PHOTO of the Week: Tibet

By Sam Diephuis

“The thing i love about shooting in Tibet (besides the people) is the quality of the light. Clean, bright, crisp and colorful with amazing clouds. All you have to worry about is composition and subject and the light will take care of it self. While waiting for my Tibetan friend to return from the bathroom I had a little photo session with this yak before his owner came back. I had been doing a story about Chinese tourism and this stop happened to be a jackpot of touristy things: crafts to buy, kids dressed in traditional clothing, Tibetan food etc. As I photographed the vacation chaos I saw a lonely yak waiting off to the side that was dressed in traditional clothing. The yak was meant to be a prop for tourists to pose with, however he wasn’t getting much play this day so it was perfect timing to make a great picture of him. There is a sense of humour and tranquility to it that really appeals to me as a photographer.”

Raised up in Marin County, near San Francisco, Sam Diephuis developed a love for photography in his late-teens. Deciding to pursue a career in image-making, he attended the Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara. After graduating, he moved back to San Francisco, where he worked as a commercial photographer until 2008, when he decided to move his business to Venice, California. Sam’s interest in photography is broad: ranging from travel imagery and sports to lifestyle portraiture. His images have been showcased in many magazines and ad campaigns. Currently, he’s working on a personal project about the life in and music of Kingston, Jamaica. He lives in Venice, where he loves to surf and photograph people and various aspects of daily life. Check out his website and blog to see more of Sam’s beautiful work.

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