My Son IMy Son Sanctuary III Photo

Photographer’s Note

My Son Sanctuary. Cutural World Heritage.

Between the 4th and 13th centuries a unique culture which owed its spiritual origins to Indian Hinduism developed on the coast of contemporary Viet Nam..

(continue note from My Son I; II;....

The basic layout of a tower-temple, which mirrors the Hindu

cosmogony, centres around the main tower (kalan),

symbolizing the sacred mountain (meru) at the centre of the

universe. The square or rectangular base (bhurloka),

representing the human world, is built in brick or stone

blocks and decorated with reliefs. Above this rises the main

tower (bhuvakola), constructed entirely in brick, with applied

columns and a false door facing east, also lavishly

ornamented. The interiors are plain, with small niches for

lamps; the Shivalingam was situated on a plinth in the centre.

It symbolized the spirit world. The towers were separated

from their roofs (suarloka) by a decorated frieze. They

consisted of three storeys forming a stepped pyramid, and

represented Kailasa, the mountain sacred to Shiva. It is

known that many of these roofs were originally covered with

gold or silver leaf

Phan 3

In front of the kalan there was a smaller gate-tower (gopura),

built in brick with stone pillars. Most of the temple

complexes had long buildings (mandapa) with tiled roofs

adjacent to the gate-towers, for religious ceremonies. In

many cases there were smaller two-roomed temples

(kasagraha) for the worship of lesser deities around the

kalan. Each complex was surrounded by a thick wall of

brick, but these have almost entirely disappeared over the

centuries since My Son ceased to be a sacred centre.

The predominant style of the architecture and sculptural

decoration of the My Son temples derives directly from

India. There are, however, some elements of Vietnamese art,

from the north, to be observed, most significantly the boat-

shaped roofs of one or two of the buildings that are

characteristic of Dong Son architecture.

There are thirteen temples within the enclosure designated

Source:
http://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31&id_site=949

joseelias has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

sicily198x (1998) 2005-07-22 10:31

I like the way you stood and shot through the door, it makes good POV then. I know it's hard to make the sky blue or clear, but those main subject are sharp and clear enough. Good job mr Huy.
Regards

Furachan (0) 2005-07-22 10:50

Very nice POV here, Huy, the perspective from the shadows adds a lot of depth and mystery to tghe place. Very well seen! All the best, Francis

ngythanh (8492) 2005-07-22 13:07

This is the best of your serial on Mỹ Sơn so far with less damage after Photoshop manipulation. Also, this is my favorite way of composition when we need to include a large area into same capture.
Thanks for this great contribution.

ndb1958 (9248) 2005-07-22 17:24

Hi Huy,
beautiful POV. I like that you took it through the door. Nice atmosphere.
Best wishes, Nino

oochappan (22032) 2005-07-22 17:34

Very nicely framed taking us from the dark corridor to this sanctuary placed on the right inducing eye-travelling, sharpness to the edge and a very light setting of the targetted view, excellent DOF maitaining sharp all the way, maybe a center weighted lightmeting could bring more depht in the deeper coloring of your target or some adjusting PP.
Well captured Huy
Henk

[workshop] [compare]

pnphan (3900) 2005-07-22 18:38

chao anh Huy
another good shot from this beautiful place. I would move the camera more to the left to get more of the building background and get rid of the man, that guy gives this shot some distraction.
take care and keep shooting
phuoc

john_c (24635) 2005-07-22 22:47

Hello Huy,
This is a wonderful image, rendered with great artistry. The doorway appears mysterious and ancient, while the monuments beyond are seen in great detail. I also like the DOF here, whereby we can see the greenery creeping and encroaching beyond. This provides contrast of both colour and culture. The portrait format is ideal in portraying this great scene. Skilfully done.
John

singuanti (15240) 2005-07-22 23:31

Hello Huy. You did well in this challenging situation. The contrast and overall brightness are both just right. It looks like a beautiful place. Nice work Huy!

Galmeida (12559) 2005-07-23 6:05

Hi Huy,
I kike the way and perspective that you took in the shot. FRom the indoor to the outdoor, giving view of the wall in left a the scenery in frontal background. Fine colors and contrast.

Very well seen and well composed.
THanks.
Fernando

devimeuxbe (55865) 2005-07-24 9:14

Hi BS
Nice POV here with the monument throught the window. For me a nice place and a great realisation.
Well done
Bertrand

feather (49858) 2005-07-24 12:37

In common with other critiquers I love shots through doorways etc.; this is well done with interior detail showing. I also like the way the bases of some pillars lead you beyond to the main subject. Excellent shot!
Kath

kevinos (6927) 2005-07-24 12:54

I like this one a lot Huy. The doorway gives it depth. The frame is devided in an interesting way. Regards Kevin

eco (84) 2005-07-24 18:52

Hi Huy

very nice natural frame
intresting shot
fantastic place and colors
good work
rafal

PixelTerror (86058) 2005-07-26 4:15

Hi Huy,
That's a very nice view looking through the doorway towards these ancient remains, sharp and clear, well seen and shot !
Have a nice day,
Jean-Yves

joseelias (367) 2005-08-02 8:37

Considering the previous images I think that this one is much better in terms of sharpness and definition. The image is less aggressive being more pleasant to look at, as well the detail are clearer.

The POV is very good and I like a lot this feeling of “being in the place” given by the view through the door and close walls. This works very well.

Considering the exposure control difficulty the image is well managed. The white sky doesn’t bother me much. Still, if you wanted to minimize this, you cold reduce the exposure two stops and later get details of the shadows in the PC.