A Confluence of Styles, a photo from Chiang Mai, North

Photographer's Note

When in Chiang Mai or in North Thailand, the flavour or the most commonly used word one hears is ‘Lanna’. Historically and culturally Lanna refers to the northern Thai kingdom, founded in Chiang Saen but for much of its incarnation centered around Chiang Mai, and which lasted from the 13th to 18th centuries. So most older buildings, principally wats (temples), are classified as Lanna style.

Burmese influence was strong in Northern Thailand as they established rule here directly or indirectly for centuries. Their presence had a striking influence on the local Lanna architecture & created a fusion of the two styles.

Wat Saen Fang is one of the most important temples in the east of Chiang Mai city is one such Wat or temple, which epitomizes this confluence of styles…. featuring a Lanna style prayer hall viharn, and a Burmese style chedi (an alternative term for a Buddhist stupa, mainly used in Thailand).

The temple's origins go back to the 14th century, but the architecture is late 19th century Burmese. The temple displays many Burmese details, such as in the shape of the highly decorated chedi with its rainbow of mirrored tiles. This chedi and the ordination hall (ubosot) on the west side of the compound were built during the Burmese occupation of Chiang Mai. The prayer hall (viharn), on the right is in the Lanna style and had served as the Royal Hall. Thus Wat Saen Fang like quite a few Wats in Chiang Mai is a confluence of two architectural styles & the influence of Burmese style is strong. Indeed, the elaborately carved exterior and use of rich colors like gold and blue reminded us of the Wat’s glorious past.

An unpretentious entrance on Tha Phae Road leads to the delightful Wat Saen Fang & hence can be easily missed. A narrow alley flanked by two nagas or serpents opens into a picturesque precinct with a beautifully kept garden, lovely chedi in the Burmese style and a viharn with richly gilded carving on the façades.

Took this picture in the falling light which cast pastel tones on the magnificent Chedi with the rosy grey sky as the backdrop.

danos, delpeoples, jhm, pierrefonds, Graal, jjcordier, dip, josepmarin, jusninasirun ha contrassegnato questa nota come utile

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BennyV (34780) 2012-04-17 0:57

Hello Angshu

Great golden grey shot from northern Thailand. Good use of wide angle and of the tree leaves to frame the scene. Fine piece of work. Tfs & have a good week out there!

Benny

Afsanehbagheri (3228) 2012-04-17 1:01

سلام دوست من

نما نور و ترکیب خوب است

تبریک با آرزوی بهترین ها

papagolf21 (152607) 2012-04-17 1:04

Bonjour, cher Angshu,
Votre album photographique est un véritable trésor.
Ici, encore, nous pouvons admirer des édifices étonnants aux architectures complexes et décorées avec grandeur.
Bravo !
Amitiés.
Philippe

danos (110407) 2012-04-17 1:10

Hello Angshu,
very nice the view of the Wat with the pinkish colour tints of the sky to make the image even more charmy and effective.
I like the good presentation with the informative note to completes perfect the image.

Regards,Danos

serp2000 (47063) 2012-04-17 1:21

Sawadee krap, Angshuman,
Another excellent composition from Chiang Mai! Well done! An interesting and useful note, very nice postcard format.
Kap kun krap!
Serghei

delpeoples (60342) 2012-04-17 2:09

Hi dear Anghsu

What a fascinating photo, the colours are sensational despite the overcast day. I also like the distortion of the wide-angle lens, combined with the slightly angled Point of View. Excellent shot, congratulations.

Warm regards
Lisa

jhm (211738) 2012-04-17 4:31

Hello Angshu,

You took this picture in the falling light which cast pastel tones on the magnificent Chedi with the rosy grey sky as the backdrop, excellent described.
Excellent light management, nice colors too.
Composition and presentation are pleasant for look at.
Very well done, TFS.

Have a nice day.
John.

pierrefonds (115518) 2012-04-17 6:22

Hi Angshuman,

The trees are helping to frame the temple. The point of view is showing the details and colors of the architecture of the Wat Saen Fang which is seeming to be leaning toward the back. The afternoon light is giving nice tints to the colors. Have a nice day.

Pierre

ChrisJ (172430) 2012-04-17 6:53

Hello Angshu,

A good upward pov on the Chiang Mai pagoda. Excellent warm cold color contrasts between the golden spires & blue grey sky. Good sharpness & framing. Tfs!

altay1364 (0) 2012-04-17 8:11

İyi günler
Çok güzel bir kare ! Göz alıcı bir fotoğraf . ayrıntılar çok ustaca ve bütün olarak mükemmel . tebrik ediyorum

patdeph (35750) 2012-04-17 10:40

namaste Angshuman
yes, we can recognize the burmase influence in the rich and splendid stupa.And the temple near it adds its own thaï style.I like very much how you have framed them with the branches.Very well done !
Regards
Pascale

Bluejeans (64251) 2012-04-17 10:56

Ola Angshuman ,
Enorme esta torre neste templo parece que toca o céu , , muito bonita a sua arquitetura bem detalhada e com estas cores douradas , boa luz , parabéns!!
Um abraço Gonçalo

Graal (103040) 2012-04-18 0:27

Hi Angshuman,
very nice gold details at the temple. Good shot. An interesting informations. Photo I like.
Have a nice day.
Aleksander

Nicou (193814) 2012-04-18 1:09

Hello

quel cadrage avec de chaque côté de la végétation sueprbe iamge et quelle coupole avec le dorures quelle architecture, une emrveille.

bravo et amitié

Nicou

jjcordier (79299) 2012-04-18 1:13

Angshuman
Une étonnante opposition de styles architecturaux pour ces deux temples. La décoration du temple birman est assez incroyable. Belle composition.
Ton travail de posttraitement a, semble-t-il, légèrement altéré le ciel.
Amicalement
JJ

pajaran (117033) 2012-04-18 2:33

Pozdrav.
Vrlo interesantan i dobar tekst sa datim podacima ...
Lep pogled na deo starog hrama, dobra kompozicija.
Dobra ostrina snimka, kontrast i prikaz lepim bojama.
Ljudi su ostavili hramove i poruku ...
Sve najbolje.
Paja.

Google.

Greetings.
Very interesting and good text with a given data ...
Nice view of the old temple, a good composition.
Good image sharpness, contrast and display of beautiful colors.
People have left a message and temples ...
All the best.
Paja.

dip (21408) 2012-04-18 3:29

Hi Angshu,
wonderful and interesting architectural details,
thanks for sharing,
Dimitris.

mohammad_H (10178) 2012-04-18 4:18

سلام انگشومن
Decorating and design beautiful and unique roles. Very attractive appearance. Resolution to succeed is properly registered.
Have a nice day

josepmarin (59385) 2012-04-18 4:41

Namaste, my friend Angshuman,
The Thai architecture that you offer us in this magnificent low-angle shot is really fantastic, and provides a great graphical effect because of its rich decoration and its elegant shapes.
The fugue of lines of the architectural perspective is spectacular, and the weak light as well as the nice tones in the sky increase the high aesthetic level of your composition.
A beautiful work.
Best wishes,
Josep

Fis2 (171907) 2012-04-18 5:37

Witaj Angshu!
A very curious "tower"...?
Good composition and colors.
Photo has climate.
Regards
Krzysztof

abmdsudi (95869) 2012-04-18 21:33

Sawadee Angshu
Fabulous shot, great perspective and view point with the position of the temples placed just right for a nice composition and good use of natural framing to fill up the evening sky, this really makes you appreciate the amount of work involved to build something like this! Brilliant image full of good detail and colors that evoke a lovely peaceful atmosphere. Great capture and well written information as usual. Well done
Warm regards

jusninasirun (17529) 2012-04-18 23:38

Hello Angshu.
The natural framing with foliage on top exposing this watt really well in the frame. The golden intricate design which is signatory to Thai temples are well registered from fine angle.
Thanks and have a nice day.
Jusni

rabdelnoor (3423) 2012-04-19 18:47

Hi Angshu,
Very good framing of this temple. You really managed very well the exposure here, due this difficult light condition. Very beautiful colors.
Regards
Ricardo

everlasting (19978) 2012-04-20 12:48

Hi Angshu, I like how you have used the leaves to frame the image, lovely details here the pagodas stand out well against the grey sky.

Waylim (25436) 2012-04-25 23:24

Hello again,

Another beautiful postcard from the tropical Thailand. I can feel the humid and hot air, though this image taken late in the day or early morning, it is not so hot and also up north in chiang Mai it is much cooler, and can be cold in the january. Love the soft beautiful light with warm tone.

Way

Photo Information

Copyright: Angshuman Chatterjee (Angshu) (56760)
Genre: Luoghi
Medium: Colore
Date Taken: 2012-03-18
Categories: Architettura
Camera: Canon 400D (Digital Rebel XTi), Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 EX DC MACRO, RAW, Marumi 72mm PL-CIR
Esposizione: f/9.0, 1/50 secondi
More Photo Info: view
Versione Foto: Versione Originale
Diario di viaggio: Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai & Bangkok
Date Submitted: 2012-04-17 0:52