A Burmese tattoo master crushes leaves to make tattoo ink – the traditional way.

When I arrived at the tattoo master’s house, the light was terrible – midday on an intensely bright winter day. There was a tree in front of his shop and as he set up, I realised I could photograph him in the entrance and use the leaves to filter out the light and pinpoint lit areas. After I’d taken a few shots, he lit the small wick seen here, to burn sesame oil for the ink, which lifted the shadows under his hand and gave the light a warm glow.

This image was part of a sequence taken in 2005 and was used by a tattoo magazine in America, they were my first published photographs.

Vicky currently divides her time between photographing social and cultural subjects and gardens. Her main clients are magazine publications.

She is planning a return to Asia for six months to build relationships with charities and to produce a new body of work comprising tropical plants.

Photographer since 2005, EPUK member since 2006.

See more work by Vicky Bamforth