The Prince in Doi Suthep, a photo from Chiang Mai, North

Photographer's Note

Like a beacon projecting a calming blanket on the urban plains below, Wat Suthep is seen clearly from Chiang Mai, majestically perched atop Doi Suthep (1676m)’s. summit. It is one of north Thailand's most sacred temples, and Thai pilgrims flock here to make merit to the Buddhist relic enshrined in the picturesque golden chedi.

Incidentally, Suthep was named after the hermit Sudeva, who lived on the mountain's slopes for many years, and is the site of Chiang Mai's holy temple Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. Built as a Buddhist monastery in 1383 it is still a working monastery today.

On reaching the top we were greeted with the sight of the golden spire (can be seen in the BG) which decorates the centre of the mountain top temple. The walls around the spire form a mini enclave and are richly decorated with historical murals and shrines. Wonderful golden and emerald statues of Buddha adorn the ‘square’ around the golden spire. We just sat in awe at the diversity and sheer volume of Buddha statues, unlike anything we’d ever seen.

I photographed here, kneeling down, a statue of a prince ...Is it of Siddhartha, before he relinquished everything to attain nirvana, eventually becoming The Buddha or Prince (later King) Kawila of Lan Na, who besides being a valiant warrior contributing significantly in the expulsion of the Burmese from Lan Na, was a devout Buddhist? I do not know with surety...

The temple's famously photographed gold-plated chedi , topped by a five-tiered umbrella was erected in honour of the city's independence from Burma and its union with Thailand. It is the chedi (and the sacred Buddha relic enshrined inside) not a resident Buddha image that attracts the majority of worshippers.

The ISO 1600 was a mistake from my part..:-)

Subhogen, pierrefonds, Romano46, SnapRJW, PaulVDV, jjcordier, ChrisJ, papagolf21, jhm, delpeoples, nikkitta, adores ha contrassegnato questa nota come utile

Critiques | Translate

Kamilutka (8107) 2014-02-11 0:48

Hello,
this is an extraordinary picture and it definitely stands out from the crowd. The gold temple and Buddha statue have been presented in excellent way against pale blue sky.
The POV is low and result in totally different perspective. I like framing in here which helps to concentrate on all the details and perfect sharpness.
Thanks for sharing and have a nice day
Kamila

grebe1 (412) 2014-02-11 1:09

Kudos.
Great angle, great colour and exposure. Very nicely composed!
Keep on clicking.
Andy

Subhogen (4067) 2014-02-11 1:21

Hello Angshuman,
Fantastic shot of Lord Buddha in his rarely seen early life regal self. Never seen such statue where Buddha is adorned with so many ornaments, so thanks for sharing this. Like the low yet upward pointing POV. Rich golden colours is a really attractive element in this photo. Thanks for sharing.
Regards,
Subho

lousat (138703) 2014-02-11 2:31

Hi Angshu,an imposing perspective from a great choice of point of view,great capture from one of the most famous thai places,a very bright gold and fine detail too,incredible clarity despite the iso 1600..ehhee..have a nice day and thanks,Luciano

John_F_Kennedy (43797) 2014-02-11 2:37

Hello Angshuman,
Very fine architecture. Nice golden stupa. Superb light and colours. Well done.
best wishes,
Achim

Sergiom (117241) 2014-02-11 4:03

Bonjour Angshuman,

J'aime beaucoup cette contre plongée qui donne beaucoup d'ampleur à la statue dorée ainsi qu'au superbe temple à ses côtés. On constate que l'or est à l'honneur. Une très belle netteté d'ensemble.

Amicalement

Serge

pierrefonds (113716) 2014-02-11 4:29

Hi Angshuman,

The tight frame is putting the statue in evidence. The point of view is allowing me to distinguish the details and the colours of the statue of Buddha and of this section of the temple. The good luminosity is making the colours to shine. Have a nice day.

Pierre

Romano46 (18472) 2014-02-11 7:02

Ciao Angshumen
Un eccellente POV che valortizza un soggetto già notevole.
Belli i colori ed eccellente la definizione accoppiata ad un contrasto perfetto.
Bravissimo
Ciao e buona giornata
Romano

yquem46 (38752) 2014-02-11 7:14

Bonsoir Angshu
A superb golden picture from Thailand
Good job to find a nice pov and perspective to fit different centers of interest in the same frame without too much overlapping
Excellent quality as usual
best regards, have a nice evening
patrick

SnapRJW (31631) 2014-02-11 7:46

Hello Angshu - This temple is one that I fell in love with, its location is superb with views across the surrounding landscape. Your composition is brimming with the golden richness that typifies Thai temple architecture and the Buddha is richly decorated. I wonder is the fact that he is wearing such elaborate jewelry indicative of his earthly status? I cannot remember seeing a Buddha dressed so before. This tempts me to go back to Chiang Mai and Doi Suthep

Warm regards Rosemary

npecanhuk (79329) 2014-02-11 17:48

Hi! Wonderful details! Very beautiful and attractive picture with special regards to the colors, exposure, chosen pov and composition! Cheers, Neyvan

fabbs99 (17179) 2014-02-11 19:25

Hello Anshuman,

This is a great image of Buddha in golden hue.Excellent point of view and very well presented.Keep sharing.Have a great time.

Regards,Farhat

PaulVDV (62810) 2014-02-11 19:28

Hello Angshu,
Wonderful view upwards of the Buddha statue and the temple.
The golden tones of the richly decorated Wat and the statue sparkle in the sunlight.
Excellent capture of the many details.
Best regards, Paul

adidas5nb (5743) 2014-02-11 21:40

what a unique angle and pov here.really like the presentation.great shot.
regards
dwaipayan

jjcordier (79299) 2014-02-11 23:48

Angshu
Une photo de superbe qualité (même à 1600 ISO :))de ce magnifique temple doré.
Amicalement
JJ

abmdsudi (95869) 2014-02-12 7:04

Namaste Angshu
This has to be a beautiful golden temple there with its immaculate detail impressively composed from dramatic low pov and the convergence gives a splendid taste and depth to this. The exposure control is flawless it's really sharp, gorgeous colours and breath taking enveloped by lovely grey sky providing good contrast of colour. A pleasure to view with your usual seamless work, Congrats
Kind regards

emka (157292) 2014-02-12 23:33

hello Angshu,

Isn't the Thai architecture splendid? amazing golden decoration so masterfully presented here. Haha, I would like to see you in a strange pose making this shot. I was there too but in the beginning of the digital era, no good photos, unfortunately :(.
Warm regrads MAlgo

jurek1951 (42198) 2014-02-12 23:33

Hi,
a beautiful photo of this famous place with spectacular composition and vibrant colours, great atmosphere,
Georg

danos (110407) 2014-02-13 2:29

Hi Angshu,
well chosen the POV of this section of the Wat Suthep sith the gold Buddha to dominating the scene.The place looks very sacred for the natives as visit the place.Very informative the note about this sacred place.

Regards,Danos

ChrisJ (171392) 2014-02-13 2:57

Hi Angshu

A superb low shooting angle and upward pov with good sharpness and a nice warm cold color contrast between the blue sky and gold and red of Doi Suthep temple. The side and top light have defined the facial features of the Buddha statue. Tfs!

Nicou (193806) 2014-02-13 5:40

Hello

Fantastique vue et compo quelle statue dorée tout en or et ce toit du temple sueprbe cadrage et iamge mervielleux.
Bravo et amitié
Nicou

Fis2 (169903) 2014-02-13 6:26

Witaj Angshu!
Beautiful details.
Good POV and composition.
Gold colors make impression.
Well done.
Nice evening.
Greetings
Krzysztof

papagolf21 (152607) 2014-02-13 6:53

Bonjour, cher ami Angshu,
La magnificence des Temples demeure exceptionnelle. Le choix du cadrage en contre-plongée est parfait pour donner toute la beauté du sujet.
Très bonne journée.
Amitiés.
Philippe

pajaran (115071) 2014-02-13 10:41

Dobro vece.
Interesantan i dobar tekst o starom hramu, sa opisom ...
Dobar snimak, ostrina i kontrast, lepo pokazana skulptura bude, arhitektura i detalji na fasadi, lepe boje.
Prijatno vece i mirna noc, sve najbolje.
Paja.

Good evening.
Interesting and good article about the old temple, with a description ...
Good shot, sharpness and contrast, beautiful sculpture to be shown, architecture and details on the facade, beautiful colors.
Good evening and peaceful night, all the best.
Paja.

jhm (211734) 2014-02-14 3:27

Hello Angshu,

You took these picture out of a low position, but with a wonderful result.
Hair sharp and clear to look at, with all fine details.
A nice composition, good presentation.
Very well done, TFS.

Have a nice weekend,
John.

delpeoples (60342) 2014-02-15 3:00

Hello dear Angshu

This is a stunning photo, in terms of composition, angles, vivid colours, details and of course subject matter. I love these golden tones and they've been accentuated by the black frame. Congratulations, an exquisite photo.

Warmest wishes
Lisa

Graal (103040) 2014-02-15 8:55

Hi Angshuman,
very nice statue of gold Buddha and details of temple in BG. Good shot and presentation. Interesting informations. Well done photo.
Have a nice evening.
Aleksander

subhendu_bagchi (26091) 2014-02-17 3:18

dear dada,
another fascinating artwork and another fabulous catch. I like the golden tone of it. You presented it from a lower POV which added a lot to it. Sharpness is undoubtedly mind blowing and very good depth. Another superb one from you. Khub Khub Bhalo Chhobi. And I have to say that 1600 ISO didn't hamper your shot a lot.
Subhendu

nikkitta (17070) 2014-02-20 12:10

Hello Angshu
Finally a creative capture of a golden wat, good contrast with the sky and clever upwards POV
Great sharpness to fully appreciated impresive lots of architecture ornaments
Like the way Siddhartha seems watchig you
Very well done
Maria

Answer your note about Paraguay and red color

adores (46979) 2014-03-08 14:48

Hi Angshuman!
This is a very beautiful temple and I like your composition here. The gold really stands out with the dark sky as background. Well framed and with a good quality.

I'm glad you like C215:)! He has facebook also!

Photo Information

Copyright: Angshuman Chatterjee (Angshu) (56760)
Genre: Luoghi
Medium: Colore
Date Taken: 2012-03-20
Categories: Architettura
Camera: Canon 400D (Digital Rebel XTi), Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 EX DC MACRO, RAW, Marumi 72mm PL-CIR
Esposizione: f/11, 1/500 secondi
More Photo Info: view
Versione Foto: Versione Originale
Diario di viaggio: Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai & Bangkok
Date Submitted: 2014-02-11 0:44