The Waiting Sea

https://sonofthemorninglight.files.wordpress.com/2022/12/img_0137.jpg
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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Dawn over the Victoria

The Victoria Reservoir and Golf Links, as seen from Digana, in the Central Highlands of Sri Lanka.
The Victoria Reservoir and Golf Links, as seen from Digana, in the Central Highlands of Sri Lanka. Almost hidden in the mists at the far end of the valley is the Victoria Dam, completed in 1985 to harness the Mahaweli, Sri Lanka’s greatest river. Shot on assignment for Explore Sri Lanka, as part of my story, ‘The Temple of War’, which ran in the April 2016 issue.

Monsoon Mornings

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

Monsoon Beach #3

Talalla Bay, Sri Lanka. July 2020.
Talalla Bay, Sri Lanka. July 2020.

The Victoria in the Dry Season

A misty morning on the Victoria Reservoir, shot on film in February 1996, from the Teldeniya Rest House.
Continue reading “The Victoria in the Dry Season”

Sunrise over the Kandy Lake, Sri Lanka #5

Dawn over Kandy, Sri Lanka #2 by Son of the Morning Light on 500px.com
Shot in October 2018, on assignment for Ashraff Associates and The Radh, Kandy.
Continue reading “Sunrise over the Kandy Lake, Sri Lanka #5”

Bahnhofstraße 12

Bahnhofstraße 12 by Son of the Morning Light on 500px.com
The railway station in my onetime home, the small town of Emmelshausen, in the Hunsrück Mountains of Rheinland-Pfalz, in Germany. This was shot on black and white film in the winter of 2001/02, as a study for a commissioned watercolour.
Continue reading “Bahnhofstraße 12”

The Udawatte Kele Forest Reserve, Kandy, Sri Lanka #2

The Udawatte Kele Sanctuary, Kandy, Sri Lanka #2 by Son of the Morning Light on 500px.com
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. Shot on assignment for Ashraff Associates and The Radh, Kandy, in October 2018.

The Fissures of Sea Street

The Cracks of Sea Street #4 by Son of the Morning Light on 500px.com
Narrow covered alleys and passageways spider away into the distance, off Sea Street; windowless, mazelike, leading to vegetarian cafés, goldsmiths, bars, and prayer rooms; and occasionally, a spider at the end of the spidercrack. Colombo, Sri Lanka. September 2018.