About the Image(s)

Background: The Shana Cham is one of the most iconic sacred dances performed during Bhutan’s tshechu festivals. Monks wearing traditional black hats with wide circular brims—symbolizing the Dharma Wheel—and masks of wrathful tantric deities enact this powerful protective ritual. The dance pays homage to Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava), the 9th-century tantric master credited with subduing negative forces and establishing Buddhism in Bhutan and Tibet. The dancers’ slow, circular movements represent spiritual purification, cleansing the festival grounds of obstacles and invoking blessings and protection for the community. In this drum-accompanied variation, the rhythmic beats intensify the ritual, grounding the choreography and amplifying its cleansing power.
Image taken at the Gangtey Tshechu in Phobjikha Valley, Bhutan — a high-altitude monastery.
Technical data: Fujifilm GFXS II, Fujinon GF 45-100mm@45 mm, f/4, 1/500 ISO 80. Taken with the camera in single shot mode.
Post process: Capture 1. Cropped the original to focus on the dancer. Then opened the shadows and the black and decreased the highlights. Increased a little the contrast and add some clarity.