At 2960 m Wooden Temple & Kinner Kailash, a photo from Himachal Pradesh, North

Photographer's Note

Kalpa, located at a height of 2,800 m (9,200 feet) is blessed with some of the most spectacular and beautiful landscapes anywhere, it is a travellers� paradise�.lofty snow peaks, deep gorges, lush green valleys, fast flowing rivers, enchanting mountain lakes, flower bedecked meadows, beautiful temples and monasteries steeped in time. Located at the base of the imposing Kinner Kailash ranges and Shivling peaks which rise upto 20,000 feet, towering above the clouds, kissing the heavens, encircling the area around, Kalpa itself is spread amidst chilgoza forests, apple plantations and the holy deodhars.

I decided to walk to the village located down the slope to the Kalpa village, traditionally called �Chinni village�, the name being a reference to the old Indo � China trade route. The walk to the village was down hill as I roamed around the small lanes and bye lanes in the neat tiny village, the houses reflecting typical Kinnauri style, past the small nondescript gompa (Hu-Bu-Lan-Kar monastery) in the middle of the village. This monastery was founded by Rinchensang-po ( 950-1055 AD ). Walked upto the Narayan-Nagini temple getting a good glimpse of the Kinnauri culture and way of life on the way. The temple, though small, had marvelous sculptures on wood & of course the setting of this wooden temple against the backdrop of Kinnaur Kailash was magnificent.

This photo is of another small temple in Kalpa (the small village had two temples & a Buddhist monastery) which was still being built. The craftsmanship on wood is simply amazing!

ManuMay, pierrefonds, hispic, abmdsudi, ChrisJ, jafadabret, dta, pablominto, Longroute, plimrn, josepmarin, Graal, kordinator, bukitgolfb301, papagolf21, Nard has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

ManuMay (36447) 2011-01-12 8:40

Hi Angshuman!

Wonderful light bathing the scene, this wooden temple looks really beautiful...the carftsmanship is for sure wonderful!!

Great composition of elements let us view the mountain, adding contrast in colour tones and fitting well to the overall image balance...Very good!!

Have a nice day...

Manu

jaywalker (16105) 2011-01-12 8:54

Hi Angshuman, Wonderfully composed photo & the mountainous backdrop is stunning, amazing architecture & I love the dragon weaving round the column, great shot TFS, kind regards Wilson.

vijay_as2 (110) 2011-01-12 9:25

Hi Angshuman..Nice composer. Like the capture of wooden temple, Kailash ranges behind and blue sky in single frame. TFS

Warm regards,
Prabhu

HimalAnda (10671) 2011-01-12 10:05

Hello Angshuman,

Congratulations for this beautiful picture. I like the composition, the wooden temple in the foreground and the snowy mountains in the background. The colors are great and the sharpness too!

St廧hane

ciakgiak (30) 2011-01-12 13:43

Dear Angshuman,
what a splendid POV! The image is very interesting and fabulous at the same time,
the colors and the contrasts are magnificent, the quality is absolutely excellent.
Congratulations and TFS.
Best regards
Giorgio

pierrefonds (115408) 2011-01-12 15:32

Hi Angshuman,

The point of view is sending my eyes toward the mountains which is giving depth to the composition. It is also allowing me to see the details and colors of a section of the wooden temple. The late afternoon light is enhancing the beauty of the colors. have a nice day.

Pierre

hispic (9658) 2011-01-12 19:23

Namaste dear Angshuman
Warm light at late afternoon shining the attractive temple is beautiful indeed. it is expertly framed. it's a bit of a pity for such a good image that lampposts have jagged lines though it's trifling. however i love this colour tone like Kodachrome.
Best wishes, Hisashi

abmdsudi (95869) 2011-01-12 19:48

Namste Angshu
I love the simplicity of the composition, main focus is therefore the bright wood carving of this temple which has been deliberately placed off centre to give space for the eye to explore the image that adds to the overall feel of this place.You have taken advantage of the small areas in the BG for extra interests with the mountains and lovely rich blue sky creating a very compelling image. I love the shapes, range of textures and colours of main subject, it's high contrast but I like the shadow areas at bottom end with the structural lines still fairly visible in the darkness. The brighter lighting is is correctly exposed and good balance between the main subject and sky area. You have a decent record of this building, well spotted and taken. Congrats. TFS. Best rgds

ChrisJ (172372) 2011-01-13 0:09

Hi Angshuman

I like the framed view of the Himalaya in the bg. Nice warm cold color contrasts between the gold & blue. Tfs!

jafadabret (56501) 2011-01-13 2:18

Bonjour Angshu,
J'aime ce premier plan fait par ce temple en bois color�. Les sommets et le ciel sont un plus pour la photo.
Amicalement
Jacques

dta (98848) 2011-01-13 2:27

Hello Angshuman,
The main subjetc is splendid , aith a superb BG . I like especially the lighting of the golden architetcure , and the strong (but well managed) contrasts .
Regards

Bluejeans (64251) 2011-01-13 5:06

Ola Angshuman,
Lindo este templo de madeira � um belo trabalho de arte , magnificos os detalhes em dourado devido a luz, bom uso da foto na vertical , gostei muito do contraste de cores, parab幯s!!!
Um abra蔞 Gon蓷lo

pablominto (53746) 2011-01-13 7:44

Hello Angshu,

I think I can see some wonderful wood carvings here!
The artwork was of course a labour consuming addition, but the result is very good and will probably last for ages in this dry climate...
A fine composition with good details, I like the view to the rugged snowy mountains in the background!

Greetings,
Pablo -

Longroute (19600) 2011-01-13 9:03

I think here we find every feature and elements which make a masterful composition and photo: a wonderful light which illuminates the temple and creating strong contrast with the dark shades, the superb mountains in the background and a very intense blue sky. Yet the real subject is this golden and wooden temple with its very graphic and lovely details, a presence which is only discreetly showed in order to leave space for the interesting surroundings. Another of your masterpiece IMO.
Well done,
Donato

plimrn (21344) 2011-01-13 10:55

Hi Angshu,
What a lovely composition of the splendid detail of the the wooden carvings perfectly positioned against the equally excellent splendor of the mountains. Glad to see that you're still having great trips
HLJ, pat

josepmarin (59385) 2011-01-13 11:02

Namaste, my friend Angshuman,
the wooden architecture of this temple is absolutely magnificent. The work of the carved one is wonderful, and you have caught it in a great game of light and of shades, which creates a nice contrast with the intense blue of the sky.
The photographic result is superb.
Best regards,
Josep

Fis2 (171789) 2011-01-13 13:18

Witaj Angshu!
A very interesting object.
Curious details.
I like light and shadow.
Good colors.
Well done.
Best regards
Krzysztof

dip (21408) 2011-01-13 22:37

Hello Angshu,
a beautiful photo with interesting architectural details and impressive view of the mountains in the backround,good choice of viewing angle,well done!
greetings,
Dimitris.

Graal (103040) 2011-01-13 23:56

Hi Angshuman,
nice details of temple, amazing elements of architecture, art work. Good informations and well done photo.
Have a nice day.
Aleksander

kordinator (8738) 2011-01-14 0:31

Hello Angshuman
An excellent capture of architectural details of this nice village.
Fantastic composition in this vertical format.
wonderful mountain and magical sky in the background.
Perfect light,nice texture of building in the foreground.
Light managment is ideal.
Fanrastic pov and point of view.
Perfect quality of the image.
An elegant work,perfect framed.
Regards
Sa惨

bukitgolfb301 (54014) 2011-01-14 3:21

My dear Prof. angshuman

Another wonderful and marvelous shot.
You managed the high contasrt color/light problem very well by professional skills. Of course perfect framework, sharp presentation and very well considered composition as usual. Thanks for your sharing with finest work, have a good last working day and best regards,

Takero

papagolf21 (152607) 2011-01-14 4:26

Bonjour, cher ami Angshu,
Une image qui croule sous la beaut� ! vous avez vraiment du talent pour valoriser ces patrimoines.
De plus, l'environnement est superbe.
Une r徼ssite de plus � votre album.
Amiti廥.
Philippe

Nard (6972) 2011-01-16 10:05

Hi Angshuman

Excellent POV and framing. I like the light on the wood, the details we can see and the shadow on the down. The mountains complete perfectly the composition. TFS
Regards
Bernard

mkamionka (75009) 2011-01-17 1:41

Hi Angshu,
beautiful composition. The wooden temple make a great foreground and provides an original framing for the spectacular mountains behind. Great light, pleasant play of the light and shadow.
Congratulations,
M

subhendu_bagchi (26091) 2011-01-17 9:07

Dear Dada,
I appreciate here your chosen POV. Wow, what a look with those snow capped mountains through the wood-curved architecture. Really a nice view captured with endless depth. Great colours and fine light management to show this beauty. Excellent work. Tfs.
Best wishes.
Subhendu

Waylim (25436) 2011-01-18 9:09

Namaste Angshuman,
The light is rather difficult here for a good photograph, but somehow you manage to even utilize the dark shadowy areas into part of the composition, creating interestng graphical shapes and negative space that help bring out attention to the mount and beautiful sky behind, it also bring out the details on the wood carving of the temple. Very nice job under such difficult situation and the POV provide good depth.

Way

emka (158672) 2011-01-22 13:17

Hi Angshuman,

you show us here amazing places, Angshu. This wooden temple looks quite different than the other temples I saw in India. Indeed, the cratmanship here is stunning. Very interesting column with the serpent. And such a marvelous view in the background.

Warm regards

Malgorzata

Photo Information

Copyright: Angshuman Chatterjee (Angshu) (56760)
Genre: 地方
Medium: 彩色
Date Taken: 2010-05-26
Categories: 自然，建築
Camera: Canon 400D (Digital Rebel XTi), Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 EX DC MACRO, RAW, Marumi 72mm PL-CIR
Exposure：f/13.0, 1/30 seconds
More Photo Info: view
Photo Version：Original Version
Travelogue：At Heaven's Door - Kinnaur & Spiti
Date Submitted: 2011-01-12 8:37