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Outstanding picture that has such mystical qualities. As Paul said its the monochrome that's made it.View attachment 30550
Sunset over the Isle of Jura - it's the tiny sliver of land in between the sea and the sky - at the bottom of this picture. Where the whisky comes from. Nice high altitude clouds picking up the last of the light. It was an incredibly calm night - I think there was a huge high pressure system sitting over us. Even as a dedicated black and white film user - I've never got it right - sunsets with monochrome?. Some situations just need colour film. I didn't have any with me. Nikon F3 and a 20mm Nikkor lens. FP-4. Yours - I.
@Barry Giddens @Blademonkey @Helveticum @William Dobson
Oh WOW! That is truly spectacular.View attachment 30552
Hundar Gompa - Ladakh - Indian controlled Kashmir -
Sometimes you just need colour film? If you know your Buddhist iconography - I don't need to explain this picture to you. It's the western-most - geographically - Asiatic depiction of Buddha - the clue is in the earlobes. Natural light - open to the sky - because it doesn't ever rain there. Yours - I.
@Barry Giddens @Wayne Pritchard @Blademonkey @William Dobson @Helveticum
Oh WOW! That is truly spectacular.
Can you remember what colour film you used Iain? .....and thanks for the tag.
That's a remarkable image Iain.View attachment 30550
Sunset over the Isle of Jura - it's the tiny sliver of land in between the sea and the sky - at the bottom of this picture. Where the whisky comes from. Nice high altitude clouds picking up the last of the light. It was an incredibly calm night - I think there was a huge high pressure system sitting over us. Even as a dedicated black and white film user - I've never got it right - sunsets with monochrome?. Some situations just need colour film. I didn't have any with me. Nikon F3 and a 20mm Nikkor lens. FP-4. Yours - I.
@Barry Giddens @Blademonkey @Helveticum @William Dobson
Another super image Iain. I need a primer on Buddhist iconography.View attachment 30552
Hundar Gompa - Ladakh - Indian controlled Kashmir -
Sometimes you just need colour film? If you know your Buddhist iconography - I don't need to explain this picture to you. It's the western-most - geographically - Asiatic depiction of Buddha - the clue is in the earlobes. Natural light - open to the sky - because it doesn't ever rain there. Yours - I.
@Barry Giddens @Wayne Pritchard @Blademonkey @William Dobson @Helveticum
I agree, colour film was most defiantly needed to make the most of this picture and what a picture!View attachment 30552
Hundar Gompa - Ladakh - Indian controlled Kashmir -
Sometimes you just need colour film? If you know your Buddhist iconography - I don't need to explain this picture to you. It's the western-most - geographically - Asiatic depiction of Buddha - the clue is in the earlobes. Natural light - open to the sky - because it doesn't ever rain there. Yours - I.
@Barry Giddens @Wayne Pritchard @Blademonkey @William Dobson @Helveticum
Stinky monk! Very interesting indeed Iain.View attachment 30563
The approach to Diskit gompa - Nubra Valley - Ladakh.
Okay - let's do some Tibetan Buddhist pictures. We were coming back down the Nubra valley and in the middle of nowhere we came across an elderly monk walking along the road - so we did the decent thing and offered him a lift to wherever he was going. There was no common language so this largely involved pointing. A word of warning should you be in a similar situation - Tibetan monks smell really bad. Around these parts the habit is to rub clarified butter into the skin - it protects it from the intense UV you get at altitude, also it acts as a barrier against dirt. It's so arid that you're not going to routinely waste precious water with such luxuries as regular bathing. Within a couple of minutes we were trying to discreetly - so as to avoid offense - roll down the windows in the jeep for a bit of fresh air. Ripe. So - we get here and - again via sign language - he suggests we come up for a look around the monastery. That's it up on the hill behind. Great. How do you get there? You walk - up hill, at altitude - with a pensioner skipping ahead with no apparent effort. Not so great. In the foreground are stupas - although it's more normal to call Tibetan Buddhist ones chorten. They contain the relics of high status individuals - normally monks or nuns. There are eight different shapes used - each represents an important stage in Buddha's journey to nirvana. These ones are of the 'enlightenment' type. Diskit is an important gompa locally and there are hundreds of chorten on the approach road.
View attachment 30566
Looking back from the approach path to the upper Nubra Valley. At the end of it is the Chinese border. So - tomorrow we can go for a look around inside the monastery if you like.
All the following pictures shot with a Nikon F2 - Fuji film. These are all low res scans done for a book layout - I don't have better quality versions digitised.
Yours - I.
@Barry Giddens @Wayne Pritchard @Blademonkey @William Dobson
Wayne has taken the very words out of my mouth, I concur. PDiskit 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.
View attachment 30595
Guardian deities looking out over the Nubra Valley
View attachment 30596
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.
View attachment 30597
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.
View attachment 30598
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.
View attachment 30599
You can never have too many Buddhas?
View attachment 30600
Connecting steps between levels.
View attachment 30601
Novice monks having their lunch.
View attachment 30602
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.
View attachment 30603
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
Norman Lewis, Eric Newby, Bruce Chatwin, Iain...........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.
View attachment 30595
Guardian deities looking out over the Nubra Valley
View attachment 30596
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.
View attachment 30597
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.
View attachment 30598
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.
View attachment 30599
You can never have too many Buddhas?
View attachment 30600
Connecting steps between levels.
View attachment 30601
Novice monks having their lunch.
View attachment 30602
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.
View attachment 30603
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
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