Corridors - Dambulla, Sri Lanka

 

I came across this little stupa at the end of a corridor near the entrance to one of the caves. I thought the row of windows made the composition a bit more interesting. Thoughts?

Statues - Dambulla, Sri Lanka

Dambulla on a quiet day is great experience. These statues were in the second cave (from memory) and I was fortunate to be able to take my time photographing them as there weren't too many other people around. A tripod is essential and flash photography is not allowed. The main statues are lit but the paintings on the walls are in relative darkness.

Raja Maha Viharaya - Dambulla, Sri Lanka

 

The cave temples in Dambulla are on almost every tourist route within Sri Lanka and they deserve to be. The artwork and statues are stunning and are a welcome reward after the climb up to the caves.  I visited the temple early one morning with the aim of photographing it without other visitors walking across my frame. I got to the temple and found that my lens was broken and wouldn't zoom out more than 70mm.  Fortunately I had taken a few photographs the previous day.

Buduruwagala - Wellawaya, Sri Lanka

 

We stopped at Buduruwagala on our way to Arugam Bay a few weeks ago. I hadn't been there in a number of years and was a bit disappointed to see that the area had changed. I guess it was inevitable given the increasing number of visitors to the area. The statues though are still stunning and well worth a visit. 

Ambalama - Godamunne, Sri Lanka

Ambalama's are old buildings that were setup as wayside rests to be used by travels and can be found throughout the country. The ambalama in Godamunne is said to have been built using pillars from the Hanguranketha Palace which was destroyed by the  Dutch in the 17th century. The pillars themselves have ornate carvings on them but they have been damaged over time. 

The Temple of the Tooth - Kandy, Sri Lanka

I thought I'd get to the temple early in the morning and photograph it's exterior before pilgrims and tourists started arriving. I was surprised when I had issues finding parking after a 5.00am start! It was impossible to compose a shot of the building without including people so I had no choice but to come up with a composition that included pilgrims. 

Iguazu Falls - Puerto Iguazú, Argentina

A section of Iguazu falls photographed from the island in front of the falls. I believe the island is only accessible in the drier months when the water levels are low. Getting a long exposure of the waterfall wasn't easy as there were a number of visitors and standing room was limited.  If I had more time and space I would have probably experimented a bit with ND filters etc. 

Jaguar - Pantanal, Brazil

We had the pleasure of watching a Jaguar stalking Capybara on the banks of a the Cuiaba river a few years ago. The hunt was unsuccessful and the Jaguar proceeded to check the river for Caiman before walking back into the undergrowth. The entire sighting lasted about 30 minutes. The discipline of the guides and visitors made for a great experience. 

Stone Bridge - Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

The remnants of a stone bridge dating back to about the 5th century. The bridge crosses the Malwathu Oya and was part of a well established road network that connected the capital city to other areas of the island. The roads were used by carts to transport goods.

Vatadage - Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka

The Vatadage at Polonnaruwa is said to date back to the rule of King Parakramabahu in the 12th Century. It is one of 10 Vatadages that can be found in the country. This photograph was taken on an overcast morning and shows one of 4 entrances to the inner section of the building.

Anzac Bridge - Sydney, Australia

We've just got back home after spending a couple of weeks in Sydney. NSW is going through some tough times at the moment with huge bush fires burning across the state. On quite a few days over the last two weeks, the city wasn't visible from this vantage point due to the haze that hung in the air. This photograph was taken in the evening after sunset on a rare clear day.

Jama Masjid - New Delhi, India

The Jama Masjid, built by Shah Jenhand between 1650 and 1656, is one of the largest mosques in India. The mosque can accommodate around 25,000 worshippers and is still in use today. We visited on a rainy morning and I'm sure that reduced the number of tourists at the site making it a bit easier to photograph. The bazars of Old Delhi are to the left of this frame and definitely worth exploring.

Iguazu Falls - Puerto Iguazu, Argentina

This photograph looks down stream from the devil's throat at Iguazu Falls.  I couldn't photograph the devil's throat itself as I would have only had a white frame because of the spray. This was taken during a dry period so It would actually be quite hard to imagine what the falls would look like during the rains upstream. 

Iguazu Falls - Puerto Iguazu, Argentina

This photograph of Iguazu Falls was taken from the upper walking trail on the Argentinian side of the falls. It looks out across the 2.7km length of the falls towards the Devil's Throat. We visited in the dry season when there wasn't as much water but the falls were still impressive. A number of walking tracks allow you to access the top and bottom of the falls while a boat ride takes you across to the island". 

Jaguar - Pantanal, Brazil

After spending a long day travelling along the Cuiaba river we were rewarded with this amazing sighting of a Jaguar. We were initially the only boat at the sighting and watched the cat stalking Capybara along the shore. It then appeared to look for Caiman in the shallows before disappearing into the undergrowth. 

Sambar - Horton Plains, Sri Lanka

A male Sambar photographed on our last trip to Horton Plains in May. If you do venture into the Horton Plains national park late in the evening, you'd see large numbers of Sambar gathered on the plains to feed and if you are lucky, a Leopard. I haven't stayed in the park for years so it's been a while since I saw Sambar in large numbers too.

Council Chamber - Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka

The council chamber of King Nissanka Malla can be found on the banks of the Parakrama Samudra in Polonnaruwa. The kings throne is said to have stood in front of the lion but has now been moved to the museum in Colombo. Each of the 48 columns are inscribed with the names of the ministers who made up the council.

Vatadage - Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka

The Vatadage in the city of Polonnaruwa is supposed to be one of the best preserved Vatadage structures in the Country. This photograph was taken from the first platform of the structure and shows the north facing entrance to the second platform on which the stupa was built. As shown in the photograph, a Buddha statue is positioned facing each of the 4 entrances to the second platform.

Skyline - Sydney, Australia

I shot this photograph from one of the pylons on the southern end of the Harbour bridge. Manoeuvring the camera wasnt easy as I had to stick the lens through a small gap between the fence and the pylon wall. The Rocks, the oldest part of Sydney is on the right of the image, the Overseas Passenger Terming is in the centre and Centre Point is visible.

The Opera House - Sydney, Australia

Photographing the Opera House head on and capturing all 3sections isn't straight forward. You are either shooting upwards from the forecourt or you are shooting between the bars of a fence that runs up the stairs leading to the botanical gardens.  I shot this by poking the camera through some of the bars along the walkway. It wasn't easy as i couldn't see through the view finder or the screen due to the angle of the camera. Glad this turned out ok!