the land with no lakes – Son of the Morning Light

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 •}

The Doomed Giants of Anuradhapura

January 9, 2023January 8, 2023 David BlackerLeave a comment

https://sonofthemorninglight.files.wordpress.com/2023/01/img_5270e2.jpg — Sunrise over the Basawakkulama Tank, believed to be Sri Lanka’s oldest reservoir, built in 400BC, against the backdrop of the Ruwanwelisaya and, faintly in the distance, the massive broken Jetawanaramaya, both over 2,000 years old. The tree silhouetted against the morning is one of many that line the tank’s retaining bund. For perhaps a century or more, these broadly spread giants have sheltered farmers, workers, schoolchildren, and the occasional photographer, using the bund as a footpath into Anuradhapura. When I took this picture in January 2017, while on assignment for Serendib magazine, the trees were also home to rock squirrels, numerous nesting birds, and families of grey langurs. But sadly, it has now been reported that the government has begun felling these ancient trees because they are believed to be damaging the bund with their great roots. The perspective they have given to one of the most iconic views of Anuradhapura will be the least of the losses their deaths will bring.

^{• 18mm • f/3.5 • 1/250 • ISO100 • 600D & EF-S18-200/3.5-5.6 •}

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.}

Pelicans at Sunrise

October 6, 2022October 6, 2022 David BlackerLeave a comment

https://sonofthemorninglight.files.wordpress.com/2022/10/064a0120.jpg — *The Beira Lake, Colombo. September 2022.*

^{• 105mm • f/4 • 1/320 • ISO400 • 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.}

Still Villu

September 27, 2022 David BlackerLeave a comment

https://sonofthemorninglight.files.wordpress.com/2022/09/img_6448.jpg — *Wilpattu, Sri Lanka. May 2022.*

^{• 80mm • f/5 • 1/250 • ISO100 •}

Percy Bendi Wewa #2

September 7, 2022September 6, 2022 David BlackerLeave a comment

https://sonofthemorninglight.files.wordpress.com/2022/09/img_6370.jpg — *‘The Percy-Built Reservoir’, Wilpattu National Park, named after former Wildlife Conservation *Department* warden, Percy de Alwis. Sri Lanka. May 2022.*

^{• 18mm • f/3.5 • 1/2000 • ISO400 •}

Firefight

August 3, 2022August 2, 2022 David BlackerLeave a comment

https://sonofthemorninglight.files.wordpress.com/2022/08/img_5562-e.jpg — I’ve been missing the predawn curtain raisers on my morning walks, these past weeks, sunrise coming earlier, as we arrive at our longest day of the year, today, 3rd August. But some morning showers gave the sun something to fight, and there’s nothing like a fight for spectacle. Weras Lake, Bellanwila, Sri Lanka.