reflections – Son of the Morning Light

The Last Refuge

May 3, 2023May 3, 2023 David BlackerLeave a comment

https://sonofthemorninglight.files.wordpress.com/2023/05/3h3a9500e2-1.jpg — The Temple of the Tooth, in the morning light of Kandy. Built in the early 18th century as a royal palace for Vira Narendra Sinha, the last Sinhalese king, it was converted into a temple to house the Tooth Relic of the Buddha. The moat and the octagonal Paththirippuwa pavilion were added in 1802 by Sri Vickrama Rajasingha, the last king of Kandy. Designed by the royal architect, Devendra Moolacharya, the pavilion’s eight points were meant to radiate from the king as he displayed the Tooth Relic to the crowds below, reinforcing his position at the centre of the world. The name Paththirippuwa comes from the Tamil words, parthu *(meaning ‘to see’) and* irippu *(to be ‘seated’), and together sound like ‘to sit and see’, and many take this as evidence that Tamil was in fact the* lingua franca of the Lankan aristocracy. After the British seized Kandy in 1815, the Paththirippuwa was converted into an oriental library, and thus it remains today, housing the temple’s collection of Buddhist palm leaf manuscripts and books. Shot for the New York Times in December 2018.

^{• 24mm • f/4 • 1/2500 • ISO400 • Canon 5DMkIII & EF24-105/4L •}

Afternoon Over Thalangama Lake

February 27, 2023February 26, 2023 David BlackerLeave a comment

https://sonofthemorninglight.files.wordpress.com/2023/02/img_0825-2.jpg — *Kotte, Sri Lanka. February 2023.*

^{• 14mm • f/4 • 1/800 • ISO100 • R6 & RF14-35/4L •}

Nadina

February 17, 2023February 17, 2023 David BlackerLeave a comment

https://sonofthemorninglight.files.wordpress.com/2023/02/2012-11-25-11.11.33.jpg — *Sugar Bistro, Colombo. November 2012.*

^{• 46mm • f/5 • 1/60 • ISO400 • 600D & EF-S18-55/3.5-5.6 •}

The Horizon of Our Hope*

January 2, 2023January 1, 2023 David BlackerLeave a comment

https://sonofthemorninglight.files.wordpress.com/2023/01/744a0049.jpg — *Dawn at Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka.*

^{• 50mm • f/1.4 • 1/160 • ISO100 • Canon 5DMkIII & EF 50/1.4 courtesy Canon/Metropolitan.}

*“Time is no longer endless or the horizon destitute of hope.”

^{— Charles Lindbergh}

I Had Red

December 16, 2022December 16, 2022 David BlackerLeave a comment

https://sonofthemorninglight.files.wordpress.com/2022/12/064a7287.jpg — *“If I don’t have red,” Picasso said, “I use blue.”* Dawn at Ocean Cottage, Kalametiya. September 2022.

^{• 24mm • f/13 • 0.80 • ISO100 • tripod • Canon R6 & RF 24-105/4-7.1 courtesy Canon/Metropolitan.}

Twilight of the Kings

December 12, 2022December 12, 2022 David BlackerLeave a comment

https://sonofthemorninglight.files.wordpress.com/2022/12/img_9702e1.jpg — Last light over the almost completely dry bed of the Habarana Lake, in northern Sri Lanka. One of the country’s oldest historical reservoirs, the lake is believed to be the ancient Aggivaddhamanaka Tank, built by King Vasabha of Anuradhapura at the end of the 1st century AD. Shot on assignment in January 2016, for Explore Sri Lanka magazine.

^{• 18mm • f/3.5 • 1/40 • ISO400 • 600D & EF-S18-200/3.5-5.6 •}

Racing the Gold Home

November 10, 2022November 10, 2022 David BlackerLeave a comment

https://sonofthemorninglight.files.wordpress.com/2022/11/img_6906b.jpg — A brace of tourist boats race home through the evening golden hour cloaking Lake Gregory and the Nuwara Eliya Valley. This is a recent reprocessing of one of a lengthy set of photos I took of the lake, through the evening and into the night, in February 2017, for Serendib, the inflight magazine of Sri Lankan Airlines. My photo story, The Nuwara Eliya Season in Spring, ran in the April issue.

^{• 18mm • f/8 • 1/160 • ISO400 • 600D & EF-S18-200/3.5-5.6}

The Sun Fallen Beneath Trees of Stone

October 7, 2022 David Blacker2 Comments

https://sonofthemorninglight.files.wordpress.com/2022/10/064a0412e2.jpg — *Downtown Colombo, from the rooftop of Cinnamon Red. September 2022.*

“The sun is fast fallin’ beneath trees of stone
The light in the tower, no longer my home
Past eyes of pale fire, black sand for my bed
I trade all I’ve known for the unknown ahead.”

^{— Bear McCreary This Wandering Day}

_{• 24mm • f/4 • 1/125 • ISO5000 • Canon R6 & RF 24-105/4L courtesy Canon/Metropolitan.}

Day Breaks, the City

September 30, 2022September 29, 2022 David BlackerLeave a comment

https://sonofthemorninglight.files.wordpress.com/2022/09/064a0107.jpg — *The Beira Lake, Colombo, Sri Lanka. September 2022.*

^{• 24mm • f/10 • 10s • ISO100 • tripod • Canon R6 & RF 24-105/4L courtesy Canon/Metropolitan.}

Sunriser

September 19, 2022 David BlackerLeave a comment

https://sonofthemorninglight.files.wordpress.com/2022/09/064a7315re.jpg — *Ocean Cottage, Kalametiya. September 2022.*

^{• 24mm • f/13 • 1/60 • ISO100 • tripod • Canon R6 & RF 24-105/4-7.1 courtesy Canon/Metropolitan.}