Shwedagon Pagoda in Rangoon, Burma
Rangoon, Burma 2012
You’d think that getting a photo at Shwedagon would be simple, but it takes some thought. And after thinking, my conclusion is that a simple landscape featuring as much of the gold covered pagoda is the best. I was pretty far from the pagoda and might have climbed up a few steps to a platform so that the crowd didn’t block my view. I still got some distortion…buildings leaning in toward the center…but I fixed that. (see this post for a how to:http://www.rosemarysheel.com/archives/madrassas-and-minarets) Those photos with spires pointing toward each other are not to my taste, but I’ve seen them in books by well-known photographers. I just don’t think those tell the whole story, except they do say “you have to be here to get a good idea of the place”. One place like that is the palace grounds in Bangkok.
Mingun Paya
Mingun Paya about 11 km from Mandalay going up-river on the Irrawaddy
We were approaching from the river when I shot this view of Mingun Paya. (It would have been the largest stupa in the world had it been finished. The height you see here is but 1/3 of its projected height.) My viewpoint is just straight on. Sometimes this is best. It was for me on this day. We spent an hour or so (before another drenching rain drenched us for the third time that day) shooting a boy monk scampering up and down the path to the stupa. He was so tiny and the stupa is so large that none of my shots worked. I finally zoomed in. I’ll show you that below. I think it works, too. Now, after time has passed, I’ve decided I like them both. Time heals…even photographs.
The Entrance to Mingun
You know, I take that back. I didn’t zoom, I cropped…and now I think I should crop more. If only I’d had my d800 then. I could crop it to death and still have great resolution.
Severe Crop
It’s a matter of choice! One more note: the straight on shot of Mingun does have some distortion. The stupa is leaning backward a tiny bit. I kind of like it as it lends to the vintage look.
Rosemary, any idea as to why the stupa was not completed to its final height. I wonder if the infrastructure could have supported an additional 2/3rds of height and especially of weight. J.
Hi Jerry.
King Bodawpaya, whose idea this was and who was funding the structure, died. And so the money dried up. It took thirty years of labor by slaves and others (1790 to 1839) to get the stupa to this point (30 meters in height). An earthquake in 1838 split the structure. You can still go inside but we didn’t.
Best, Rosemary