100 yellow hats raising in the sunshine Photo

Photographer’s Note

(*) This is a repost, in between my photos from east Turkey - starting from a scanned photo which was printed from a slide some years ago : please, read last sentence at the bottom of this note.
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About the photo : the reunion of some monks from the huge Labrang city-monastery on the steps of the main prayer hall, then the way they enter together = seen here (the last of them at least) is really impressive and this show is not so well known – one has to know the timing. The first monks who arrive sit down on the steps, facing the sun, chat with friends and warm up because the large prayer hall it is still cold from the previous night (high altitude).

When almost everyone has arrived, the 2 monks who are standing on the roof blow briefly but heavily into conch shells and this is the signal that everyone is invited inside for the main prayer of the day ; all the felt boots are left behind on the steps. There are two "masters of ceremony", you can notice them at each extremity of the crowd, with their impressive hats : here is a detail of the scene, taken just a few minutes earlier.
(More details about the monastery in the "original version").
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(*) PS : I asked if I could repost this WS, because it became to me a challenging standard where I like to look back, every time I post something new, thanks for your help, Henk !...

Henryk_Bilor, Atousa, lestans, kagemusha, delic, thaprem, MarcT, riclopes, Photo65Net, hattori, bakes888, feather, photographer123, papagolf21, siolaw, AROBN54, crckt, Angshu has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Bruno40 (6442) 2007-09-17 22:28

Cath
Nice RP. Fantastic POV and composition. The WS is also great.
TFS
Jorge
PS we are neighbours today! :-)

pablominto (41700) 2007-09-17 22:50

Hello Catherine,
This is amazing!
I can hardly call it a group photograph, but the number of monks is impressive, and their location on the stairs of the house of worship...
Wonderful colours in spite of difficult post processing, an image well worth the effort!
Greetings,
Pablo -

Atousa (3524) 2007-09-17 23:07

Salam Cath,
This is an informative shot and note..really interesting.
Best of Luck,
AtousA

Henryk_Bilor (20375) 2007-09-17 23:08

Hello Cath
Wow, impressive hats :). Great scene of these monks on the stairs and two of them on the roof. Good light and colours.
Regards

lestans (15550) 2007-09-17 23:22

Very interesting ceremony picture. You had been lucky to see such a ceremony!
And thank you for such awell done picture.
Good notes; compliments!

Livia

kagemusha (1276) 2007-09-17 23:33

Merhaba Cath,
Lucky you! informative and interesting ceremony photo but PP is really impressive.
TFS
mali

MarcT (21105) 2007-09-18 1:51

Yes, thank you Oochappan.
He gave me also great support.
But first of all you have to have a good picture to begin with.
Marc

delic (6735) 2007-09-18 2:19

Hello Catherine,
I'm really glad that you decided to repost this one because I had missed the original upload. Colors and contrast have improved here. It is indeed a decisive moment in the ceremony, and a fantastic contribution to TE. I really enjoy reading your notes, and love the title of this one. Regards,
Hakan

thaprem (2500) 2007-09-18 2:20

Catherine,
I stumbled on it on the sheer drama of the shot...
I thought it is a scene from some historical movie where the Greek army is moving inside...
The drama of the moment is never missed!.
Thanks,
Prem.

prumod (8264) 2007-09-18 2:29

hi cath...
an interesting shot! its colorfulness is very attractive... good gradients and contrast!
greetings...

riclopes (33159) 2007-09-18 3:04

Olá Cath, now we now who was the friend that helped you out. Henk has impressed me many times with his skills and he really is a person that likes to help. The rest of it, you already know from me: It's a fascinating image and it's an incredible good work done from your original. Thanks Henk.
ricardo

rbcy1974 (20746) 2007-09-18 3:36

HellO Cath
Very nice, one can see that this is a very high quality print specially beacuase of the richness of the blue in the sky,
very well composed, nicely captured horizontal patterns.
Regards
Daniel

giorgimer (21710) 2007-09-18 5:02

Hi Cath,

your travels are always magic! Great view here with this crowded scene, excellent colors and light.

TFS

Gio

Stepan (27175) 2007-09-18 10:59

C'est canon, tout simplement et c'est une très bonne idée d'avoir reposté.
L'endroit est magique, la compo le suggère pas mal avec cette troupe étonnante. Le format horizontal va très bien avec le sujet.
Stéphane

xavshot (63373) 2007-09-18 11:53

Bonsoir Catherine
joli format de la photo et belles couleurs. j'aime beaucoup la scène présentée ici. Beau travail.
Xavier

Photo65Net (43106) 2007-09-18 12:14

Catherine,
Comme on dit, y'a pas photo :o)
Le repost vaut ici le détour, tant au niveau de la balance des blancs que des contrastes.
Celle-ci est une vraie photo, au sens oeuvre artistique.
Bonne soirée,
JB.

hattori (2) 2007-09-18 23:31

sevgili catherine,
it's a great shot, can meet the national geographic standards
very well done
cheers
nezih

UnTrained (0) 2007-09-19 2:06

Hello Cath,
I allowed myself to have a look at your captures. It is a good repost, the quality is much better, the borders are not my favourite. Seems to me the main job was noise reduction, which made this clearer and sharper. The good POV including all of this amount of monks in a pleasant way on the stairs and a bit diagonal is well chosen and the building in its beautiful architecture and decoration is a nice background. It has no sense, I know, but I also would prefer a large version to have a closer look an details.
Lieben Gruss, Ulf

bakes888 (18353) 2007-09-19 2:46

Hi Catherine. Great photo. Good colour and detail catch the eye and good composition holds your attention. Nice work and thanks for sharing.
Cheers, Paul.

feather (50588) 2007-09-19 7:25

I didn't see the original version at the time, but comparing them now you have done a good job with your PP at tidying up the scan. The subject is fascinating and makes a very interesting and colourful image. The WS helps us to see the monks more closely. Good work
Kath

photographer123 (5817) 2007-09-19 9:34

hi ....
composition and subject of the shot are too nice...very good in color...well done...subir

papagolf21 (57029) 2007-09-19 14:24

Bonsoir, mon amie Catherine,
J'ai beaucoup aimé la transition entre les deux prises de vue. Cette photographie n'a rien perdu de sa force et de sa beauté.
L'intérêt est manifeste et entre tout à fait dans l'esprit de TE.
Bravo !
Amitiés.
Philippe

kiwi_explorer (12195) 2007-09-19 17:32

Hi Catherine,
Monks wearing hats ... that is new to me ... must be a new fashion or just sun protection :) Anyway, can't get any holier than this. I like the notes you wrote about the scene ... very interesting. The quality of the image is quite good considering it ia scanned. Well captured and presented ... I like the vibrant colors. Well done! tfs
Cheers,
Renier

siolaw (25914) 2007-09-19 19:20

Salut Catherine
Une belle lumière, donc de jolies couleurs/contrastes, et une nettete juste.
Et une scène intéressante avec ces bonnets jaunes en réunion!
C'est vraiment dans le nord de la Chine? On dirait des Tibétains!
Amicalement
Laurent

AROBN54 (10799) 2007-09-19 21:09

Oh man, Cath,
through all those revolutions you produced a shot this nice?? I am in awe. I love the light, the lines, the colors... the contrasts in straight lines and the monks robes. This is simply awesome! in great respect,
Shelly

toto (18783) 2007-09-20 1:32

Belle photo de ce temple et de ces 100 personnes qui se réunissent avec leurs costumes rouges et leurs chapeux jaunes pour sanctifier le soleil. jolies couleurs et bons détails bien nets. Amitiés Thomas
je reviens

crckt (7102) 2007-09-20 14:18

Hi Cath,
I think this is a wonderful shot. The panoramic view of monks in front of the monastery look amazing. Beautiful note to go with it too.
Well done,
Shaeri

sayan (2609) 2007-09-21 22:56

Hi Cath,

This is a nice repost. The WS is beautiful too. I like the composition and the colours very much in this one. The quality is also very good.

regards

Sayan

Angshu (34253) 2007-09-22 6:55

Dear Cath
Amazing picture & quality of scan is excellent. The number of monks assembled on the stairs, with their impressive hats & your impressive notes to accompany. Good idea of slight diagonal to increase the depth. Great post!
Regards
Angshu

manatee (4301) 2007-09-22 14:49

Hello Cath:

Very nice picture, I don't know but I think I saw this picture before, however I like it, nice history behind this pic as usual. The composiontion is grate.
Have a nice weekend