Thupten Tholing Photo

Photographer’s Note

This photo was taken at the Thupten Tholing. The Monastery is an hour and a half north of Junbesi on the Everest Trek five days from Jiri. They do not see a lot of visitors because they are off the main trekking route. The Rinpoche and monks are very welcoming and kind. It was one of the highlights of our trip and really worth the detour.

Sorry about the bad scan.

peck, nbj, BHo, jkos, tityop, atilgone, aloyho, andante, tonyking, hispic, Andre-H, fijiphil, thaprem, delkoo, wolf38, touristdidi, Aspirin, nikkN6, AiresSantos, rafid76, rigoletto, atus, chrisnet, pboehringer, bebel, marknunnerley trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

rich (1199) 2006-01-28 5:30

Very atmospheric and clever use of light. I llike the way you've made the figure to the left slightly out of focus so attention turns to group of monks slightly below his eyeline. Excellent.

jeffchaill (356) 2006-01-28 5:43

very good photo, and it wasn't easy whith the light.
Good choise of POV, with the first focal plan, and the rest of the photo. Simply excellent shot....
T F S JEFF

nbj (1871) 2006-01-28 7:15

There's a lot of atmosphere, and the colors are nice. The person in the foreground adds a lot to the feeling you get of viewing something special, he adds a sense of mystery.

BHo (2177) 2006-01-29 3:08

Must have been great being in that room taking in everything from the smell to the sounds and sight. Awesome photograph.

jinju (14265) 2006-01-29 4:04

Hey Ben,

great stuff. The scene has a great feel, fantastic atmosphere. I like the use of dof with the monk in the foreground a bit out of focus. A good documentary shot.

jbweasle (9294) 2006-01-30 3:35

Hello Benjamin, this is a wonderful picture from inside this monastery. Are the monks chanting at this time? Yes, the quality of the image is a bit poor but in this case it seems to add to the atmosphere of the shot.

jkos (981) 2006-01-30 6:57

Very hard shot. To take a shot in a room... with not enough light. Good result. I wish to visit Nepal one day!
TFS,
Joel

tityop (6225) 2006-01-30 12:13

Hello Benjamin,
Tu nous plonges dans la vie de ce monastère avec cette image,
d'habitude je ne suis pas super fan mais c'est vraiment fort !!
l'ambiance est a la méditation, j'aime beaucoup également leur costume.
Le rendu est très bon pour un scan,
Félicitation
Thierry

david (3978) 2006-01-31 2:21

wow! the light and colour is amazing in this shot. i also like the repetition created by the monks' headwear.

i hope you got more photos from this monastery, i'd love to see them!

atilgone (4749) 2006-02-03 2:07

Very atmospheric nice shot but hard to compose but you did it well. thanks for sharing.

anesugur (16934) 2006-02-03 16:01

Excellent colors and very beautiful composition.
Good work. Regards. Uğur

everlasting (10938) 2006-02-09 7:00

This looks more like a painting than a photo. A good daily life shot with atmosphere

thebig_d81 (777) 2006-02-10 8:12

Well done especially with the limitation of light provided. Excellent.
Darren

ballyna (1689) 2006-02-12 5:47

Benjamin ,
I can easily see it should be too hard to work with that lighting conditions but u did it pretty well.very special ceremony there and colors are so vibrant.so different atmosphere,just for trekearth site.
regards

aloyho (6109) 2006-02-14 6:54

Hi Benjamin,
This shot have shown a strong sense of cultural identity and the repetition of the headgears provided good rhythm. The atmosphere must be one that is hard to forget and your lighting control have in a way helped in achieving this. Well done!! Regards and thanks.

clic (4063) 2006-02-16 6:22

Bonjour Benjamin
This is a quite exotic picture for me, in Canada.
So sell enlighted and full of visual information.
A masterpiece!
Robert Deschênes

verde (957) 2006-02-17 18:07

great colors in a hard lighting environment. the yellows are really impressive. It tells a great story.
b

peck (2779) 2006-02-19 15:00

Hi Benjamin,
Very nice composition and great atmosphere!! Very good photo with difficult light, well done!!
best regards
Gregory

kayaduygu (159) 2006-02-21 16:37

It's a great scene. Well done!
Regards, duygu

andante (7092) 2006-02-22 21:24

Benjamin, one of your best shots, thanks for sharing! A great piece of photojournalism.

Svillegas (1165) 2006-02-23 5:41

Hi Benjamin
Great shot, it looks like having being taken from a Dalai Dama film. Good composition. Thanks for sharing, Sonia

adramad (3800) 2006-02-23 18:34

Hello Benjamin.
Very nice composition, great colors and explendid photo with difficult light.
Regards.

take (39) 2006-03-09 20:20

Hi Benjamin

Nice composition!!
It is a good photograph. Some day, Nepal is one of the places to go.

tonyking (1599) 2006-03-16 4:29

Hi Benjamin,
The scan doesn't look as bad as it might. I've had some TERRIBLE results in the past but I'm still learning so....
I love the composition and the colours here. The light was obviously quite harsh as well but you've captured the essence of the place very nicely. Visiting this place must have been a wonderful experience. I'd love to visit here some day as well.
Well done.

Hugs,
Tony

colinbrenchley (6133) 2006-03-25 4:24

Although the front figure is slight out of focus I can understnad that the conditions of light in this room would have made photogrpahy very diffult. You have captured the atmosphere of this scene very well.
Regards Colin

hispic (7399) 2006-04-14 22:06

Very interesting shot, Benjamin. especially orange crown hat.
It's also good idea to focus out on the young priest in the left.
Excellent.
Best wishes,
Hisashi

Andre-H (1407) 2006-08-30 0:04

Hi Benjamin,

Wow! Great interior photo of a monastery. The lighting looks kind of tricky, but you've handled it beautifully; the windows are a little bright, but they don't matter, and the rest of the room is well taken care of. I like the colours, of which there are few - mostly just reds and yellow, mixed in with the gray background. The fact that the foreground monk is out of focus actually works very well in this context. Thanks.

André

fijiphil (1345) 2006-08-31 15:38

Absolutely fantastic shot. You have captured the atmosphere here perfectly.

I have done a workshop to tidy up a little bit, but I haven't played with your composition at all, because it is spot on.

[workshop] [compare] +

thaprem (2498) 2006-09-06 13:13

Benjamin,
A fantastic Shot...
Typically I would have expected the focus to be on the person on the left & the bokeh on the rest!..This seems to be other way round with a calculated intent of dragging the eyes deeper into the crowd!.
A very neatly executed one.
Thanks,
Prem.

delkoo (34574) 2006-09-08 2:40

hi benjamin
very interesting photo of yellow hats monks we can feel the spiritual mood.
i like the blur on the firts one.
well done and well seen

didier

wolf38 (13011) 2006-09-08 8:12

Hello Benjamin. A monastery and monks in the prayer area. The colors red and yellow dominate. In the area is a special atmosphere. As a photographer one would like not to disturb and holds something distance. Nevertheless this photo became very good. Many greetings, Wolfgang.

scalerman (25783) 2006-09-09 14:31

whatever problems in softness and DOF here, the subject and compo are great. TFS. It's a great ambience you caught here Benjamin. I'll be looking through the rest of yours. regards, c

touristdidi (8561) 2006-09-13 4:05 [Comment]

Show Comment

ruisc_pt (6207) 2006-09-21 5:42

this a very well balanced frontlit exposure.
Great.
tfs

sebinho342 (18744) 2006-10-24 14:48

Hi Benjamin, superb picture from inside of this monastery, love the light here and the mood, this picture catch very well eyes !
Great :)

nikkN6 (328) 2006-10-26 18:24

great capture and great choice of focus!Perfect foto.

yanseiler (20) 2006-10-31 21:21

Hi Benjamin, quite amazed how close you were there... Love the atmosphere, no one paying attention to you...
Cheers
Yan

doubay (5043) 2006-11-29 11:19

Great photo!!

cuneyt-sb (6559) 2007-01-21 4:10

Hi Ben
Im impressed , great photo. I can smell the air.
Great compo and great colors my friend
Very well done
Regards

AiresSantos (42624) 2007-01-23 8:09

Hi Benjamin,
Very gorgeous composition with excellent colors. I like how you framed the picture
Good work. Regards
Aires

batalay (21112) 2007-01-31 19:00

Hello Ben,
A truly astonishing photo of the Rimpoche and the monks in prayer. It is almost like a stage set for which they have been arranged, but then, real life imitates art!
I see that you were using a Nikon F4 and had to scan the negative, but the result is very good. Your photo of the cavalry still has me mesmerized. My daughter seeing the picture, exclaimed, "I must see that again!" So we did.

Warm regards,
Bulent

brevbrev14 (372) 2007-02-03 12:14

Hi Ben, a great capture this one!
the lights are amazing and the composition is superb!
the stmosphere is fantastic, but i like more your choice of DOF, with the blured person in foreground!
very vert good work!
ciao!
Valeria

Jason_teale (703) 2007-02-08 23:05

Wow this is a really cool shot. I am amazed that the monks let you photographer them during their prayer! Great perspective too.

rafid76 (2611) 2007-02-10 15:25

my freind im intrigued, curious and extremely envious to how you gain access to such images? you photos are worthy of national geographic. the only thing i would do is have increased the F# to keep everything in focus including the main guy on right. never the less amazing.

femkevdh (2633) 2007-02-23 8:50

wow... defenitely worth a detour! I can tell they're friendly, 'cause you are really IN the ceremony.
Amazing photo.... great vibes!

femke

rigoletto (26566) 2007-02-23 16:12

Hello Benjamin,
I would hardly expect them to welcome a visitor, and not a regular visitor, a photographer! Because they look so traditional and closed. A grat POV and a perfect documentary photo. TFS,
Regards,
Deniz

MichaelTrezzi (3170) 2007-03-03 15:02

Hi Benjamin, very interesting photo, how did you convince them to let you take pictures ? Very good composition and POV presenting the mood in the temple. Thanks for sharing. Cheers, Michael

sadeik (3159) 2007-03-07 15:04

Superb in door shot with great atmoshere. You have done well with the composition too.

Simon

atus (15476) 2007-03-09 17:32

hi Ben,
a really amazing and unique shot here. I'm sure that the atmosphere was fantastic among these monks living out of the beaten tracks. Very well captured shot of a great perspective, with good sharpness and light control. Great one!
Tfs and best regards.
Attila

dilane (10289) 2007-03-22 16:32

Hi benjamin,
I like the good atmosphere and colors / light
regards dilane

chrisnet (20376) 2007-03-24 9:26

Hello Benjamin,
Fantastic atmosphere here, very interesting shot, well seen and done.
Regards
Christian

keribar (42760) 2007-03-25 4:30

Hello Ben,

The scan can be modest, but it is fact that the picture is extraordinary, Both technically and for the composition and of course because it is off the main roads. If I had shot it it would probably take place among my best.

Keep well - Izzet

banyanman (7735) 2007-03-29 3:06

This is difficult light to handle, Ben, but you've achieved about the best possible balance between over-exposing the window areas too much and under-exposing the shadow areas. A faster film would have given you greater DOF, but more noise as well, so that's a trade-off too. Composition is good and you've captured the atmosphere well. Cheers . . . David

pboehringer (770) 2007-03-31 23:49

Benjamin, I wish I would have known about this place earlier. I have been in Sagarmatha myself in 1998 and did the usual trek from Lukla to Mt. Everest base camp. Later I went to Tibet, but the political conditions certainly do not allow a authentic image as this one. This here breathes originality. Excellent composition. The only problem is the overexposure coming from the windows. Increasing the f/ by one or two stops would probably have helped.
TFS, Peter

paura (38906) 2007-04-05 20:16

Ben,
This is really a very interesting shot. Your POV is excellent to show this amazing composition.

Very well done.

Paulo

marknunnerley (2768) 2007-06-21 6:56

Shame about the scan Benjamin but a wonderful atmospheric shot of the monestery. Great light and would look good in a periodical. Nice one.
br
mark

erdo (568) 2008-04-04 1:23

Such a good photo with such difficult indoor light. An image that is in the mind of all travellers to Nepal, but I enjoyed it loots, but not lucky to witness such an atmosphere. TFS.
Erdogan

figenya (1518) 2009-12-05 16:15

Hi Benjamin,

I just can not find enough English word to express my views about this photo. A dream shot for me. Happy to watch and examine details.

cheers

figen