Photo of the day

Ok, so DSRL scanning worked, more or less, so will be sharing more following weeks :) Still plenty of Lightroom work to do.
So here's one portrait taken at a dam in Cyprus.
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Canonet QL17 GIII w/ Ilford XP2

Very nice H. Yours - I.
 
Diskit Monastery - Nubra Valley - Ladakh

The monastery was founded in the 14th c. - it is of the Gelugpa or 'Yellow hat' order of Tibetan Buddhism. Established by a local who studied in Lhasa at the feet of the order's founder - Je Tsongkhapa - and returned home later in life. They have his mummified remains stored here but nobody seems sure exactly where. The 'Yellow hats,' are the youngest of the four main schools - this is a relative judgement it was founded in the late 13th c. - the three others are classified as 'Red hat.' The name comes from the colour of their head gear worn on ceremonial occasions. The most famous adherent of the order - and their leader - is the Daiai Lama. Diskit is a sub-gompa of the much larger Thikse near Leh. The monks run a school for local Tibetan speaking children that has a non-religious curriculum.

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Guardian deities looking out over the Nubra Valley

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Diskit has a collection of highly ornate guardian statues - but they are only ever taken out once a year on the day of the Desmoche - the 'Festival of the Scapegoat.' This is a sort of new year celebration - to banish evil spirits and bring good luck to the forthcoming growing season. Masked monks dance and there is much blowing of horns, banging of cymbals and beating of drums to scare away bad things. If you wanted to see it - you'd better be in for the long haul as it's in February - the Nubra valley is routinely cut off by snow from the outside world from October to May.


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The main dukhang - prayer hall. The buddha at the end is of the crowned Maitreya type. In Tibetan eschatology - this is the Buddha that will appear at the end of time and teach the dharma to save the world.

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Two pictures of the monastery library - or part of it. Tibetan books are long and thin - they are bound along the top of the longest edge. Which kind of makes sense as Tibetan script reads right to left.

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You can never have too many Buddhas?

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Connecting steps between levels.

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Novice monks having their lunch.

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Monk looking out over the valley. I don't know what elevation the monastery sits at - the valley floor is at 10,000 feet, which is pretty low down for this part of the world. At least you can breathe properly. The access road to here from Leh gets up to just over 18,000 feet. Hence why it gets shut for so long each year.

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Looking the other way to the confluence of the Shyok and Nubra rivers. They end up feeding into the Indus eventually.


So there you go - I hope you enjoyed your tour of Diskit monastery. Thanks for taking the time to look. - Yours - I.

@Barry Giddens @Wayne Pritchard @Blademonkey @William Dobson @udrako @FrankieG
I see a lot of building code violations with those connecting stairs.
 
I see a lot of building code violations with those connecting stairs.

W. - I know mate - the place was a goddam' health and safety nightmare. ha ha. If you were prone to vertigo - I wouldn't go near a Tibetan gompa. It looks - like they all do - that someone has thrown a random selection of building materials at a cliff face and waited to see what stuck. It's a nightmare in the dark - and we had head torches to help. Where are the hand rails? The public lighting? Wheel chair access? Trip hazards aplenty. I don't think there is an equivalent Tibetan phrase for building control. Mind you - it's stayed up there for over 700 years. Yours - I.
 
W. - I know mate - the place was a goddam' health and safety nightmare. ha ha. If you were prone to vertigo - I wouldn't go near a Tibetan gompa. It looks - like they all do - that someone has thrown a random selection of building materials at a cliff face and waited to see what stuck. It's a nightmare in the dark - and we had head torches to help. Where are the hand rails? The public lighting? Wheel chair access? Trip hazards aplenty. I don't think there is an equivalent Tibetan phrase for building control. Mind you - it's stayed up there for over 700 years. Yours - I.
Yeah, good call. Not exactly a rigid adherence to standard building codes. Notice the absence of a 4 foot landing for every 12 feet of stair run. And, golly, what were they thinking with that stair to tread ratio?
 
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Palma - Majorca - Leica and film. Yours - I.

@Helveticum @Barry Giddens
Was this a posed or a spontaneous shot? P. After studying this picture for some time I have come to the conclusion that it was a spontaneous shot and your partner was engrossed by something going on to her left, so engrossed she has forgotten about her recently lit cigarette. Very interesting, I love pictures like this because it makes the viewer think about what's going on. P.
 
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Was this a posed or a spontaneous shot? P.

P. - interesting question. That's my other half - but the picture wasn't posed or set up - so I suppose spontaneous. My camera was sitting next to me and I took the picture as she was looking away. I liked the shape. She looked back at me when she realised I had done this - the next picture on the roll is her looking directly at me - but I don't think it's as good a picture as this one. Either way - looking at the detritus on the table - that was a generous lunch. Bar Coto - is our second favourite restaurant in Palma. Run by German lesbians - all to the good. I recommend it to you if you are ever there. Yours - I.
 
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