How wonderful to open my E-mail and discover that my Intha Leg rower had won the first Zine photo contest for me. So congratulations to my fellow winners and thank you to everyone who voted for my image and especially to Vince who organized the contest and my exhibition slide show.

Inle Lake in the eastern mountains of Shan State is one of my very special places, it is described in the Lonely Planet guide to Myanmar as being "outrageously beautiful" and I fell in love with it and it's people instantly. To see the leg rowers one needs to be up and on the lake before the sun rises. It is very cold out there at that time and on this particular morning I had on three layers of my own clothes and a pair of Tony's pants too! By the time we got back to the town of Naungshwe in the late afternoon most of the clothes had been shed and the umbrella used initially as a wind break was in use as a parasol. All discomforts fade once the sun begins to rise and you become aware of the fishermen gliding silently out of the mist. It is way up on my list of all time favourite travel experiences.

Since we bought our first 'serious' cameras some 30 years ago we have always used Canon SLR's and have been very happy with them. I now have a digital Canon EOS Rebel and Tony went one better choosing the Canon 20D. We have a selection of lenses both Canon and the cheaper but still very good Tamron. My favourite is my 28 to 200 Tamron and that is the lens, which is usually on my camera as my walking around lens. The others being kept close to hand in my camera bag.

Thanks to the wonders of digital photography I should be able to tell you exactly when and how it was taken but my files are in storage in Castlemaine so I will pass that information along in a day or two.

I think this photo is the best I have ever taken, so it is all down hill from here, unless I get really lucky again, and it is to some extent a matter of luck, having all the elements combine and pressing the shutter at exactly the right moment.

Many years ago a good photographer told us the way to get better photos was to go in close and to shoot from an angle, it is still good advice.

Now I have to think about 'Flowers and Gardens'.

Regards to all, Sue Waterloo On http://www.wright-photo.com