Sweepin' in the mornin', a photo from Mae Hong Son, North

Photographer's Note

Told ya... these monks sweep their life away...another temple, another sweeper...

This is taken early in the morning, uphill in Mae Hong Son, a great little city in the northwest of Thailand. it boasts a really nice temple the Wat Phra That Doi Kong Mu, which is worth going to.. it was so early there were only a few sleepy novices brooming around under the commandment of an older monk and a whistle... I thought he was the reincarnation of the airforce colonel who spoilt one year of my life.

In fact, I started the kind of day you wish to have more in your life... not only because I was in Asia... nothing special though, just sheer beauty.

arnabchat, gren4, thohau, whereami, Curioso, Praetzer, Rinie_Hoff, caliane, Jujube has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

markgong (2840) 2005-03-30 17:15

Beautiful colors here and a good shot. I think the photo can be better if you stepped to your left two steps so the you are in the center of the steps putting the monk against the backdrop instance infront of the tree. Besides that, lovely lighting and well seen.

Homerhomer (4069) 2005-03-30 18:02

Luko, this one so far is my favourite of your sweeping pictures, I can certainly see that a morning like this is like a dream you don't want to wake up from.
The feeling of a brand new beautifull day is definetely here, what a light and atmoshpere.
I can't find anything in the image to bitch about, love everything about it.
Peter

ndb1958 (9289) 2005-03-30 23:02

Nice perspective and composition. Great light and atmosphere.
Beautiful!

arnabchat (7233) 2005-03-30 23:50

really beautiful colors. nice POV overlooking the valley below and good framing.

gringofil (0) 2005-03-31 0:05

Hi Luko. The thing that strikes me about this shot is the position of the monk between these statues...what a brilliant way to compose a shot. The diffused top of the picture gives the image a very mystical quality...a mountain top somewhere where thousands of monks live and pray in harmony.

I really like the colors, but did you do something to the white balance to achieve this effect? Anyway, in terms of compo as well as subject this is just excellent. Well done.

michel_r (1118) 2005-03-31 1:26

yes gorgeous light and definitely the atmosphere. I can almost breeze the air. Nothing to complain, a nice peaceful picture to come back to when your day isn't just going the way it should...
michel.

thohau (919) 2005-03-31 1:47

Hi Luko!
Very impressive picture. I like the golden tones and your POV.
Cheers, Thorsten

Luan (12971) 2005-03-31 3:42

On pourrais presque entendre la quietude qui regne dans ces lieux. Cette luminosite renforce cette sensation de paix.
J'aime beacoup la vue sur la ville qui se reveille au loin dans la brume.
Superbe compo.
Luan

Zepi (22848) 2005-03-31 4:03

Luko : L’homme qui arrive à rendre le bruit numérique esthétique !
Quel talent, une magnifique prise de vue .
Tu aime les moines, moi aussi, ça tombe plutôt bien !
Superbe lumière et cadrage impeccable !
As-tu déjà fait des tirages papier de tes photos prises au 20D ?
Est-tu satisfait du résultat ?
Magnifique image .
Merci pour la leçon de photo !
Amicalement
Sébastien

maciekda (19861) 2005-03-31 4:03

this is very nice, the light is splendid, colors are so warm. i like the scene too - very simple, natural. i like the compo too, the frame is nicely divided into four vertical parts. two small flaws - we can't see feet of the monk - if he was one step up and it would be better. and a piece opf another stupa on the right is a bit distracting. anyway, anything with that light would be nice ;)
good stuff

AmiBe (6042) 2005-03-31 5:36

Superbe image, j'adore une fois de plus !

La tâche jaune à côté de la statue à droite du moine me semble étrange... Comme si c'était une sélection dans Toshop... C'est de la fumée ?

Superbe lumière matinale, bravo et merci !

sohrab (7439) 2005-03-31 5:55

hey this is nice
you've a lovel view in the backdrop ( i like such foggy views)

while the light is glorious, there is not much exposure on the monk. since the exposure on the boy is already less and i'm guessing you already had an idea that the monk wouldn't really stand out , and more you had a digital camera with you.
so i'm curious to know if you took any more photographs with the sun also in the view, thus making a silhouette out of the monk, i guess his tonsured head and the silhouete of the robe, would have anyway given away that he was a monk.
on the other heand you might have missed out on the backdrop and got a silhouette of the statues also
but i'm still curious to know if you made any silhouetes out of them
take care:)

rowanb (864) 2005-03-31 6:58

great composition and beautiful colours

cessy (13647) 2005-03-31 10:08 [Comment]

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Praetzer (1662) 2005-03-31 14:47

great sunset colors and contrast. Excellent compo. Peacefull atmosphere.

tongapup (0) 2005-03-31 16:00 [Comment]

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Rinie_Hoff (9340) 2005-03-31 18:23

Damn, I had my comment almost ready, and then the PC crashes, I hate it, it's unstable at the moment ;-(
Nice description of your day, Luko, one of those you will always remember?
The beautiful yellow light gives such a warm glow, and so many details can be seen. The monk, not just a silhouette, the shadow on the stairs. He's not just sweeping, but worshipping, I guess. Really beautiful.
How about giving a short course in Thailand next time you go there?

scalerman (26900) 2005-04-01 0:19

I love what you did with the DOF here Luko and the morning colors and sublime.

jp80 (8439) 2005-04-01 3:26

Salut Luko,
quelle lumière ! J'aime beaucoup ces couleurs chaudes. De plus, la composition est tout à fait réussie, avec cette présence humaine bien localisée, et en action. Très bien vu, bravo !

Pascal

clodreno (0) 2005-04-01 3:34

Un autre moine.. Je vais finir par me poser des questions:)
Quelle belle lumière .. le ciel est un peu "white", mais cela ajoute à rendre l'image un peu plus irréelle..
c'est vrai que toutes ces images donnent envie de se tirer..

je ne crois pas que tu apprécierais l'Islande.. Où il pleut et il fait doux où quand il fait beau, une fois tous les mois, il caille...

naxius (16685) 2005-04-01 4:11

Evidemment, présenté comme ça, tu ne peux que nous donner l'envie de découvrir cette partie du monde Luko.
C'est absolument magnifique. L'ambiance est là, avec de superbes couleurs.
Vraiment très beau et très reposant.
Merci.
Alex

Proxilva (2157) 2005-04-07 11:29

hi Luko...

You know, it looks like the part of the horses ass missing in the left is pasted in the right ;0) nice balance in an odd way huh?

well as i believe: the best symmetry is asymmetry...

I love the mood here, the golden light promisses a warm day, but gives the feeling that right now the temperature is nice and you can just enjoy all the beauty around...

kisses miss Jolie

Steft (5975) 2005-04-07 18:30

A very nice photo. The colours are very warm and amazing. I like the vague shapes in the background and the adding of a human being. Excellent quality as well. A favorite of me.

Midnight_sun (1941) 2005-04-15 7:13

It's the yellow haze and the atmosphere it gives which makes this my fav out of your sweeping series (i also like the one before this).

A simple scene yet very easy to read -it doesn't feel like it has been composed- had you included the full statue it would be quite different, and not as effective. The almost uniform yellow tones remind me of the massage parlour photo, again, consistant colours. well done.

caliane (610) 2005-06-04 19:54