hiking – Son of the Morning Light

Special Feature — The Devil’s Staircase: Travels on the Kalupahana-Ohiya Road

March 19, 2023March 19, 2023 David BlackerLeave a comment

To call the route connecting Kalupahana to Ohiya a road is quite generous. What it is, is an adventure. Whether you are tough enough to walk its length or mad enough to drive it, this is a journey every adventurer should take.”

https://sonofthemorninglight.files.wordpress.com/2023/03/img_6128-1.jpg — *Sometimes the Devil’s Staircase feels like the edge of Heaven.*

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In the Light of Rama

May 17, 2022May 17, 2022 David BlackerLeave a comment

https://sonofthemorninglight.files.wordpress.com/2022/05/img_6746.jpg — *Looking east from the top of* *600m high Dolukanda, in the Kurunegala District; believed to be linked to the* Ramayana epic, the rocky outcrop is thought to be one of the herbal mountains dropped by the monkey god, Hanuman. In the distance is the Kimbulawana Lake. Sri Lanka, May 2022.

^{• 18mm • f/3.5 • 1/500 • ISO100 •}

Nature’s Roads

October 21, 2021 David BlackerLeave a comment

https://sonofthemorninglight.files.wordpress.com/2021/10/img_8981e2.jpg — In the rainforest, man must follow nature to be part of nature. The only way to move unobtrusively through this jungle is to take the road set before you. And that road usually follows water, as it carves its way through rock and tree. As Frederick Spencer Chapman wrote, the jungle itself is neutral; neither giving nor taking. Only revealing. Shot on assignment for Serendib, the inflight magazine of Sri Lankan Airlines, in the Kuru Ganga Valley, during my unsuccessful first attempt to find the *Batadombalena Cave,* in December 2015. I managed it the next year, and my photo story, ‘The Cave in the Jungle‘*, ran in the March 2016 issue.*

In Search of the Jungle Buddha

December 11, 2019June 10, 2020 David BlackerLeave a comment

Madakada Aranya Senasanaya, Sri Lanka #4 by Son of the Morning Light on 500px.com — A banyan tree forms a natural arch over a walkway leading through the rain forests of Ingiriya, in southwestern Sri Lanka, to the Madakada Aranya Senasanaya, a Buddhist monastery where monks meditate in caves in the hillside. Shot on assignment for Serendib, the inflight magazine of Sri Lankan Airlines. My photo story, Jungle Streams and Trails in Ingiriya, ran in the December 2017 issue.

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If You Go Down to the Woods Today

November 20, 2019June 10, 2020 David BlackerLeave a comment

Exploring the Udawatte Kele Sanctuary, Kandy #5 by Son of the Morning Light on 500px.com — *Shermaine Willis and Anuradha Perera, shot on assignment in the Udawattekele Forest Reserve, for Ashraff Associates and The Radh, Kandy.* *Sri Lanka, October 2018.*

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Morning in Dolosbage, Sri Lanka #3

October 14, 2019June 11, 2020 David BlackerLeave a comment

Dolosbage, Sri Lanka #3 by Son of the Morning Light on 500px.com — *The Ganga Ihala Korale* and the Deltota Mountains, shot from the Dolosbage Ridge, on assignment for Serendib, the inflight magazine of Sri Lankan Airlines. My photo story,* “Mountains in the Jungle”*, ran in the June 2018 issue.*

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A Distant Glimpse of the Udawalawe

August 29, 2019June 12, 2020 David BlackerLeave a comment

A View of the Udawalawe from the Devil's Staircase by Son of the Morning Light on 500px.com — *The Udawalawe Basin, as seen from the Devil’s Staircase, one of Sri Lanka’s great hiking trails. Shot on assignment for Serendib, the inflight magazine of Sri Lankan Airlines. My photo story,* “The Devil’s Staircase”*, ran in the March 2017 issue.*

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Exploring the Udawatte Kele Forest Reserve, Kandy, Sri Lanka #9

May 28, 2019June 14, 2020 David BlackerLeave a comment

Exploring the Udawatte Kele Sanctuary, Kandy #9 by Son of the Morning Light on 500px.com — *Shermaine Willis and Anuradha Perera, shot in October 2018, for Ashraff Associates and The Radh, Kandy. Also known as the* “Thahanci Kele” *(or Forbidden Forest), this 257-acre sanctuary — incredibly located just a short walk from the city center — was once a private reserve of the Kandyan royal family, and closed to commoners.*

Exploring the Udawattakele Forest, Kandy #6

February 25, 2019June 19, 2020 David BlackerLeave a comment

Exploring the Udawatte Kele Sanctuary, Kandy #6 by Son of the Morning Light on 500px.com — Anuradha Perera and Shermaine Willis, shot on assignment in the Udawattekele Forest Reserve, for Ashraff Associates and The Radh, Kandy. Also known as the Thahanci Kele (or Forbidden Forest), this 257-acre sanctuary — incredibly located just a short walk from the city center — was once a private reserve of the Kandyan royal family, and closed to commoners. Sri Lanka, October 2018.

Jungle Girl

February 11, 2019June 19, 2020 David BlackerLeave a comment