Reclining Buddha Photo

Photographer’s Note

Wat Lokaya Suttha in Ayutthaya, which was the ancient capital of Thailand that was sacked & burnt by the Burmese in 1767.

All that remains of Wat Lokaya Suttha is this large reclining Buddha. If you look carefully, you can see the remains of the old wooden columns, which supported the temple roof. The temple was destroyed in the fires, after the Burmese torched the city after it was captured following a long seige. The Thais regrouped, & successfully drove out the Burmese then shifted their capital to Bangkok.

The statue was burnt & charred in 1767. The Burmese probably did it deliberately, to melt the gold off the statue, & cart it back to Rangoon.

Wat Lokaya Suttha had restoration work done in 1956, when mortar was made for the whole image, (which is made of bricks), and the statue's head was decorated. More info here:

http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/7153/pv7153/wayut_no9.htm

Scanned from a print & polarized.

Aegean, papagolf21, jhm, PixelTerror, sn00zie, elihesamian, jrj, hispic, Oldtree, jbweasle, avigur_11, nwoehnl, bpelvan, Kenny10pin, oochappan, alainh, anakin, yesyuvraj, stego trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

spence (1679) 2004-10-30 3:51

Amazing colours - that's one bright robe he's wearing :)) Not quite sure of the scale here, but he looks huge. Must be quite a moving sight in reality.

Aegean (2567) 2004-10-30 3:56

Magnifficent colors and contrast Chris and the details are pin sharp! I love the "compressed" perspective - due the use of the tele end of your lens? - and the remains of the bases in the fore ground are giving the scale of the size of the huge Buddha statue!

RGatward (19749) 2004-10-30 4:14

Interesting note, and an amazing looking statue. It look huge, I'd have like to see something for scale here, though the flag stones around it give us some idea.

burdallet (0) 2004-10-30 4:24 [Comment]

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papagolf21 (56623) 2004-10-30 4:38

Sculpture monumentale impressionnante Chris ! Je suis toujours admiratif de voir ce que peuvent faire les peuples pour rendre hommage à leur religion.
Image très bien composée avec des couleurs éclatantes.
Belle réussite, Chris.
Merci également pour la note.

jhm (83161) 2004-10-30 5:28

Indeed Cris, I can see remains of the old wooden columns, which supported the temple roof, the yellow/red sail cloth is splendid of colour, the statue of Buddha is after all the years good, you note is perfect Chris.

PixelTerror (86663) 2004-10-30 5:32

Hi Chris, this scan shows impressively intense colors and the quality is superb, showing a great level of detail.

sn00zie (2384) 2004-10-30 5:59

amazing capture-really vibrant colors.. a nice note too. overall a Deadly capture! Bravo

elihesamian (26091) 2004-10-30 6:04

Amazing,a great historical story,I have not seen before this statue from buddha in books or magazines or...,it's very interesting for me,...well scanned and the result is great with this beautiful colors,Thanks for posting,Chris.

jrj (34779) 2004-10-30 6:31

Very interesting and strange photo Chris. In a way fine to see such a 'lay back' attitude from ancient times. Not many churches around here keeps themself with a 'laid back' version of Jesus or his gang.
Fine use of bold and strong colours as the light too is very well taken care of. What I would have wanted was something to indicate size of the statue. Good job

Oldtree (2457) 2004-10-30 8:33

Impressive shot, Chris. Beautiful colors, a unique theme and an excellent composition. Thanks for posting this one.

jbweasle (9294) 2004-10-30 9:28

The orange robe and the blue sky work together perfectly. I appreciate the excellent note too.

Xalkida (11740) 2004-10-30 9:56

Excellent photo! I like very much this vivid portocalade color of the statue! Very nice work!

avigur_11 (21301) 2004-10-30 13:30

The scan is very good this time, Chris, and the colors are great. THe shapes in Buddha's "pillow" are very interesting. THis statue looks quite big, I wish there was a reffernce object for the scale.
BTW - I saw that you have started to comment i many languages, would you try Hebrew as well?

nwoehnl (120) 2004-10-30 15:08

Very impressive shot, Chris. The colors are vibrant, and the composition is good too with a lot of textural details retained not only in the statue, but also in the "folding" of the orange cloth. Well done.

Jeppe (18623) 2004-10-30 18:40

Truly wonderful strong colours you got on this capture - the motif also great to watch and I never seen a statue of this size with clothes on :-) thanks Chris.

maphoto (8076) 2004-10-30 22:49

Vivi colors and contrast, unusual photo and excellent presentation, well done.

manny (21378) 2004-10-31 1:35

Very good colors. The minimal colors makes the shot very powerful and distinct. Suits your subject too.

bpelvan (3786) 2004-10-31 1:48

Great note telling the sad story Chris. This is a perfect shot of you. All the details are very very sharp and all the colors are very natural. Flooring stones shows the enourmous size of the statue.

I do wonder how many meters of cloth is used for this wonder.

Well done and thanks for sharing...

Kenny10pin (19301) 2004-10-31 6:47

very nice buddha here, I like the classic orange cloth, very good and big buddha

well done

oochappan (22032) 2004-10-31 17:54

I must admit, when I see these colors here it takes my breath away, you know how to put all spots on this undiscovered land that knew so many wars and still has a lot of treasures.
A good scan of a very well composition of impressive colors enforcing the Buddha so well, sharp and bright.
Well done Chris.

Rockyboy (20582) 2004-11-01 7:19

The color saturation of this picture is very high and the statue looks like very hige. Indeed, I see the ramains of the old colomns... Very intersting shot, Chris!

alainh (35385) 2004-11-03 15:17

hello Chris,
a very good scan. a very good quality.
i like this colours.
a nice one.
regards
alain

anakin (2775) 2005-05-13 17:31

Very interesting shot, nice colours.Is so beautiful.Is really impressive.
well done

femkevdh (2633) 2006-10-03 13:44

she looks so peacefully asleep... you couldn't tell she's been through taht much! good capture and great scan. The colors are still very vivid!

keribar (42760) 2008-07-03 21:20

Hello Chris

Although I have seen the reclinig Buddha at Ayyuthaya, I look at this one as if I have never been there before. Good angle and smart colors rendered so well - Izzet