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Honorable Mention BIFA 2019 Advertising / Travel/Tourism

The Heron Maiden

  • Photographer
    Robin Yong
  • Agency / Studio
    The Art Of Travel Medicine
  • Prize
    Honorable Mention in Advertising / Travel/Tourism

Karyukai - the very secretive flower and willow world of the Japanese Geishas. Each Geisha is like a flower, beautiful in her own way, and like a willow tree, gracious, flexible and strong. For many locals, even those living in Kyoto, the closest they have come is perhaps glimpsing a Geisha alighting from taxis and quickly disappearing behind a nameless sliding door. The Geiko Tomitsuyuu enjoying the peace and serenity of the quiet temple room. She thinks of her music and her dance. The scene is like a fairy tale, the Heron Maiden.

Robin Yong is a multi-award winning Travel Photographer. He enjoys traveling to exotic destinations to befriend and photograph the locals. He is best known for his work on the Omo Valley tribes in Ethiopia, the Venetian Masked models in Venice, the Bokator boxers of Cambodia and the Maikos of Kyoto. He calls these works his Travel Portraits, his Art of Travel Medicine. For most of his works, he does not use flash, reflectors or artificial lighting, depending solely on natural lighting alone. The photos are often dramatic, colourful and extremely beautiful.