all his help setting up some of these poses, or at least teaching me enough for me to do them myself. David was our photography tour guide in Bhutan and is with Luminous Journeys.