prayers, a photo from Yangon, South

Photographer's Note

La Pagode de Shwedagon est, certes, un lieu fabuleux, inscrit au Patrimoine de l’Humanité, mais c’est avant tout un centre spirituel et un lieu historique qui fait la fierté et l’adoration de la population. C’est aussi un symbole de rassemblement car, hormis l’actualité, c’est d’ici qu’est partie en 1988, une marche appelant au calme et à la démocratie.

Une légende évoque "une pluie de pierres précieuses au moment de sa construction au XIIèmè siècle".

En fait, la pagode telle que nous la connaissons aujourd’hui date du XVIIIème siècle (1769).
La partie supérieure du stupa est recouverte de près d’une tonne d’or (plus de 700 kilos), on parle de 8688 plaques d’or. Une ombrelle coiffe la partie haute de l’édifice. Y sont accrochées 1065 clochettes d’or et 420 clochettes d’argent. Une girouette est ornée de 1090 diamants et 1338 autres pierres précieuses. Un globe d’or de 25cm de diamètre et incrusté de 4350 diamants, dont un de 76 carats pare l’extrémité supérieure du stupa. Ces chiffres impressionnants, par le trésor qu’il représentent, varient d’une source à l’autre. Une autre origine d’information parle de 5448 diamants et de 2317 rubis, saphirs et topazes. On évoque également une énorme émeraude placée en haut de la spirale et positionnée de façon à capter les premiers et derniers rayons du soleil.

The Shwedagon pagoda is, certainly, a fabulous place, registers on the World heritage, but it is above all a spiritual center and a historic place which makes the pride and the worship of the population. It is also a symbol of gathering because, except the current events, it is from here that left in 1988, a walking calling up to the peace and to the democracy.

A legend evokes " a rain of precious stones at the time of its construction in the XIIèmè century ".

In fact, the pagoda such as we know it today date of the XVIIIth century ( 1769 ).
The top of the stupa is covered of about a ton of gold ( more than 700 kilos), we speak about 8688 golden patches. A parasol puts on the high part of the building. 1065 golden bells and 420 silver bells are hung on it. A weather vane is decorated with 1090 diamonds and on 1338 the other precious stones. A golden globe of 25cm of diameter and inlayed with 4350 diamonds, with which one of the 76 carats adorns the superior extremity of the stupa.
These impressive numbers, by the treasure which it represent, vary in a source in the other one. Another origin of information speaks about 5448 diamonds and of 2317 about ruby, about sapphires and about topazes. We also evoke an enormous emerald placed at the top of the spiral and positioned so as to get the first and last beams of the sun.

faubry, dta, papagolf21, SnapRJW, jlbrthnn, CLODO, timecapturer, macondo, marina7, ChrisJ, sacimar, Didi has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

faubry (35335) 2012-05-04 1:29

Bonjour pascale, quelle beauté d'architecture , tu as bien su la mettre en valeur avec en plus la silhouette de la femme en prière/
je ne connais pas du tout cette région et cela me donne envie!
passe une bonne journée
bises
francine

dta (51510) 2012-05-04 1:29

Bonjour Pascale ,
Quelle richesse dans la décoration ! Un régal pour les yeux . Mais il doit être fascinant aussi de constater combien la dévotion des fidèles est importante dans ces lieux de prière . Ne se sent on pas un peu gêné parfois en tant que simple touriste ?
Amicalement

amaryllis (30149) 2012-05-04 1:40

Bonjour Pascale
on ne peut être qu'en extase devant cette richesse avec les chiffres incroyables que tu cites
cette couleur d'or domine sur cette présentation et ton cadrage est excellent
une beauté !
amicalement
Juliette

papagolf21 (76611) 2012-05-04 1:41

Bonjour, chère Pascale,
Je suis subjugué par cette présentation de cette Pagode d'or et de pierres précieuses !
La note d'accompagnement permet d'apprécier davantage cette très bonne composition.
Image impressionnante à tous points de vue.
Excellente journée.
Amitiés.
Philippe

Royaldevon (17811) 2012-05-04 1:47

Bonjour Pascale,

I have spent a few minutes absorbing your photograph. I find it utterly amazing, like something from a film set.
I do like your pov, where the f/g horizontal layer anchors, before the upward movement between those awe inspiring golden spires.
I like how we share the experience with the kneeling figure and follow her pov to central figures.
Amazing!

Have a lovely day,
Bev :-)

SnapRJW (18792) 2012-05-04 1:50

Hello Pascale - This is so vibrant, you have a shot that really captured the glittering atmosphere of the famous pagoda. I love the casual but reverent way the ES Asian people worship, somehow so natural and free compared to western ideas. Rich and gorgeous. Warm regards rosemary

GREGG (8243) 2012-05-04 2:08

Hello Pascale,
fabulous scenery - dripping with gold,
The Shwedagon Pagoda is really a fabulous place,
Regards,
Greg

Janusz1974 (2275) 2012-05-04 2:15

HI Pascale,
Amazing scenery.
The architecture is breathtaking and the people add a more natural sense to the image. Good light and details to present this view of the gold pagodas.Very well done.
Janusz

jlbrthnn (79773) 2012-05-04 2:33

Bonjour Pscale,
L'amoncellement de ces richesses témoigne de la ferveur des croyants, et doit susciter quelques convoitises. La composition est habile et intéressante. la lumière, les couleurs et la netteté sont de très bonne qualité. Bravo.
Bonne journée
Amicalement
Joël

CLODO (24734) 2012-05-04 3:06

bonjour Pascale

Quel cadre doré qui contraste avec le ciel bleu presque nuit! Et quel raffinement dans l'architecture des tours. Ton cadrage est bien choisi, et la femme agenouillée devant la statue ajoute une note de spiritualité.
Du tout bon!
CLODO

timecapturer (30394) 2012-05-04 3:08

Hi Pascale
a gloriously golden shot. Love the intricate detail and light here - so beautiful. Full of calming atmosphere and amazing craftmanship. Wonderful!

Have an enjoyable weekend - warm wishes - Brian.

vjmite (3220) 2012-05-04 4:23

Bonjour Pascale,
A wonderfully colorful photo,full of gold and pink and green, with the deep blue of the sky behind. All the details are captured in sharp focus. Great work.

Regards,
Vince

chrisvek (5515) 2012-05-04 4:34

Hello Pascale,

Wow.This capture could easily have a title like:"World of Gold".Perfect colors and lightning.Very nice details and superb framing.

Have a nice day
Chris

macondo (17951) 2012-05-04 5:13

Hello Pascale.
A rather stunning photo, which one can gaze at for a long period, marvelling at the collection of spires and the amount of gold. A superb exposure, emphasising the richness of the colour tones. And of course, it's great to see people worshiping in a scene like this. Reminds me of my visit to Rangoon about 35 years ago, when the pagodas were cared for while everything around them crumbled from neglect. A great picture, beautifully done.
Regards,
Andrew

abmdsudi (26311) 2012-05-04 10:17

HI Pascale
I remember this place, tremendous photo opportunity here, as shown. A striking image well composed in rich colors with the prayer adds the sence space small amongst the stupas. A lovely sunny feel and great having the figs to add a personal touch and giving us an idea of perspective. Its a cracking shot with the architecture showing nicely that together with the deep blue makes an excellent picture. In my personal opinion, the lone prayer makes the image. Beautifully captured. Have a good week end.
Warm regards

marina7 (5884) 2012-05-04 10:25

Hi Pascale,
that mass of gold is just stunning! The deep blue sky is the perfect backdrop for setting off its glitter. Love how clear and sharp the image is. Wonderful work.
Best regards
Marina

jjcordier (62394) 2012-05-04 10:55

Pascale
Ces pagodes d'or sont vraiment somptueuses, encore plus sous cette fantastique lumière! Très bonne composition avec cette dame en prière au premier plan et superbe qualité d'image. Très belle photo!
Amitiés
JJ

ChrisJ (86932) 2012-05-04 11:16

Bonjour Pascale,

Nothing to fault here. All is well. Fantastic repetition of the gilded spires and their yellow color contrasts superbly against the blue sky. Good sharpness & the kneeling woman in prayer adds both scale & context. Tfs!

Nicou (97811) 2012-05-04 11:18

Hello Pascale

quelle compo e tiamge superbe vue et iamge cette pagod avec la femme qui prie, sueprbe quelle dorure et cpatage superbe un emerveille.

Bravo et amitié

Nicou

corjan3 (1879) 2012-05-05 4:20

Hello Pascale,
What a beautiful and impressive image. Excellent quality and composition. A real pleasure to view.
Neels

everlasting (13803) 2012-05-05 4:51

The colours here are stunning Pascale, the gold against the dark blue sky, I think you are opting for the richer colours at the moment both here and PF and they are working. The POV lets me kneel just behind here as she prays, just lovely

siudzi (23959) 2012-05-05 5:42

Hi Pascale,

This golden temple looks amazing and so unique! You have seen and captured a wonderful scene with a prayer in the foreground. Excellent work. Like it!

Warm regards,
Malgorzata

holmertz (26982) 2012-05-05 12:38

Hello Pascale,
The Shwedagon certainly counts among the most fabulous and impressive places I have seen. With these slightly dark and very well saturated colours you capture the entire essence of its magic, but not just the overwhelming golden stupas but also the serenty of people praying.
Kind regards,
Gert

emka (58224) 2012-05-06 0:00

Hi Pascale, Shwedagon Pagoda and all other around it is such a marvel. Nice photo full of gold. Nice scene of prayers around the Planetary Post. Funny they have eight days of the week.

Warm regards
MAlgo

sacimar (25957) 2012-05-06 2:12

Hello Pascale,

this is a beautiful place, I like how the golden color is all around this scene, details are interesting and I like the presence of the woman in the center, well done,

Best regards,

Sergio

rigoletto (30532) 2012-05-06 10:55

some photos make me surprized when i see that nobody adds them to their favourites. amazing cadrage full of delightful light and colors as well as hundreds of minute details. it especially was a good idea to leave the big dome out of the cadrage and leave inside the smaller ones at its side.
best regards,
deniz

grebe1 (280) 2012-05-06 19:37

Wonderful site and an excellent composition. It looks like you've used a polarizing filter,to marvelous effect.
Bravo!
Andy (grebe1)

marcan44 (6223) 2012-05-07 5:37

Ciao Pascale,
un luogo di preghiera, ma la bellezza delle cuspidi dorate di questa pagoda forse distrae il pellegrino...
Bellezza della pagoda che hai perfettamente rappresentato con un magnifico scatto.
Complimenti
TFS!!!
Amicalement
Mario

Didi (48938) 2012-05-07 15:18

Bonjour chère Pascale
Que dire de plus ?
C'est magnifique ces dorures.
La forte luminosité a assombrit le ciel.
On dirait une image presque nocturne où la pagode est éclairée par mille projecteurs.
Je me demande si tu aurais pu cadrer un chouya plus larges pour ne pas couper les pointes.
Bises

Bluejeans (64239) 2012-05-08 10:39

Ola Pascale ,
Fantástico este lugar de oração com estes detalhes em dourado fazem um belo contraste com o azul , bom primeiro plano com esta senhora a orar , boa luz , parabéns!!
Um abraço Gonçalo

batalay (32868) 2012-05-09 16:31

Bonjour Pascale,

Such wonderful detail in this inspiring shot. Every square-cm reveals the skill and attention the artists and artisans have devoted to creating the temple. The presence of the worshiper is both necessary and sufficient to elevate this image to the highest level.

Warm regards,

Bulent

karacabeylis (1287) 2012-06-07 23:57

immense of the gods

adidas5nb (1149) 2012-08-06 9:30

WHAT A BRIGHT PICTURE AND DETAILING. very nicely framed too.
regards
DWAIPAYAN