Daily Photo - The Mighty Temple
I can't wait to get back to India for more photography. I shot nonstop while I was there, but I feel like I did not take enough! As you may know, I process these images out-of-order, and I still have plenty to go through, but the pile is thinning with each ensuing week!
This is a beautiful and huge temple in Agra, India. I was there in the morning, barefoot, and it was quite cool and arid. I felt a little strange running around a temple, barefooted, holding my giant camera... but it was really fun! These wonderful old temples have countless angles and compositions of interest. I did my best from this vantage to capture the grandeur of the fort.
A Collection of Art
I try to share a bunch of inspirational art links throughout the week. I drop these into Twitter from time to time. I need to update this page with new stuff, but you will find a bunch of cool inspiration art on the "Things I've Found That Inspire Me" page.
Tags: stuck customs stuckincustoms stuckincustoms.com travel blog travelblog photography photoblog photographyblog hdr high dynamic range imaging digital processing software tutorial hdrtutorial trey ratcliff treyratcliff world republic of india bharat ganarajya south asia indus valley subcontinent भारत गणराज्य Bhārat Gaṇarājya agra आगरा آ گرہ Mahabharata agrevana Rājā Badal Singh Mahābhārata महाभारत Yamuna uttar Pradesh उत्तर प्रदेश اتر پردیش UP मन्दिर mandir mighty morning arid cool dry ancient fort architecture structure ruins sacred November 2007 Nikon d2xs
There is a temple atop a huge hill in Lijiang that has several "staging areas" for rest along the way. This is one of them.
This is an area where I took a lot of photos of the old town below. That area is kind of behind me here in this photo, although that is hard to tell from this vantage. It is a good resting place to recharge your batteries before finishing the rest of the hike up the stairs to the top. There's also a little shop here that sells snacks and drinks... To me, a true adventurer never passes up a good snack.
- Trey Ratcliff
Read more here at the Stuck in Customs blog.
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I've visited Gǔlóu many times and never taken a photo. I just couldn't figure one out.
And then, this most recent trip, I walked around the tower several times until I finally got an idea.
This is the giant drum tower built about a thousand years ago by Kublai Khan. An enormous drum rests in front, and it was beat rhythmically to announce meetings. The temple sits in the Inner City to the north of Di'anmen Street.
- Trey Ratcliff
Read more, including a preview of an exciting announcement, here at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Tags: Beijing china http://www.StuckInCustoms.com - Trey Ratcliff stuckincustoms Trey Ratcliff SOETOP50-SpotsForDaydreamers
Two of the corners around the moat around the Forbidden City are exactly the same. The only difference is the direction they face. And, with bad luck, I started on the wrong corner, so that meant a not-so-short-runwalk to the other corner, and that is no small feat with something this huge. But, in terms of a long walk, at least there is something beautiful to look at along the way.
- Trey Ratcliff
Read more here at the Stuck in Customs blog.
These delicate shapes are seen on a variety of temples all over southeast Asia, India, and other parts of the Far East. It is the shape of a Lotus Blossom, a timeless symbol, and it is repeated over and over here at Angkor Wat.
The lotus represents the purity of body, speech, and mind. Like the lotus, these should float above the muddy waters of attachment and desire.
The shot below was taken around 5 or 6 AM in the morning. While shooting, I was attended to by a small Cambodian girl that would bring me strong Vietnamese coffee whenever I ran out, which was often. I don't know where she would go to get it -- she would disappear off into the jungle and come walking calmly back every 15 minutes or so, smiling.
Read more, including some info on my upcoming London photowalk (and vote on some locations for shots!) here at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Tags: stuck customs stuckincustoms stuckincustoms.com travel blog travelblog photography photoblog photographyblog hdr high dynamic range imaging digital processing software tutorial hdrtutorial trey ratcliff treyratcliff southeast asia south east asia Cambodia kingdom Kampuchea preah reachea nachak Kampuchea ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា Preăh Réachéa Nachâk Kâmpŭchea Kambujadesa कम्बोजदेश angkor អង្គរ nagara नगर kulen hills siem reap unesco world heritage site khmer architecture angkor wat vat temple lotus sunrise sun morning light glow clouds trees palm water reflections june 2007 nikon d2xs