Zoom Zoom Zoom

The wheel of a Mazda

I thought I'd take a break from the usual bird and butterfly shots and add a bit of variety to the blog, so here's a shot of the wheel of a Mazda. I had a few minutes to kill and the camera was with me. This resulted in the shot above. I liked how the Mazda logo was positioned and I felt all the leading lines made a strong composition.  I wanted the image to be a black and white one and exposed the image accordingly. Read on for more lighting information.

I actually didn't use any strobes to light the wheel. The shot was taken around 10.00 in the morning with the light coming from camera right. The wheel was slightly turned and this allowed the light to only hit the face of the wheel and keep the insides and grooves in shadow.

Do drop a comment if you have any suggestions on how this shot could be improved.

Portraits of two Kandians

A self appointed tour guide at the Embekke temple in Kandy

This post contains two portraits of people I met while I was in Kandy.

The photograph above is of a man who was at the Embekke temple when we visited in January. He was at the gate having a conversation with some other people when we walked in. A little while later he came  up to our group and started giving us a "tour" of the temple. It was a bit of a surprise to all of us as no one had indicated that we needed a guide.  

I took this photograph of him on our way out. I thought he had an interesting face and an impressive moustache (which was completely white). The sun, falling on one side of his face, accentuated the wrinkles around his eyes and on his forehead. In hindsight, I should have used a reflector of some sort to lighten up the area around his eyes. I decided to convert this image to black and white as colour didn't really add anything to it. I also felt that a black and white image would highlight the different textures on his skin. 

The second portrait is after the jump.

A woman who was drying coves at the Lankathilaka temple in Kandy

This woman was drying cloves at the Lankathilaka temple when we visited. The temple itself is built on a massive rock which the people of the area use to dry their spices on before sale. We visited the temple at around mid day and found that it was almost impossible to walk around without some form of foot wear as the rock had got heated up by the sun. The woman was quite friendly and was more than happy to strike a pose when I showed her the camera. She was thrilled to see the image on the LCD! 

I spoke to her for a few minutes while waiting for the others and found out that she lived in the village near the temple. She also told me that she would have to sit around for three whole days, in the burning hot sun, and watch over the cloves until they dry and are ready for sale. I'm glad I was able to capture an image of her kind face and her smile.

These images were captured using a Canon 7D and a Canon 50mm f1.8 lens.

Anuradhapura in Black and White

Here are a few more images taken in the Western Monasteries area of Anuradhapura. For more info and images on the Western Monasteries, check out  http://devwijewardane.blogspot.com/2010/01/western-monasteries-anuradhapura.html. Other black and white images of Ruwanveliseya are available at http://devwijewardane.blogspot.com/2010/02/ruwanweliseya-anuradhapura-sri-lanka.html.

More images inside.

The shot above of the Moonstone was taken by my wife using a Canon 400D and a 50mm f1.8 lens. I feel that, apart from the composition, the leaves scattered around make the shot work. The black and white processing also helps to accentuate the details that have been carved in to the stone. I really like this shot and might get it framed at some point.

This shot was taken near the Samadhi Buddha statue. From Memory, I used the 400D and the 50mm f1.8 lens to capture these images. A creeper similar to the strangler fig had grown on the tree. I converted this image to black and white as I thought it would help define the carvings on the guard stones and steps as well as the roots of the creeper. I regret not having come across this place a bit earlier in the morning when the sun was a bit lower as the light would have been better for photography. I may have also been able to cut down on the blown highlights which are visible on the right hand side of the image.

This is an entrance to another building in the Western Monasteries complex. I took this shot with the 400D and the 50mm f1.8 lens. In hind sight I should have used a smaller aperture on this one in order to get a wider depth of field. This would have meant a longer shutter speed but I did have a tripod with me at the time! I'd love to head back to the Western Monasteries at some stage and spend a few days exploring and photographing the place.