Tag: Sri Lankan Airlines

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

David BlackerLeave a comment

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

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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.”

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Sometimes the Devil’s Staircase feels like the edge of Heaven.
Continue reading “Special Feature — The Devil’s Staircase: Travels on the Kalupahana-Ohiya Road” →

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.
Continue reading “Special Feature — Mysteries in the Jungle: the Batatotalena Cave Temple” →

Lotus Eater

David BlackerLeave a comment
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A tufted gray or Hanuman langur (Semnopithecus priam), supremely comfortable in his myth-straddling status, enjoys a floral tribute on the perimeter wall of the 2,100-year-old Mirisavetiya, in Anuradhapura. Shot on assignment for Serendib, the inflight magazine of Sri Lankan Airlines, in December 2016. My piece, ‘The First Kingdom of Lanka‘, ran in February, the next year.

• 200mm • f/5.6 • 1/200 • ISO400 • 600D & EF-S18-200/3.5-5.6 • polariser •

Restoring the Balance #2

David BlackerLeave a comment
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A cleared hillside close to Haputale, in the Central Highlands of Sri Lanka. September 2017. The island has lost huge areas of jungle and forest to the plantation and timber industries over the last two centuries. Many areas in the Central Highlands are now being removed of environmentally harmful pine trees that were introduced by paper manufacturers in the 1970s; replacing them with endemic trees in a government-initiated reforestation programme which will encourage the return of undergrowth.

• 110mm • f/8 • 1/200 • ISO400 • 600D & EF-S18-200/3.5-5.6 • circular polariser •

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Tropical sub-montane forest in the mountains above Belihul Oya. Shot on assignment for Serendib, the inflight magazine of Sri Lankan Airlines, in September 2017.

• 40mm • f/4.5 • 1/60 • ISO400 • 600D & EF-S18-200/3.5-5.6 • circular polariser •

Wave Runner

David BlackerLeave a comment
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Off Clarke Point, Sri Lanka. Shot on assignment for Serendib, the inflight magazine of Sri Lankan Airlines. My photo story, ‘Racing Before the Wind‘, ran in the June 2016 issue.

Out of the Land, into His Hand

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A Roman Catholic rice farming community kneels in its fields, asking for blessings on their crops at the beginning of the Wap sowing season. All over Sri Lanka, groundbreaking ceremonies, called Wap Magula, are conducted by Buddhist or Hindu priests before the two major monsoon farming seasons, Maha and Yala. Except here, in Wahakotte, close to Dambulla. A Sinhalese village, converted to Roman Catholicism by the Portuguese in the 16th century, hold a unique morning mass in the fields, presided over by their own parish priest. Shot on assignment in October 2015, for Serendib, the inflight magazine of Sri Lankan Airlines. My photo story, ‘A Missionary’s Bastion‘, ran the following month. It was my first work for Serendib.

Nature’s Roads

David BlackerLeave a comment
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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.

Horn of Ivory #2

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Detail of a 12th century ivory and silver medicine horn from Anuradhapura. Shot on assignment for Serendib, the inflight magazine of Sri Lankan Airlines, at the National Museum in Colombo. My photo story on the museum, ‘Katu Ge‘, ran in the October 2017 issue.

Royal Bath Attire

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Sarath Wickramasinghe, one of the last masters of the ancient art of Dumbara weaving, poses with one of his most prized creations; a replica of a diya kachchiya, an 18th century bathing costume. Created for an exhibition, it is faithfully woven from traditional hemp (modern Dumbara weaving is in more versatile cotton or silk) and entirely of one piece, with no seams. It took Mr Wickramasinghe three weeks to weave the piece. The only other known example in existence, is an original in the Colombo National Museum which would have been worn by a Kandyan king or prince (bathing was often a social event; an important part in the daily schedule of any self-respecting royal). Shot on assignment in Thalagune, in the Dumbara Valley, for Serendib, the inflight magazine of Sri Lankan Airlines. My photo story, ‘The Last Royal Weavers’, was the July 2017 issue‘s cover feature.