The Waiting Sea

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Talalla Bay, Sri Lanka.

• 24mm • f/2.8 • 1/640 • ISO100 • 600D & EF-S24/2.8• circular polariser •

December 26th 2022 marks eighteen years since the devastating Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004, when the Indian Ocean rose up and killed over 35,000 Sri Lankans in two massive waves (the second measured as high as 11m, in places). The country suffered the second highest number of deaths in the Indian Ocean (after Indonesia which, being proximate to the epicentre of the underwater quake that caused the tsunami, lost almost 200,000 dead and missing). Over half a million people were displaced in Sri Lanka, as almost 90,000 coastal homes and buildings were destroyed by the waves. Over 250,000 people are estimated to have died in minutes, in fifteen countries, from Southeast Asia to East Africa. In island nations like Sri Lanka, the sea would never be looked at quite the same again.

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Rain or Shine #2

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A surfer braves the southwest monsoon, at Weligama Bay. May 2022.

• 200mm • f/5.6 • 1/400 • ISO400 •

Monsoon Beach

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Weligama Bay, Sri Lanka. May 2022.

• 18mm • f/3.5 • 1/250 • ISO100 •

Rain or Shine

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A young surfer braves the southwest monsoon, at Weligama Bay. May 2022.

• 200mm • f/5.6 • 1/200 • ISO400 •

Beauty from Garbage

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Weras Lake, Bellanwila, after a night of rain in November 2021. Many of these lakes in the southern suburbs of Colombo, which are central features of landscaped jogging and cycling tracks, have been created by using the wetlands around the Weras River as landfills. The city’s garbage (including huge quantities of plastic) has been emptied into these marshes, creating land on which footpaths, recreational areas, and premium housing have been built. Despite the fact that the wetlands stretching south to the Bolgoda Lake include areas designated wildlife sanctuaries, much of its water has been drained by the landscaping into deep pools that form artificial lakes. While these water features still teem with birds and reptiles, they are a heavily polluted manmade ecosystem that doesn’t support many of the creatures endemic to the original marshlands.

Monsoon Morning

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Talalla Bay, with Kottagoda Point in the distance. Sri Lanka, July 2020.

Monsoon Mornings

Daybreak at Talalla Bay #4, southern coast of Sri Lanka.
Daybreak at Talalla Bay; southern coast of Sri Lanka. July 2020.

The Morning After the Night’s Rain

Morning After the Rain. Street scene, Dam Street, Pettah.
Dam Street, Pettah. September 2020.

*shot with an M6MkII and 15-45mm/3.5-6.3 lens, provided by Canon Sri Lanka.

Potted Jungle

Potted jungle. Potted plants in the garden.
The recent rains have given given Colombo’s gardens new life after the weeks of hot dry weather. Sri Lanka, September 2020. A quick test shot with the M6MkII from Canon Sri Lanka before today’s walkabout in Pettah. Combined with the 55-200mm/3.5-6.3, the colours are rich and natural.