Browsing for locations to photograph in Sri Lanka, one quickly comes across the photo by Steve McCurry, taken in 1995, which shows stilt fishermen off the Sri Lankan south coast. I am not ashamed to admit that this image put Sri Lanka on my bucket list.

As the world increasingly aspires to the same globalized modernity that diminishes cultural diversity, I am drawn to old practices and traditions and to see them with my own eyes/camera before they disappear.

Having visited some other locations in Asia (in particular in Myanmar) I know that McCurry has staged at least some of his images, though I am not sure if the stilt fishermen were already mere tourist attractions in 1995. Today, they definitely are.

The “fishermen” sit atop crucifixes planted into the reef, dangling rods into the surf. They are pretending to fish for spotted herring and mackerel, and sometimes they pull out a colorful reef fish. I honestly thought, at first, that these were made of plastic.

Although the stilt fishing technique looks prehistoric, it only started during World War II because of serious food shortages. But the devastation from the tsunami of December 2004 and meager returns have made an end to this technique. You can still find some stilt fishermen posing for tourists along a stretch of the Southern coast between the towns of Weligama and Koggala. As this is indeed highly instagramable , I could not resist – besides, the local people have to live of something. Why not as part of the tourist industry.

But if you want to experience the real way of fishing, head further east to the Kudawella Fishery Harbor and Market. We found this by accident on our way to the Hummanaya Blow Hole (skip this). The entire area suffered badly in the tsunami and some shipwrecks can still be found hundreds of meters inland.

When you arrive in the morning you can watch the real fishermen to go about their business. And you can get yourself a red snapper for a dime; if only you found a way to get it grilled. SR

The images were shot with the D810 and the 24-70 and 70-200 f/2.8 lenses.