Opium Ceremony

I don't understand. If the subjects were not objecting, what was the perceived problem? Beautiful colors and a nicely arrested moment. I like it. Am I missing something?

She was wrong,nice shot.

Beautiful image.

It is a nice shot. But her point may be that by taking the picture, you condone and encourage the practice. Although I'm sure this practice will go on with or without the photos ...

Gorgeous shot. Texture,subject and lighting all superb. I like it.

Great picture however I find difficult to see any problems with taking the shot; Perhaps in their social environment handling opium is perfectly OK.

I'm gonna stir this a bit even if it gets me in some pickle . . . Say a photographer and his wife coming from a fundamentalist Muslim background from a place like Mazari Sharif in Afghanistan were visiting a western city like Melbourne and they came across a bunch of jolly people at a pub indulging in another "drug", alcohol in this case, and he took a photo of the scene, would his wife say he shouldn't have?Of course part of me want to be facetious - his wife might not be allowed to say a thing at all! But seriously, sometimes a simple role reversal can be clarifying.Apologies for the distraction. The photo's great Etabeta! I like the focused eye lines and I'd like to know what the pouring of water or whatever liquid it was has to do with the opium ceremony.

Beats an e-cig down the Dog and Duck any day! Great slice of life and stunning colours.

That's a great photograph. Maybe your quest in photography is not about shooting what is comfortable?

I will never understand why people get so freaked out by consciousness altering substances. Especially when taken in a cultural and ceremonial context we need to regard it with the same reverence of those who are participating in the ritual. The fact is that there are many cultures on earth who use plants in a ceremonial context, after all what is tobacco? The South Americans use tobacco, which is regarded as one of the holiest of plants, as a healing medicine. The Spanish turned up with bible in hand, witnessed the ceremonial use tobacco, tried it, loved it, took back to Europe and now look at us mindlessly sucking away on cigarettes. We think we're advanced because we're arrogant but there are cultures out there with far deeper roots and ceremonial context than we could ever know. Our idea of ceremony is going down to Starbucks and getting a mochachoccazingyfrapaccinothingy.If I was there I would have had my head in that man's lap.Great picture, well done.