Ajanta Photo | TrekEarth

Photographer’s Note

The Buddhist Caves of Ajanta are really marvellous spectacles of architecture. Hewn from the rock of a steep cliff, they contain huge as well as intricate carvings inside them. Not to mention the fascinating paintings that have survived centuries of hardships.
In this shot, i have tried to capture the depth of one of the caves, and also the hugeness of the statue of the standing Buddha. The ISO was 1600: so, obvious side-effects prevail.

calimex has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

kajspice (4534) 2006-08-28 12:15

Hi Bishan,

The thumbnail looks very interesting with some beautiful tones...however, the full sized image fails to grab me as I would like it to. Saying this, I do like your experimental approach to extremes of light and dark.

AnimeshRay (8886) 2006-08-29 11:18

This is a fascinating composition in the Ajanta cave. I understand how difficult it is to provide the sense of depth there, having visited and tried unsuccessfully. This one is one of the best compositions of that place I have ever seen. The range of brightness is usually too wide to capture in slide films, as I was trying to do. Here your D70 has a clear advantage. Moreover, you were patient...when I visited the caves were awash with tourists.

calimex (1029) 2007-04-15 10:57

Hi Bishan,

I appreciate the challenge that you faced in taking this photo, and I like what you managed to achieve here. It's a marvelous view from inside the Buddhist caves of Ajanta; the low lighting is moody and atmospheric, with the hand of the Buddha lit up. The distant foreground -- showing the cave opening, an arc of light, and a person -- adds great dimension.

Thanks for sharing this, Bishan.

Take care,
José