In Preparation for Nirvana, a photo from Yangon, South

Photographer's Note

As I did spend a few days in Yangon before coming offshore, I decided to go to the Shwedagon Pagoda for a second visit. I was there at sunrise and by the time I arrived it was already full of simple people trying to be in peace with the world and themselves.

Being the most sacred pagoda of the Theravada tradition, Shwedagon is a mystic place and I can not believe that even the most agnostic person would not be captivated by the beauty of this jewel of the Buddhists.

In WS, I am posting a day light version of the pagoda’s corner shown in here. In WS2, another pagoda’s detail.

noogy, nivaldo, fayeulle, jjcordier, riclopes, gelor, anitaj, sabyasachi1212, gypsygirl58, pablominto, stego, ChrisJ, bertolucci, kiwi_explorer, Cara, tcht, lucasgalodoido, plimrn, isa, luisafonso, axiotea, manatee, zeca, AiresSantos, pboehringer, xuaxo, paura has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

noogy (1074) 2007-03-30 23:08

antonio, wow, this is a good active photo!

i like your POV, and how you captured portion of the floor to make it three dimensional. while i find the colors too saturated, the interesting elements are highlighted as well because of its colors. cheers! tfs.

nivaldo (15417) 2007-03-30 23:15 [Comment]

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fayeulle (27827) 2007-03-30 23:26

Hi Antonio
Opposite to "noogy", I don't find the colors too saturated. I like how you show the daily life in this place. I like also how you captured the smoke.
Cheers
JP

jjcordier (79299) 2007-03-31 1:40

Une belle image, très colorée et délicieusement.....parfumée.
Amicalement
JJ

leo61 (0) 2007-03-31 1:56

Hi Antonio!
Good shot,taken from an exc3ellent POV.I like the composition with the row of praying people and the smoke of the incense sticks.
The colors are ok for me.
Regards,Leo

riclopes (35577) 2007-03-31 3:37

Bom dia António (pelo menos aqui), estão todas muito boas e eu gosto especialmente do WS2. O local parece ser espectacular e tenho a certeza que iria adorá-lo - hoje em dia até estou mais próximo do Budismo do que de qualquer outra religião.
Nesta gosto da escolha da perspectiva e da óbvia atracção da atmosfera, com o pessoal atarefado emerso no fumo do incenso. A senhora à esquerda foi bem escolhida para o momento do click e as cores são muito atraentes. Se ao nascer do sol já estava assim, em hora de ponta nem se deve poder andar aqui!
Gosto muito de todas.
Ricardo

maltese (22909) 2007-03-31 3:54

Hello Antonio
Une très belle lumière et un bon cadrage pour nous présenter ces gens.
de très belles couleurs pour une photo très agréables. Les photos en ws auraient mérité un post pour elle toutes seules
Très beau travail
Amicalement
Hervé

gelor (3233) 2007-03-31 4:23

Bonjour Antonio,
Superbe image aux très belles couleurs. Bon angle de prise de vue. Bravo et bon week-end.
Gérard

sabyasachi1212 (19779) 2007-03-31 5:34

Hi Antonio,
Excellent capture of the religious festivities, I guess this part of their daily life routine. I found Buddhism more colourful with general participation in SE Asia, than in India or Tibet. The smoke adds to the atmosphere.
With Greetings from India
Sabyasachi

gypsygirl58 (1329) 2007-03-31 8:30

Hi Antonio,
Lovely image of everday life! Wonderful colours and the sharpness and details are excellent! Great POV too. TFS
Cheers Tina :-)

pablominto (53746) 2007-03-31 10:59

Hello Antonio,
Most interesting situation, well captured!
Point of view gives a fine diagonal in the composition, details and colours are nicely reproduced...
The smoke adds life!
GBreetings,
Pablo -

devimeuxbe (58557) 2007-03-31 18:20

Hi Antonio
This nice picture remind me this beatifull place with devotion and serenity.
Beatifull composition.
Bertrand

stego (24132) 2007-03-31 19:48

Olá António,
Bela captura do ambiente do templo. Uma foto cheia de vida, com uma luminosidade e cores muito agradáveis.
Só é pena que a definição não seja melhor.
Tb. gosto muito dos WS's. O #1 tem o mesmo encanto deste post, e o #2 é muito forte graficamente.
Um abraço, José.

jmcl (14535) 2007-04-01 2:46

Hi Antonio,

this is one of those where (to me at least) the thumbnail is not a very accurate .. that thoughtful evocative smoke is not discernible in the thumbnail and it makes the image for me .. especially the way it interacts with the gold .. beautiful daily life.

take care,

John

vincz (19113) 2007-04-01 3:43

Good shot of this so lively place where worshippers never stop coming and going. I like how you got them within the incense smoke. A good one.

ChrisJ (171888) 2007-04-01 4:36

Hi Antonio

A wonderful daily life scene with marvellous colour & reasonable sharpness. The Burmese are evenly spaced around the altar table. Tfs!

PixelTerror (0) 2007-04-01 5:39

Hi Antonio
A nice ceremony i,age, not too close in order not to disturb the ongoing action I appreciate this, I also note these people take a pride in being dressed best for the opportunity, good LATW value here, I like as well the #1 WS, with some more angle to avoid cut tops would be worth a post on its own
Have a nice sunday JY

bertolucci (14052) 2007-04-01 5:48

A beautiful set of pictures here Antonio. A delightful slice of Myanmar religious life. The rendition of the smoke is nice and adds lotsa interest to this one. Very good!
Have a nice sunday,
Bert

kiwi_explorer (12209) 2007-04-01 6:21

Hi Antonio,
Interesting scene ... amazing how they manage to find peace with the world and tnemselves will all the crowd. Netherless, you've captured the ritual scene well ... Excellent.
Cheers,
Renier

Cara (2059) 2007-04-01 8:35

Olá António,
Bonita foto, gosto especialmente do enquadramento das pessoas e do contraste mosaicos vs paredes douradas, separados pela nuvem de incenso que as pessoas mantêm aceso.
Bom trabalho,
Daniel

sebinho342 (19329) 2007-04-01 9:06

Hola Antonio, excellent picture here, and each of your WS would have led also to excellent posts on TE, i guess it was marvelous for you to discover this place at sunrise, with such a mystical feeling, religious and spiritual ... particular moment, full of encents, smelling, good catch !
I like it a lot
Have a good sunday my friend

asiivalceni (857) 2007-04-01 11:44 [Comment]

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sacavem (18620) 2007-04-01 13:20

Olá António,

Excelente titulo o da foto.Toda essa preparação é fantástica,é muito mística para nós ocidentais certamente esses cheiros, vestes,cores,a ambiência só do local deve arrepiar.Gosto dos outros trabalhos feitos,sobretudo o segundo que mostra a força e contemplação do Budismo.
Tens sido aqui no TE um bom embaixador de Mianmar.
Um abraço e fica bem,
filipe

tcht (7565) 2007-04-01 17:34

Hi Antonio
nice documentary of the place. the atmosphere you've here is quite good and I like the smoke a lot. also well framed with woman on left. well composed image.
Cheers
CheukHin
p.s. slightly strange exposure settings :)

lucasgalodoido (27698) 2007-04-01 20:46

Olá Antônio!
Interessante imagem, cheia de elementos! Ela passa uma impressão de estar ligeiramente inclinda, mas acho que é só impressão mesmo!
Parabéns e Abraço!

plimrn (21344) 2007-04-01 22:24

Ola Antonio,
All three photos are wonderful and help give a good picture of this temple. The one without the people is a beautiful classic shot, while the two with people really show the meaning of this place to the worshippers. Here I love the smoke of the incense wafting around the peoples's hands. I particularly like the closeness of the couple. In the other WS, I love the grin on the Bhuddhas (?) face; he almost looks like Puck. HLJ, Pat

isa (1986) 2007-04-02 4:18

Belíssima, cheia de cor e luminosidade.
Excelente enquadramento, com movimento devido ao efeito do fumo das oferendas, muito bonito.
Parabéns,
Un abraço,
Isabel

tabora (0) 2007-04-02 5:05

Bonjour Antonio,
Il ne manque que l'odeur a la photo très colorée,pour moi les couleurs sont juste ce qu'il faut,la diagonale donne très bien ici,encore un shot magnifique.
A+ Joseph

John_F_Kennedy (43797) 2007-04-02 6:08

The colours are well mixed! You caught the scene exactly!!
Well done
Achim

luisafonso (862) 2007-04-02 6:59

Isto de chegar tarde às tuas fotos tem destas coisas. Já tudo parece ter sido dito. :) Gosto muito do ambiente e esta senhora aqui na esquerda é fundamental para o sucesso da foto. Sem ela, quase toda a gente estaria de costas e eu já te estaria a cascar! :) As cores estão excelentes. Dá para ver que puxaste um pouco pelos vermelhos. Fizeste bem. Também gosto muito dos ws. Especialmente do primeiro que mostra muito contexto e eu adoro isso. Grande foto!

prumod (8300) 2007-04-02 8:31

hi antonio...
nice composition with variety of colors... what i like morte is the presence of highlights especially on the face of the lady at left... sharpness level also good...
greetings...

axiotea (21651) 2007-04-02 15:12

Hello Antonio,
A nice daily life scene, from a good POV, showing people doing the rituals before entering in the temple. You caught well the smoke of the incense which gives a nice visual effect to your compo. Good color saturation as well.
Cheers
Marilyn

manatee (4668) 2007-04-02 17:26

Interesting ad beutiful place, the arquitecture is amazing and exquisite, I lke the second workshop, nice towers, is clear and wnderful picture.
About this picture I lke the smoke, give it a mystic touch, I just will crop the bouquet of flowers in the rigth
Congratulations

Elias

zeca (19762) 2007-04-02 23:53

Olá Antônio!
Uma foto muito interessante e bonita! Os dourados, as fumaças, a fé das pessoas, o ambiente mistico, as vestes, tudo é muito diferente e interessante. Excelente composição!
Abraço,
Zeca

jemaflor (147300) 2007-04-03 8:09

Hi Antonio,
Interesting scene well captured about this moment, good angle an colours, tfs.

Angshu (56760) 2007-04-03 23:53

Hello Antonio
The atmosphere & mood captured here is very good. The smoke has a good effect here. I like your angle & the distance you maintained from the people. I liked both your WSs & especially WS#1. Both are good for original posts. Well done!
Regards
Angshu

InasiaJones (31566) 2007-04-04 3:08

Hi Antonio,

Reading your note, I couldn’t be more in tune with your thinking. Although I haven’t visit Yangon, I think what you’re describing it’s true to a lot of significant temples.

It’s interesting to see people in traditional clothing and in a certain way, getting in their intimacy. It’s not always easy to install ourself and photograph these moments, while remaining polite and respectful. The architectural details in the back are indispensable.

Well done!

André

AiresSantos (56155) 2007-04-04 3:57

Ola Amigo António, uma belissima perspectiva do evento, ao nascer do sol. Excelentes POV e cores. Muito interessante workshop.
Cumprimentos
Aires

pboehringer (770) 2007-04-04 10:19

It seems to be a quite busy and colorful day at this temple, Antonio. All the devotion is well portrayed in the gestures and the smoke coming out of the altar.
Peace be with you!
Regards, Peter

ninaL (21348) 2007-04-05 3:46

Hi, Antonio.
Interesting scene and well done.
Is maybe a little oversaturated in red...
Best wishes. Grazyna

Bluejeans (64251) 2007-04-05 15:29

Ola amigo Antonio bonita atmosfera neste templo, gostei muito dos reflexos do sol nos dourados o fumo dos incensos as cores ,parabens bom olho !!!!

Um abraço Gonçalo
Bom fim de semana!!

anducina (8407) 2007-04-07 6:09

Excellent and interesting compo, I like the vivid colors and the mixture of light and shadows. Picturesque scene.

TFS,

Andreea

xuaxo (6854) 2007-04-20 12:14

Olá António,
Apesar de parecer um pouco desfocada, esta foto vale pelas cores magníficas e por documentar bem o evento e o local.
F

paura (25802) 2008-04-06 4:07

António,
Uma linda fotografia para documentar a interessante atividade, repleta de cores e formas. Belo trabalho.

Abraço

Paulo