Stairway to Heaven Photo

Photographer’s Note

The Third level of Angkor Wat is accessed by steep staircases ascending at a 75 degree angle. The steps are extremely narrow and one has to ascend or descend with the feet pointing sideways on each step. Those who suffer from vertigo use the south stairway (which has concrete steps and a handrail.

The square base (60 meters, 197 feet long) of the upper level is 13 meters (43 feet) high and raises over 40 meters (131 feet) above the second level.

During the height of Khmer empire, when Angkor was the centre of power, only the king and the high priest were allowed on the upper or third level of Angkor Wat. This level lacks the stately covered galleries of the other two levels but is the base of the five central towers, one of which contains the most sacred image of the temple.

ChrisJ, pastadog, pierrefonds, pablominto, Henryk_Bilor, emjleclercq, tsvetanar, everlasting, zips has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

RADEEH (2762) 2006-02-24 7:05

The sky is awesome here,i would have liked to know the technic behind the deep blue colour skies in your pictures.
I think the atmosphere there is unpolluted.
The temple and the tourist and well contrasted against the sky.
I am intersted to know whats there in right side, only a small curiousity!!!!!!
Nice shot again, thanks.

ChrisJ (69618) 2006-02-25 3:30

Namaste Angshuman

I took a similar shot but it lacks the superb blue sky seen here & the tourists struggling to descend. Well seen & tfs!

PixelTerror (86036) 2006-02-25 5:26

HI Angshuman,
It looks hazardous, an excellent PoV and vertical framing to illustrate the dangers of being a tourist in such a place I hope for them they had appropriate shoes. I prepared a small WS for you.
Have a nice day,
Jean-Yves

[workshop] [compare] +

pastadog (12821) 2006-02-25 5:32

Hi Angshu, well caught, the experience of those steep stairs comes very strong - it's actually an inseparable part of the Angkos experience, cheers! Daniel

david (3972) 2006-03-15 10:26

hey angshuman, this is a great picture ... and i remember climbing up these very steps. your point of view is great and the sky is amazing.

my only criticism would be to crop out the left of the shot. the person in the foreground is quite distracting, as is the shadow. cropping about 1/6th of the left frame would make the shot cleaner and accentuate the height.

good shot!

edited note: i saw pixelterror's workshop after i wrote this note ... so that's been addressed. good workshop, good shot!

dHitman (0) 2006-03-24 7:58

Hi Angshuman,
I can really feel the steepness from your picture, phew! Good POV with nice colours. The people's action help to emphasize the steepness. TFS!
Regards, Jino

clic (4063) 2006-03-24 18:14

Bonjour Angshuman
Quite impressive point of view!
Many of these tourists did'nt seem to enjoy the heaven!!!!
Thans for the instructive note.
Robert

Floydian (30970) 2006-03-29 7:40

Hi Angshuman,
What a great perspective you got here. It really shows the steepness of the stairs adding all those people in to the picutre,
Great shot..!!!
Regards, Henk

pierrefonds (25953) 2006-04-02 17:23

Hi Angshuman,

This is a good view of the stairs, it must be quite hard to go up or down. The photo has a good POV, composition, perspective and nice colors.

Pierre

sergio1 (12150) 2006-04-06 5:31

Hi Angshuman
Veru wonderful place this. I like the pov and angle shot. The contraste and sharpness are good too.
I like the details and persons.
Regards
Sergio

anavazao (5592) 2006-04-26 15:12

wow,
great perspective, colours, light, composition and details!
Good note!
Thanks Ana:)

pablominto (40056) 2006-05-03 9:25

Angshuman...
Impressive! Looks like quite a climb to get up there, under the hot and burning sun...
Interesting POV, I like the way you capture the crowd...
Good composition, a bit tilted but that works fine here... Colours and details are fine, in particular a wonderful sky!
Greetings,
Pablo -

Henryk_Bilor (20365) 2006-05-08 14:30

Hello Angshuman
Great perspective at the stairs. Those people look like climbers. Very nice compostition.
Regards

emjleclercq (14133) 2006-05-19 16:48

Surey heaven is hard to reach, seing these climbers grasping the rope. A very good perpective to enhance the how steep your staircase is.

All the best,

Emmanuel

tsvetanar (221) 2006-06-03 17:39

Great travelogue, Angshuman!
All shots of Angkor Wat are awesome, but I liked this one the most for the idea behind it! Places like this are so mystical, so unique! Until now I've seen only some documentaries about the place and its restoration but now your travelogue with all photos inside make a really detailed "picture" . Your notes are more than useful!
Thank you so much for sharing your amazing experience and impressions of this place!!!

everlasting (10894) 2006-06-15 7:25

I've climbed these stairs and believe me it is not for the feint hearted. Going up is much easier than coming back down.
Good POV that you choose to give impact to the stairs and of course good choice to frame vertically. I think I would have cropped the bystander in the left hand corner, he serves no real purpose.

zips (1941) 2006-10-29 11:09

Wow. Great shot for a travel publication. Your perspective and POV are great here.....you really got the pont across.

Great Job.
Aloha, JB