The Priest, a photo from Central Area, Central

Photographer's Note

Trip to Singapore – Day two: The Hindu Temple

The first Sri Mariamman Temple, a wooden structure, was built in 1827 by Mr. Naraina Pillai, a trader who arrived in Singapore with Sir Stamford Raffles (founder of Singapore). The present brick building, built in 1862, is a National Monument and is located in the China Town.

This temple is dedicated a Goddess Sri Mariamman, which origin can be traced to the Tamil speaking region of South India. The word “mari” means rain and it is believed that she is responsible for ensuring the protection of the crops during major droughts.

Temple worship is an important part of the daily life of Hindus. They believe that the images of deities at the temple are equivalent to them residing permanently there. Priests are available in the temples to help make offerings to the deities. The priests are required to undergo rigorous religious training and have a thorough knowledge of the scriptures and prayer rituals so that they are able to act as intermediaries between the devotee and deity. Only priests are allowed to enter the inner sanctum where the deity is housed and devotees must offer their prayers from the outer sanctum.

The deity on the picture is Sri Periyachi Amman and the priest was reading some prayers (?) written in those pink flyers given to him by the ladies around him.

In WS1 you can see a devotee praying at Sri Aravan deity and in WS2 a detail of the temple roof decorations.

P.S. Added a third picture on WS to show the detail of the deity Sri Priyachi Amman, which is behind the priest on the main posting.

nethrafotos, isa, khafes, syd1946, ChrisJ, bach37, jhm, josepmarin, Donald, plimrn, xuaxo, riclopes, Rosa_d_MonteLua, stego, edal, sabyasachi1212, John_F_Kennedy, vincz, Cretense, Floydian, Wanda1, Vato_Law, bostankorkulugu, Matthew-Watt, axiotea, Bluejeans has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

khafes (303) 2006-12-09 18:56

Olá António,
Uma foto cheia de belas cores e cheia de simbolismo.
Parabéns, gosto bastante da composição e do POV. Quanto a profundidade de campo penso que poderias ter fechado um pouco mais o diafragma da maquina, mesmo assim tens aqui uma grande foto.
Parabéns,
Paulo Monteiro

isa (1986) 2006-12-09 18:58

Olá António,
Interessante nota explicativa deste Templo Hindú, caracterítico pelo seu colorido, tanto nas vestes como nos altares.
Bonita composição, a definição e nitidez nas cores estão perfeitas.
Saudações fotográficas,
Isa

syd1946 (1167) 2006-12-09 21:16

Hi Antonio,
It is a beautiful daily life scene from Singapore!But with this orgy of vivid colors are become a very enjoyable scene!Good capture!

Greetings,
Thomas

AiresSantos (56155) 2006-12-10 4:12

Olá António,
Uma belissima composição deste templo Indu, com uma nota explicativa ao melhor nivel.
Excelentes cores e definição.
Um abraço Amigo,
Aires

ChrisJ (171888) 2006-12-10 4:29

Hi Antonio

A good daily life scene from Singapore. Excellent colour & sharpness. A very informative note on the Hindu Sri Mariamman temple. I like the bright yellow saris. Tfs!

bach37 (193) 2006-12-10 4:37

Olá António.
Que mais posso dizer, está riquissima em cores! Muito bonita mesmo. Anota está igualmente rica. Espero que a viagem tenha corrido bem e que se tenha divertido!
Cumprimentos de Portugal,
Márcio Costa

jhm (211736) 2006-12-10 6:26

Hi Antonio,

This is a very difficult picture for taking, through the penetrating yellow colours of the attire, but my compliments how you us this show, the completly picture with a excellent composition, sharpness and clarity, very well done!

Have a nice sunday,
John.

josepmarin (59385) 2006-12-10 7:50

Olá Antonio,
me gusta esta composición con gente. Me gusta su explosión de colores, los tonos vivos y brillantes tienen mucha fuerza gráfica y dan mucha belleza a la imagen.
Bien hecha.
Un saludo,
Josep

Donald (136) 2006-12-10 7:54

Hi Antonio, what a beautiful photo the colours are fantastic the Building it is so beautiful as is the whole photo.
You have a great skill with a camera.
Thank you for sharing it with us all.
Kind regards Donald

plimrn (21344) 2006-12-10 10:13

Hi Antonio,
The detail in your picture is so good in a very difficult lighting situation, that I was looking at the details, trying to figure out how you do this so consistently. At 1/6 second, there is little motion blur from the subjects and no blur from camera movement.
Did you use a tripod? I think you probably lightened the shadows a bit in PP.

The roof detail in the WS is so beautiful that I like it as well as the PP, although as a general rule I prefer people to buildings. The man praying conveys a sense of devotion well.

I was reading your revised intro and wondered which situation in Angola you were referencing; so I read a Wikipedia article on Angola. Terrible that that when the years of Civil War ended, Angola was beset by a hemmorrhagic virus. It is hard to see your homeland devastated.
Regards, Pat
Regards, Pat

xuaxo (6854) 2006-12-10 11:48

Não há dúvida, uma imagem cheia de cor. Mas dá-me a impressão que sabe a pouco, que havia mais para mostrar, principalmente para a esquerda.
F

riclopes (35577) 2006-12-10 14:09

Olá António, excelente conjunto de imagens para mostrar este templo Hindu. Esta impressiona mais pelas cores que quase ferem a vista e pela sequência que nos leva ao padre de laranja e ao trabalho decorativo lá atrás, onde também há um vestido amarelo na mesma sequência, mas também gosto muito das outras imagens e talvez mais da #2, não só pelos detalhes numa composição perfeita, como pelo belo contraste com o céu enublado. A outra tem piada pela dimensão do "cabeção" de olhos arregalados enquadrado pela entrada. A nota é muito boa.
Um abraço,
Ricardo

stego (24132) 2006-12-10 21:18

Olá António,
Linda, com todas aquelas cores berrantes e a decoração tão deliciosamente kitch!
Acho que captaste bem o ambiente - embora nunca lá tenha estado, lembro-me bem da impressão de "frescura" (relativa, porque na realidade estava sempre muito calor) e de "leveza"/singeleza do ambiente dos templos hindus em que entrei, e consigo ver isso na foto.
Com muita franqueza (vejo com agrado que estou sozinho nesta opinião), não acho o pov nada de especial, principalmente por estar toda a gente de costas para nós e por não se perceberem muito bem os detalhes dos altares.
A definião tb. não ajuda, mas quanto a isso duvido que pudesses fazer alguma coisa, já que havia tão pouca luz.
Gosto mais dos WS's, o do tecto por mostrar tão bem os detalhes contra aquele céu, e o outro igualmente, mas tb. porque mostra melhor o aspecto devocional do templo.
Uma crítica que espro que encares como constructiva: acho que devias investir mais tempo a melhorar a nitidez das tuas fotos, pois é comum elas não terem assim muita, o que é uma pena, pois geralmente é, senão o único, pelo menos o defeito mais evidente.
Um abraço, José.

edal (6804) 2006-12-10 22:00

Hi Antonio!
All your three shots are remarkable for their bright way of presenting people's life and religion. I like the abundance of colours which is enhanced from the bright lighting.
Anton

sabyasachi1212 (19779) 2006-12-11 0:56

Hi Antonio,
A very distinctive South Indian temple with the colours one usually associates with it. Thanks for the WS, it really makes the picture 'complete'!
With Greetings from India
Sabyasachi

John_F_Kennedy (43797) 2006-12-11 2:15

Excellent light and soft colour. A scene well composed.
Achim

vincz (19113) 2006-12-11 3:58

So vibrant colours all around. This is truely south india in Singapore. Excellent details in the picture. Great wokshop pictures as well to complete the scene.

Rosa_d_MonteLua (1508) 2006-12-11 5:34

Olá António!
Lindíssima foto com uma riqueza de côr incrível!
Gosto muito dos níveis de saturação e contraste das côres que considero muito bons, e da luminosidade e brilho que estão perfeitos.
O POV é interessante e a foto está muito bem enquadrada.
Vou escolhê-la como uma das minhas favoritas!
Bjs e obrigada pela partilha,
Rosa

Cretense (68709) 2006-12-11 7:19

Hi Antonio!

Great "daily life" scene. Great composition and very impressive colours. Excellent sharpness and definition. Congratulations!

Hercules

DarkoG (8) 2006-12-11 13:24

good documentari well composed shot with rich, clear and vibradnt colours.

xavshot (69835) 2006-12-11 16:05

Bonsoir Antonio
de très belles couleurs dynamiques qui réveille la compo et un cadrage vertical bien vu. J'aime bien le résultat de ce post. Une belle photo.
amicalement
Xavier

Floydian (30970) 2006-12-12 5:08

Hi Antonio,
An extremely colourful picture with bright and rich colours. Taken the picture from behind is also paying respect to those people and makes it very serene and peaceful....wonderful.
Regards, Henk

capthaddock (28790) 2006-12-12 11:50

Hi Antonio - very exotic and flamboyant, without being kitschy (ok a little kitschy) architecture, an explosion of colours, well done.

t0mmm1 (5442) 2006-12-12 14:16

Hi Antonio,
wonderful picture. I think colours are just amazing here. I like it very much.
Have a nice day,
Tomi

MIG13 (0) 2006-12-12 23:17

Oi, António! Gosto muito de todo o conjunto de fotos que vc apresenta aqui e no WS. Além da diversidade cultural que elas mostram, chama a atenção a riqueza das cores, que vc bem detaca pela saturação intensa. O texto é interessante e rico. parabéns, amigo! Abraço! Miguel.

Wanda1 (15142) 2006-12-13 13:17

Hi Antonio,
A nice colourful eye catching shot, with some nice details to look at. NIce and sharp too.
Regards
Wanda

Vato_Law (12732) 2006-12-13 16:30

Olá Antonio,
A beleza deste templo aliada à 'explosão de cores' que nos mostras nesta foto criam uma composição muito interessante e cheia de vida, apesar desta atmosfera calma e de quase retiro.
Os detalhes desta tua foto especialmente nos trabalhos junto ao sacerdote estão excelentes.
Bela foto!
Fica bem.
Paulo

bostankorkulugu (42866) 2006-12-14 3:45

as i am a yellowmaniac this is the one for me... so many details to explore... great work antonio... thanks...
korkut

ndb1958 (9289) 2006-12-15 18:32

Hi Antonio,
such a nice and colourful image from inside of the Hindu Temple. I remember well the atmosphere inside these places.
Even your workshops are really nice, specially the roof of the temple and the amazing sky.
Nino

Matthew-Watt (5934) 2006-12-15 21:58

Vey colourful, plenty of depth and range and a broad variety of shades. A great snapshot of culture and lifestyle is captured here. Excellent clarity and frame presentation also. A peaceful mood is set.
Matt

axiotea (21651) 2006-12-15 23:11

Hi Antonio,
A colorful compo and an interesting note concerning the Hindu religion and their beliefs.
The complementary photos in the WS are also great.
Cheers,
Marilyn

faubry (35447) 2006-12-19 3:46

hello Antonio, i like this image by these warm colors and details, i like vertical composition and the priest position at the left; interesting note also
take care
francine

Bluejeans (64251) 2006-12-19 8:34

Olá amigo Antonio , gostei muito das cores , nestes lugares a pessoas usam vestidos com cores alegres e basta ter rapidez no botão e tiramos boas fotos , quando estamos no lugar certo ,ficou fantastica a foto !!!
Um abraço Gonçalo

jinju (14265) 2006-12-20 20:52

Hello Antonio,

attractive photo, thanks a lot to the great colors. Intense yellows and oranges, good blues. Singapore is a great place to live, with a fantastic climate and a LOT of color. One of my favorite cities in Asia mainly for the great ethnic mix there. This shot captures a lot of the spirit of multi-ethnic, colorful Singapore

everlasting (19680) 2006-12-21 4:59

Hi Antonio, although I prefer to see faces here I like your choice remain behind the devotees giving them respect to what they are doing and we are therefore not intruding. Even with the vibrant colours it remains a serene scene.