The Stone Face

Posted by Angshuman (New Delhi, India) on 9 April 2008 in Architecture and Portfolio.

Angkor Thom - the temple of Bayon
Climbing over tumbled stones I climbed to the second tier of Bayon.It was from here that one gets the sense of the magnitude of these faces. Everywhere you looked - in every direction, at every possible angle, it seemed - was this huge, peaceful grin, its eyes closed as if in a state of meditation.
I had to take the snap with the sun behind my back to get the blue sky. One may notice the aeroplane just in front of the lips of this huge face, just to understand the magnitude.

Comments (10)

Eric from Seattle, United States

All the photos of Angkor complex that you posted really intrigue me more and more... I gotta see with my own eyes someday. Thanks for sharing!

9 Apr 2008 2:03am

shoti from Everywhere in the, Philippines

taking good travel photos is not easy.. one must be unique in his craft, or else he get the same cliched photographs and be forgotten with everyone else.. this photo is quite unique, i say.. I like the exaggerated features of the rock and the unusual angle... the blue sky is not up to my standards, but its your art anyway..

9 Apr 2008 2:05am

Ron from Saint Louis, United States

This is a beautifully composed shot against that gorgeous sky ... the scale is mammoth ... you must have had a fairly wide lens to frame the entire stone face. The patina of age is well-worn by this ancient one.

9 Apr 2008 4:47am

timothy sullivan from tokyo, Japan

yeah-- your photos are really taking me back to my time there. i echo your sentiment: photos may be beautiful, but until you get some sense of scale into them, it's difficult to really imagine their splendor. i found it equally difficult to capture the magical essence of Angkor Wat

9 Apr 2008 8:11am

standley from brou-sur-chantereine, France

Very impressive and wonderful composition on this blue sky. The details and the textures are superb. Great shot!

9 Apr 2008 1:43pm

Evelyne Dubos from Le Mans, France

the excellent light show well to advantage the patina of age on these old stones. And what vivid colors !!

9 Apr 2008 5:41pm

Marion from Nanaimo, BC, Canada

Wow, you captured the vastness of the face. It makes one want to peer back into the ages to see how it was built. Incredible and as usual, great photography. The sky is beautiful and the airplane sooooo small.

10 Apr 2008 12:28am