A mountain of flowers Photo

Photographer’s Note

Rising from the heat haze of Burma's central plains is Asia's answer to Mount Olympus and a nation's mystical hot spot: Mount Popa, home to Burma's nats, which are the spirits—potentially malevolent—of dead nobles and folk heroes, worshipped there since pre-Buddhist times. More than 1,500 m tall and the product of an ancient volcanic eruption, Popa is a place of pilgrimage for Burmese from all walks of life. They climb the mountain to make offerings to the nats, and risk offending them if they ignore rules governing the ascent: don't curse, don't wear red or black, don't carry meat.

Southwest of Mount Popa is the Taung Kalat, a 737 metre (2,417 feet) volcano peak, which is also sometimes called Mount Popa. On top of it is a buddhist monastery. Beyond an entrance that's guarded by statues of auspicious white elephants is a covered stairway that climbs Taung Kalat's flanks at improbably steep angles. Beneath the tabletop summit, which bristles with golden stupas, is the main shrine, named after Min Mahagiri, or "Lord of the Great Mountain," worshipped in many Burmese households. It is crowded with figurines representing the 37 nats, each cloaked in silk or taffeta, garlanded with jasmine, and surrounded by offerings of coconuts and bananas. In days of old, animals were sacrificed there. Today, transvestite mediums gather twice a year to be possessed by the spirits in a sometimes wild and drunken ritual. For most visitors, however, the meditative climb is mystical enough.

Mount Popa is an oasis in the desert of central Myanmar. The surrounding areas are arid, but the Mount Popa area has over 200 water streams. Plenty of trees, flowering plants and herbs grow due to the fertile volcanic ash. The name Popa is believed to have derived from a pali word meaning flower, so Mount Popa means a mountain of flowers.

atilgone, Wanda1, delkoo, adores, Flavia, andreng, Graal, jhm, axiotea, ChrisJ, feather, tcht, john_c, miuky, Gerrit, zeca, riclopes, PixelTerror, stego has marked this note useful

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Photo65Net (43106) 2006-11-29 13:20

Bonsoir Vincent,
Très bien vu ce cadrage. L'édifice et la montagne qui le porte sont très bien encadrés par les branches.
Très sympa.
Bonne soirée,
JB.

Wanda1 (11025) 2006-11-29 13:20

Hi Vincent,
I like your point of view where you have shot through the tree which frames and draws our attention to the wonderful building on the mountain. Nice warm colours too.
Regards
Wanda

AmiBe (6042) 2006-11-29 13:44

Ah le Mt Popa, ses singes agressifs et ses nats...Faut pas se balader une banane à la main pour faire la montée :)
Vraiment particulier ce temple au sommet.
Jolie lumière chaude, a+

delkoo (34990) 2006-11-29 15:05

bonsoir vincent
belle vue sur le popa, qui se detache bien du ciel gris, l'ascension doit être raide.
bonne note explicative.
amicalement
didier

adores (15821) 2006-11-29 19:06

Fantastic photo Vincent!
I really like this perspective of such an amazing place.Colours are also very good and I really like the colours of the falling leaves.
Well done!
Regards, Anabela

Flavia (10202) 2006-11-29 20:57

Hi Vincent,

This place look like something out of a book! It seems a very special place. The composition with the tree on the foregroung works, but the colors look a little artificial though as if you have pushed a bit too much the darkening ligh areas, mid contrast and lightening dark areas tools in PS.

Regards,

Flavia

andreng (265) 2006-11-30 1:46

Vincent,

Very nice warm colors you have captured here and also a nice POV. I must visit Burma very soon as it is very nearby where I am. My only comment on this picture is that I may move a little more to the right to capture more of the steps leading up and giving more space in between the building and the foreground plant. TFS Andre

Graal (59046) 2006-11-30 2:58

Hi Vincent,
amazing view, great mountain with the building on the top. Fine view through the branches of tree. Interesting note. Well done photo.
Gr., Aleksander

jhm (83684) 2006-11-30 7:12

Hi Vincent,

What a very lovely picture, in foreground the splendid autumn leaves as decoration, above the beautiful castle with very nice towers, excellent work here! Thanks for your interestig note too! Thanks for sharing.

Have a nice day,
John.

jasmis (51257) 2006-11-30 7:18 [Comment]

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Budapestman (43200) 2006-11-30 10:42

Hi Vincent!
What a spectacular and marvellous place! Its a stunning POV and superb composition. Details are fascinating and rich. This is a picturesque and splendid shot! Thank you, nice days
George

markstaples (15670) 2006-11-30 11:41

Bonjour Vincent
Tu as su composer l'image avec soin tout en utilisant les branches pour cadrer la scène. Ce cadrage est bien vu. Les couleurs sont jolies et naturelles. J'aurais peut-être coupé juste un tout petit peu le vide sur la droite. J'ai fait un petit WS pour te montrer ce que je veux dire. J'espère que cela ne te dérange pas.
Amicalement
Mark

[workshop] [compare]

lucski (3676) 2006-11-30 18:57

hi Vincent
another great shot, great colours and splendit atmosphere
very well captured
good job mate
TFS lukasz

axiotea (16355) 2006-11-30 23:50

Salut Vincent,
Une belle luminosite mettant en valeur ce magnifique temple haut perche et une note informative. l inclusion des branchages a l avant plan est bien vu egalement.
Amicalement,
Marilyn

Stepan (27175) 2006-12-01 2:10

J'aime bine ce pov d'un endroit que je n'ai malheureusement pas pu visité lorsque j'étais au Myanmar. Le cadrage est sympa, même s'il y a peut être un peu trop de ciel. L'endroit semble fascinant.
Stéphane

ChrisJ (70443) 2006-12-01 3:46

Hi Vincent

Fantastic colour & repetition of the orange leaves on the fg tree to frame the interesting hilltop temple. Tfs!

feather (50460) 2006-12-01 5:32

Very good use of the foreground trees as a framing device. The grey sky belies the pleasant light there is on the monastery. Very interesting note about the traditions. It would be very easy for tourists to offend the spirits by wearing the wrong colours.
KAth

tcht (7298) 2006-12-01 8:00

Hi Vincent
Very interesting place, fairy-tale like. The lighting on the monastery is good and you framed this very well with the colorful branches. Beautiful work, tfs.
Cheers
CheukHin

john_c (24635) 2006-12-01 11:40

Hi Vincent,
This low angle view provides very high impact, and the autumnal like foliage in the foreground perfectly frames the scene. I am impressed with the clarity of detail of the monastery buildings - glad to see that the old 20D is performing this well. A very fine capture, Vincent.
John

miuky (3335) 2006-12-02 4:34

incredible!
Great shot here, i love the bush in fromt, gives dynamism to the image...
Hy Vincent...
exellent job!
Regards, M.

Isab (865) 2006-12-02 11:33

Bonjour
Point de vue exceptionnel, cet endroit a l'air assez incroyable.
C'est une très belle photo.
Bonne journée
Isabelle

isabib (1951) 2006-12-02 17:18

Hi Vincent,

Excellent POV! I like how included some of the branches for framing the subject. Lovely colors. TFS!

Gerrit (36513) 2006-12-02 18:38

Hi Vincent,
what a fantastic site. Spectaculair situation and beautiful building. Very well framed too.
regards, gerrit

Angshu (34177) 2006-12-03 22:53

Hello Vincent
This is indeed a lovely picture, with lovely interest both in the FG & BG. The location of the monastry is jaw dropping. The details of it captured by you is excellent. And of course well done with the framing with the autumn leaves in the FG. Just wondering..in our country & other countries in SE Asia we get to see Autumn colours in trees very rarely,.. only in certain parts..I'm surprised to see such colours in Burma
Regards
Angshu

sebinho342 (18804) 2006-12-04 8:20

Salut Vincent, là j'avoue que je suis scotché par ce lieu, première fois que je le vois ici sur TE, c'est hallucinant ou ils sont allé le batir ce batiment !!
Le jeu des branchages venant lecher ce volcan et son sommet est superbe même si à lui seul, ce mont popa valait la photo.
Impressionnant

zeca (20026) 2006-12-05 23:34

Hello Vincent!
Beautiful picture! The castle is wonderful and I am wondering how nice is the view from there! TFS!
Cheers!
Zeca

riclopes (33137) 2006-12-06 14:51

You have pretty amazing images from fascinating remote countries. I just had a good time visiting your gallery. This one is quite impressive by the way you emphasize the height of the Mount. It's increadible the way the monastery is standing upthere. Your framing with the flowers in foreground is very beautiful. Tfs,
Ricardo

PixelTerror (87137) 2006-12-07 5:15

Salut Vincent,
Entre le Myanmar et le Bhutan ca te fait un riche stock d'endroits etonnants a nous montrer, celui ci est peu connu mais je l'avais deja vu chez Pascal (AmiBe), j'aime bien ton cadrage qui fait se dresser ce monastere au dessus de la vegetation, et le chemin d'acces qu'on voit un peu a droite a l'air plutot sportif !
Bonne journee,
Jean-Yves

Andrzej_HHH (2558) 2006-12-08 13:35

Another great one, amazing object a bit like Meteora in Greece. Very colourful picture. Thanks for sharing. Andrzej

stego (22498) 2006-12-11 22:54

Hi Vincent,
Absolutely magical place, very well captured with your wise pov.
May the sky isn't so nice, but at the same time it enhances the strange exotic of the image.
Congratulations.
TFS

wolf38 (13137) 2006-12-21 10:36

Hello Vincent. Myanmar is a wonderful tourist country with great culture and very friendly people. The Monte Popa is much impressing. Already there I was. The mountain to ascend is a pleasure. The photo pleases me very well, likewise the explaining text. Very beautifully. Best regards, Merry Christmas an happy New Year, Wolfgang.

dilane (10289) 2007-06-06 16:42

Bonsoir Vincent,
Merci de me faire connaître ce Mont Popa.TE est sympa aussi pour ça, on feuillette un peu au hasard, on se régale les yeux en voyant des photos superbes et en plus quelquefois, comme c'est le cas ici, on découvre et on est admiratif. Et alors c'est une pure merveille que d'avoir au devant de la scène ces feuilles dorées assorties à la toiture du monastère. Vraiment très beau.
Amicalement
Daniel