The roots of a lotus grow in the mud, the stem grows up through the water, and the beautiful flower lies above the water, basking in the sunlight. This pattern of growth signifies the progress of the soul from the primeval mud of materialism, through the waters of experience, and into the bright sunshine of enlightenment.
Often mistaken with the water lily plant, the obvious difference is that the lotus which, owing to the strength of its stem, regularly rises eight to twelve inches above the water surface.
Here is a montage …

While the country is trying to recover from the impact of cyclone Nargis, let us remember the resilience of the people of Myanmar aka Burma. Donations can be made via the Singapore Red Cross. Details at http://www.redcross.org.sg/

Myanmar School Kids
 

A Myanmar craftsman enjoying his smoke.
 

A Child Worker resting
 

A novice monk

I enjoyed nature macro photography and spends many hours in the outdoors shooting flowers and insects. This photo of a damselfly  is taken at Singapore Botanic Gardens. Here a shallow depth of field is used to throw everything other than the head of the fly into a patch of blur. This in turn created a soothing background of green.
 

 
This is taken off the Lazyfish Guesthouse in Phnom Penh. I was on my way back to the guesthouse and I saw the beautiful sunset. I made it in time to set up my tripod and take a few shots. The background is empty so I used the few poles in the water as the foreground to hold the composition.

Just want to share this photo that I took in Putaxi (Victory Gate) in Vientiane, Laos in Dec 2006.  Without writing too much, I felt this photo tells a story, hence the title.
What do u think?