Sweepin', a photo from Chiang Mai, North

Photographer's Note

A daily life scene in Wat Phra Singh temple Chiang Mai, taken half an hour after the evening prayer has finished.

I noticed a common thing with my military draft period that sweeping was a great part of their monk life : they sweep in the morning, they sweep in the evening, they sweep here and there, they sweep everywhere.. perhaps I'll try to prove you that in the next images...

I had the colonel on my back, checking the pavement for cigarette butts, almost a joke...here they have buddha in person...
Watch out! One chewing gum paper left and they will become roaches for their next three lives.

Porteplume, robiuk, Curioso, alimo3, greg has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

cliffchappell (223) 2005-03-29 16:47

I like this photo a lot. Depth of field setting really makes the subject stand out. At first I thought it was a little dark, but the darkness adds to the atmosphere.

Good work!

RGatward (20050) 2005-03-29 16:48

:-) quite an incentive to do a good job. Very nicely handled natural light on the subject, and good choice of DoF.

Porteplume (3325) 2005-03-29 16:57

Very attractive image.
You got the first monk on precisely the right spot. Interesting composition, everything well balanced.
And the light created a wonderful effect on the red & gold tones, just great!

flydragon (0) 2005-03-29 17:24

Hi luko
i am not in the mood for comment a pics tonight
but i need to say woooooooo
great great
this is a great picture
a gold one
well seen
••simon••

robiuk (10805) 2005-03-29 19:07

Exceptionally good light, shades of 'rusty colours' and details on the monk's robes.
Tiny little blurred detail near the floor in the BG and it seems like the other monk's been using a hoover. ;-D
Buddha really seems like a giant 3D genie from the bottle - nice effect!
Robi

ndb1958 (9289) 2005-03-29 23:16

Very nice picture. They do work like meditation. Great light. Nice colours.

Galeota (10338) 2005-03-29 23:18

You like that golden light, don't you? I can almost picture you going to work in the middle of Paris, wearing your prefered handmade orange suit, taylored by Mr Suprachee, the famous indian taylor next to your usual hotel while staying in Bangkok. And the little Buddha statuette, on your office desk, praying for the success of your daily work routine (which will allow you to collect more $, to fly again to SE Asia, to bring back more monks&buddhas photographs and statuettes).

This is an HISTORICAL shot. Because in a few years they will all use vaccum cleaners (I see the one in the background is already sold to the comfort of modern life). While reading you I thought how fortunate I was not to have known the pleasures of the military enrollment. Perhaps sometime in another life, very far away...

Anyway, Simon is a tomb. He doesn't want to tell me how he obtains his colours. Would you mind sharing a bit and give me some tips on the subject, or do I have to go through some kind of franc-maçon ceremony to access those secrets?

gringofil (0) 2005-03-30 0:28

Man, this is awesome. Your compo is just superb with one monk in the foreground and the other slightly blurred in the background. You wrote to me about a blurry background being almost abstract-like and here you've proven your point once again: although we know these are Buddha statues in the back, because of the slight blur we can let our imagination fly and make them out to be what we want. Anyway, very interactive shot this one, Luko, keeps me peeled to the screen. Well done.

kinginexile (2598) 2005-03-30 0:50

Amusant, Luko, j'ai eu un peu les memes idees de photo que toi ce voyage-ci, mais en Birmanie. (Si je ne me fais pas virer de TE :-)) je les posterai au retour.
la basse luminosite pourrait jouer un mauvais tour a ce genre de photo, mais grace a l'objectif de qualite, et une tres bonne compo (note: etait-il possible d'accentuer le flou de l'arriere-scene, et baisser les reflections sur l'or un chouilla?), on penetre bien dans ce temple et donc ce sujet.

Zepi (22848) 2005-03-30 5:12

Bonjour Luko,

1600 isos ! On ne les voit pas en tous cas !
Superbes couleurs, merveilleuse composition, j’aime l’atmosphère qui se dégage de cette prise de vue !
Magnifique profondeur de champ. Chouette note aussi !

Merci du partage !
Amicalement
Sébastien

greg (2835) 2005-03-30 5:52

You can't make an image with colours much richer than this. I like the dark greens at the top - it makes a good balance for the fiery reds and golds. Actually, I love the monk with the vacuum cleaner - do you have a closer shot of him?

jcandeli (40) 2005-03-30 6:52

Wow. Another beautiful one! The lighting is perfect. There is something about your photos that make them distinctly yours. Your color pallette on your photos seem different then most. Flydragon is the only one similar. I can tell your photos from the rest before even knowing they are yours. Very nice photo! JP

AmiBe (6042) 2005-03-30 7:06

Superbe image, dans la lignée de la dernière.
Cette lumière est toujours aussi fantastique.
Excellente atmosphère mystique !
Un petit regret, le premier moine ne se détache pas super bien du fond sombre, mais comment faire autrement ?
J'en redemande...

rowanb (864) 2005-03-30 8:15

love the colour here once again, conveys the atmosphere very well, nice work

Darren (6823) 2005-03-30 8:22

Hi Luko. I haven't read through all the comments, but i am sure many of them comment about the really nice colors and wonderful light here. I really like this shot, but there is one thing that does bother me: The column on the right is just too bright for the rest of the scene IMO. I think either a crop, or some burning in PS would work wonders here. The second monk (furthest away) is a really good and important detail in this shot, even though he isn't immediately important.

Seems strange to see you shooting with a longish lens, although quite honestly, this doesn't seem compressed enough to have been taken with a lens that is well over 100mm in 35mm terms.

Curioso (9271) 2005-03-30 12:56

Evidemment, j'adore. Ces tons sur tons sont très beaux. La mise en évidence du premier plan est géniale. La umière latérale qui renforce la présence du premier plan.

Une seule chose me chagrine, c'est que la tête du moine du premier plan se confonde un peu avec les couleurs sombres de l'autel (Heu... Je ne suis pas sûr que ça s'appelle ainsi...).

sohrab (7439) 2005-03-30 13:14

oooooh luko this is a wonderful photograph
ok you know what this photograph makes me imagine
it seems as if the monk sweeping in the foreground is happily singing along while sweeping the floor when he suddenly hears VROOOOOM . he looks up and sees another monk with a vaccum cleaner. the expression on the one with the mop is priceless
if the focus was on the vaccum cleaner then it would have been a damn good ad for the vaccum cleaner company (i'm not suggestin that you should have had a different focus)
and since i mentioned "priceless" i guess even mastercard could use it as an ad hehe
take care

tongapup (0) 2005-03-30 13:43

I'm bokeh, you're bokeh...

Pretty good, Mr G R. You're the man, the man with the Midas touch... the palatte is loverly. Mais pourquoi le pillar a la droite la? I know you must have a reason. I'm not sure, frankly, if it would be better without it. It might make it too cluttered and crowded.

The gold glow and luminosity of the Buddha preside over the whole scene so that the sweeping character is overwhelmed. I find my eyes leaping back to the gold giants again and again.

Praetzer (1662) 2005-03-30 13:44

good contrast and nice equal tones.

alimo3 (6854) 2005-03-30 14:36

Hello Luko,
a beautiful and interesting composition of Wat Phra Singh(like many smart composition from your album)
but for me the soft focus and the little over exposition don't work in the center of this image.
i like the idea anyway.

Tom