Fluttering prayers... Photo

Photographer’s Note

These prayer flags were photographed at a place called Tashi viewpoint, high above the city of Gangtok in the far north-east region of Sikkim. The view was exceptionally disappointing due to thick cloud cover but the ares was strewn with fluttering prayer flags so I did manage a few pictures before heading down again.

The following information was edited from the Wikipedia on-line encyclopedia:

----------------------------------------------------

Prayer flags are colourful, rectangular cloths often found strung along mountain ridges and peaks in the Himalayan regions. Unknown in other branches of Buddhism, prayer flags are believed to have originated with Bön, which predated Buddhism in Tibet. Traditionally they are woodblock-printed with texts and images.

Prayer flags come in sets of five, one in each of five colors. The five colors represent the elements and are arranged from left to right in a specific order:

Blue (symbolizing sky/space)
White (symbolizing wind/air)
Red (symbolizing fire)
Green (symbolizing water)
Yellow (symbolizing earth)

The centre of a prayer flag traditionally features a "Ta" (powerful or strong horse) bearing three flaming jewels on its back. The Ta is a symbol of speed and the transformation of bad fortune to good fortune. The three flaming jewels symbolize the Buddha, the Dharma (Buddhist teachings), and the Sangha (Buddhist community), the three cornerstones of Tibetan philosophical tradition.

Surrounding the Ta are various versions of approximately 20 traditional mantras (powerful ritual utterances), each dedicated to a particular deity (in Tibetan, deities are not so much gods as "aspects of the divine" which are manifest in each part of the whole non-dual universe, including individual humans). These writings include mantras from three of the great Buddhist Bodhisattvas: Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche), Avalokiteśvara (Chenrezi, the bodhisattva of compassion, and the patron of the Tibetan people), and Manjusri.

In addition to mantras, prayers for the long life and good fortune of the person who mounts the flags are often included.

Images (or the names) of four powerful animals (also known as the Four Dignities), the dragon, the garuda (a wise eagle-like bird), the tiger, and the Snowlion, adorn each corner of a flag.

----------------------------------------------------

PP details: Full-frame shot, no cropping; Sharpness x 1; White frame added.

Regards,

Rich

sarahnatalie, indoka28, hattori, sabyasachi1212, happypoppeye, ilvao has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

sarahnatalie (693) 2007-07-10 12:20

One of the best prayer flags posts in my opinion, because of the excellent information and the nice tight crop with excellent detail. I might have cropped the top slightly because the white flag letting in a lot of light at the top is a little distracting to the overall image, but that's just a personal preference. Excellent post! Thanks for sharing,
Sarah

indoka28 (5183) 2007-07-10 21:18

Hello Rich,

The note is just amazing..Its really very knowledge giving and an eyeopener about flags...The pov is also very good with lots of colours and clarity..very well composed pattern here of the colourful flags..!!

Tfs,

Regards,
Indro

hattori (2) 2007-07-10 21:43

dear richard,
it is an excellent and impressive shot with marvellous colours
congratulations
best wishes from turkey
nezih

Dpbours (218) 2007-07-10 22:14

Hi Rich,

A nice diagonal line-up of flags with good colours to it! And you're proving that choosing the right parts of Wikipedia does add to a picture as well! :-)
The flags are really thin and you can almost look through them. And in a sense, I'm wondering if that gives me the feeling of a slight out of focus. On AF, the flags moving, being close to it, you might just get that little bit of a difference between crispy sharp and just normally sharp. I don't know. Can be the subject as well! But I do agree that this is a fine posting on prayer flags!!

Greetings,
Dennis

michiels (4170) 2007-07-15 11:32

hello Rich,

Great photo, i like the colours ! And also the flags, i bought some like these in Nepal and had them on my balcony ... ;D (the holiday-feeling).
greetings, inn

sabyasachi1212 (19546) 2007-07-15 20:44

Hi Richard,
The Tashi viewpoint on a clear day does offer a majectic view of the Himalayas, specially Kanchenjongha and its adjoining peaks. It can be disappointing on a gloomy day but you have made the best of the opportunity. The framing is nicely done, so as not to include any part of what I assume is a dull white sky.
With Greetings from India
Sabyasachi

happypoppeye (4060) 2007-07-22 18:59

Nice colors and POV giving alot of depth to the photo Rich. I also like the composition, especially in that the entire photo is prayer flags and there are no triangles of sky in the corners or anything like that. Nice angles and layers of the flags. Sharp and detailed. I also like the saturation - most people would tend to overstaturate a photo with all these colors but I like how you kept the colors "real".

Nice wrok.
John

ilvao (2248) 2008-02-20 23:37

Dear Richard,

beautiful colors
it's well done and i like your frame
i have some on my balcony but the colors changed, they are now very bright
all the best
olivier