A Beatific Expression Graces the Face of the Gods
Yesterday I showed you the demons on the moat bridge of Angkor Thom and here lined up on the opposite side are the gods. The gods also carry a Naga or dragon, but most of the Naga is destroyed now.
At present, an international group…I think it is mainly a German organization…is restoring many of the old structures. As a consequence, the area is much changed since I was there 5 years ago. Then, you could wander alone and walk anywhere and everywhere. Now there are wooden paths that are roped off. Now there are huge crowds waiting their turn to have their photo taken in front of the famous sites. There are construction scaffolds everywhere you look. For a photographer, it is not an improvement. At the same time, I’m glad that these beautiful buildings are being preserved.
You’d think it would be easy to get good photos of Angkor Wat. In some cases, like the above photo, it is easy provided the traffic to and from the S gate is at a lull. This visit, I had plenty of time to get photos of the gods and demons lining the bridge with almost no traffic or tourists. They were probably stuck lined up to have their photo taken in front of Ta Phrom! Lucky for me.
The other difficulty in photographing these beautiful temples is that moss and lichen grows all over them, plus they are shaded and the sun that falls on them is dappled. Oh, this is hell because the contrast is so high that, to my eye, it ruins photographs.
- The gods and the head of the naga
Here is the row of gods with the head of the naga which is the large structure on the left. You can imagine it as the head of a cobra with his hood inflated.