Monks at the Palace in Mandalay
Mandalay, Myanmar…the Royal Palace
The Royal Palace once consisted of hundreds of wooden buildings that have been destroyed by both Allied and Japanese armies during WWII. When I hear the words “wooden buildings” the palace sounds rather unimpressive. I think of huts. But after visiting the old wooden monasteries in Myanmar, I realized that those “wooden buildings” were works of art: swooping rooflines, graceful carvings on every surface, sculpted spires and massive stariways, truly a palace.
Now the palace has been reconstructed for us tourists. It’s nice, but doesn’t seem to have a soul. We visited it on a rainy day and when I saw these two monks walking, I tried to catch them and their umbrellas between the shuttered windows. I was a long way from them and was shooting ‘racked out’ as they say. I didn’t catch them both between the windows. Maybe that would have pleased me more. I thought my photo lacked a soul in the same way that the palace lacked one.
I set to work making the picture into what I pre-visualized it to be ala Ansel Adams. I used all of my software ‘weapons’, changing the colors, adding a layer of texture, changing the hue and then Snap Art 3. I showed this picture among other photos to a group. Many people chose it as their favorite. Partly, I think because it has a tropical flavor and while you can tell it is two monks, they are rendered softly so that they become more of a design element than a person.
An interesting novel describing life in the Palace when King Thebaw reigned is:
The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh
And an autobiography of a young Burmese man who grew up during the recent turmoils of Burma is:
From the Land of Green Ghosts by Pascal Khoo Thwe.
Both are good books and will teach you about Burma.