U THAN MAUNG – The No1 Amateur Photographer
From an interview with Daw Khin Than Yu, the daughter of U Than Maung in December 2018.
U Than Maung started painting when he was a young boy, long before he picked up a camera. As a lover of beauty with an aesthetic touch, it was not difficult for him to direct his focus towards photography, capturing the splendour around him. He understood that creating good artwork was not about painting or photographic techniques but about understanding how to reflect on the fleeting nature of life and its passing moments.
U Than Maung was born in 1918 in Pathein, which was a blossoming city in colonial times and booming in terms of trade. He received a good education and could speak and write English well. Hence, in 1936, at the age of 18, he moved to Rangoon to take up a position in the office of the Municipal Corporation of Rangoon, known as City Hall. In the same year, he started to explore photography and film developing. This was laborious work: at the time in Yangon, photographs were still being taken on glass plates and not yet on negative film.
U Than Maung was made a health inspector for the City Hall and he and his family moved into the City Hall compound. Later he was granted a position as photographer for the Ministry of Health. His daughter, Daw Khin Than Yu, remembers how happily and graciously they lived on the premises.
U Than Maung did not let the tight schedule of his sombre profession affect his pastime, and he practised photography very regularly. He never sought a mentor to coach him, but delved deeply into the art and trained himself by looking at photography magazines and books that came from the United Kingdom and that were easily available in Rangoon in those days. It is remarkable that he attained such profound knowledge solely with the help of photographic magazines. Daw Khin Than Yu remembers how, when she was growing up, stacks of those magazines where piled up around the house and cut-outs put up on the walls. U Than Maung was a true photographic connoisseur.
U Than Maung bought his first photographic enlarger in 1945 in order to print his own photographs. He was already developing his films, mixing his own chemicals and hand-painting prints. All these skills were self-taught.
Living in the city not only brought U Than Maung a lucrative career, it also gave him access to fellow photography enthusiasts. He developed a close circle of friends who were also interested in the medium. His closest photographic colleagues were: U Khin Lay Maung (a railway employee), U Tint Lwin (a customs employee), U Maung Maung Tin (U.S. Embassy staff), U Gwan Hote and Dr. Sein Hlaing Chan (neighbours). Daw Khin Than Yu remembers U Gwan Hote visiting their house in Barr Street, driving his black Austin saloon. U Gwan Hote usually came to her father’s house for a visit; then they would drive to a lotus pond in Mingalardon Township to take photographs of the flowers.
U Than Maung entered the photography and painting competition for the Independence Day Celebration in 1948 at Shwedagon Pagoda’s Western Stairway, and won First Prize. Soon after, he co-founded the Myanmar (Burma) Photographic Society. His membership number was 001. Being the number one amateur photographer, he was well respected by other members due to his exquisite photographic skills.
U Than Maung married Daw Khin Khin in 1955. She supported and encouraged his hobby in every way, posing as a model on many occasions. Sometimes, it seemed that he loved photography more than his family, spending countless hours in the darkroom. However, his daughter said that she felt proud and pleased to pose as a model for her father with different styles and backgrounds.
In 1957, U Than Maung entered three of his photographs in a competition in Bordeaux, France. He entered other competitions in Myanmar, winning many prizes over the years. Due to declining health, he stopped photographing in 1988, but by then he had travelled to almost all parts of Myanmar in the preceding 30 years, including Gote Hteik Viaduct, Law Pi Ta Hydropower Station, Moe Byal Reservoir, Myikgyina, Kaw Thaung, Than Twel and many places in Shan State.
U Than Maung passed away on 13 February 1992, leaving many original photographs of himself with his daughter and family.
San Lin Tun is a freelance writer of essays, poetry, short stories and novels in Myanmar and English language. His previous books include; Reading a George Orwell Novel in a Myanmar Teashop and Other Essays, The Enigma of Big Bunny’s Arrival and Other Short Stories, and his most recent work An English Writer. He lives in Yangon with his wife and two sons.