Category: explorations

Special Feature — THE FORGOTTEN TEMPLE: Dakkinagiriya & the Other Kaludiya Pokuna

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A thousand-year-old ‘mountain monastery’, lost in the Kaludiya Pokuna Forest, east of Dambulla; forgotten by the tour guides, and seemingly by time itself. For the visitor seeking something literally off the beaten track, the Dakkinagiri Viharaya is an intriguing but serene detour away from the well-trodden sites of Sri Lanka’s Cultural Triangle.”

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The stupa of the 9th century Dakkinagiri Viharaya, with Erawalgala behind it.
Continue reading “Special Feature — THE FORGOTTEN TEMPLE: Dakkinagiriya & the Other Kaludiya Pokuna” →
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A Busy Morning at the Onion Store

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4th Cross Street, Pettah. September 2022. The wholesalers of Colombo’s market district keep the capital’s supermarkets, grocery stores, and restaurants supplied with produce trucked in each day from all across Sri Lanka and, without them, the city would go hungry.

• 35mm • f/2.8 • 1/200 • ISO400 • Canon R6 & RF 35/1.8 courtesy Canon/Metropolitan

Whisky Point

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Pottuvil, Sri Lanka. May 2022.

• 18mm • f/3.5 • 1/1000 • ISO100 • 600D & EF-S18-200/3.5-5.6 • polariser •

Breakfast in Pettah #9

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A potential customer checks his resources before ordering breakfast from a stall on New Moor Street, in Hulftsdorp. October 2022.

• 35mm • f/2.8 • 1/2000 • ISO200 • R6 & RF 35/1.8 courtesy Canon/Metropolitan

Closing Time on Keyzer Street

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Shutters begin to fall with the twilight in Pettah, Colombo’s shopping and market district. January 2023.

• 35mm • f/4 • 1/125 • ISO4000 • R6 & RF14-35/4L •

Temple of the Water God

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I believe that water is the closest thing to a god we have here on Earth.”

— Alex Z Moores Living in Water

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The Randenigala Reservoir, surrounded by the jungles of the Rantembe Reserve. December 2018. If water is the one true god of our planet, then the reservoirs we’ve built over millennia must be its greatest temples.

• 24mm • f/8 • 1/1600 • ISO800 • 5DMkIII & EF24-105/4L •

Special Feature — Mysteries in the Jungle: the Batatotalena Cave Temple

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Current belief is that Batatotalena is the Divaguhawa of legend, though the argument on its authenticity goes on.

The characteristic triangular shape of an arch cave can be clearly seen at the mouth of Batatotalena.
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Karawala Mudalali

David BlackerLeave a comment
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A dry fish merchant (or karawala mudalali), surrounded by his pungent stock. Keyzer Street, Pettah. January 2023.

• 22mm • f/4 • 1/125 • ISO4000 • R6 & RF14-35/4L •

When will It be My Turn? #3

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The Workshop Players rehearse Akuna at the Lionel Wendt. February 2022.

• 53mm • f/4 • 1/50 • ISO12800 • EOS R & RF24-105mm f/4L courtesy Canon/Metropolitan

No More Street Cred

David BlackerLeave a comment
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Protestors in Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo, demand the reinstatement of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his United National Party government, in October 2018.

• 200mm • f/5.6 • 1/400 • ISO200 • 600D & EF-S18-200/3.5-5.6 • polariser •

Continue reading “No More Street Cred” →