Sun Temple Geometry, a photo from Gujarat, West

Photographer's Note

For us Indians, the sun is Surya: the source of light, life, time, its daily round the oldest story of our aging and creaking planet. At the Surya Mandir or Sun Temple of Modhera in Gujarat, 100km northwest of Ahmedabad, the sun has for nearly a thousand years risen over, and flooded the arches and friezes of a monument built as a kind of rest house, if not home, for it on earth. The Rig Veda, a text drunken with the sun抯 gifts and glories, extols the sun抯 eye at dawn as the force that "reveals creation". On a wintery December morning in Modhera the rising sun not only reveals the world梩he sleepy village with its jumble of nondescript houses, the fields and a placid lake part-covered by lotus leaves on which long-legged birds stand still in meditation, a tourist bus disgorging a platoon of chattering schoolboys梑ut also completes it, as it enters with slowly advancing strides the monument expressly constructed with the arc of its journey in mind.

The idol of Surya inside the sanctum sanctorum, of the Modhera temple is long gone, plundered by Mahmud of Ghazni on one of his many raids on northern and western India in the 11th century. The temple抯 spire, or shikhara, too, is broken. But to completely destroy the temple抯 heliocentric spirit, Mahmud would have had to have possessed the power to throw the sun itself off its course. Twice every year, on the days of the March and the September equinoxes, the rays of the rising sun glide over the Surya Kund (the deep tank that forms the first of the temple抯 three distinct but axially aligned features), pass through the arches of the music-hall or Ranga Mandap, pierce the entrance to the main chamber or Guda Mandap, and illuminate the sanctum, where the idol once stood. The spectacle has disappeared, but the thought梠f the sun bringing its own image to life on a pre-appointed day as if keeping a vow, of the trajectory of a distant star and that of human intelligence and devotion meeting in a kind of architectural handshake, of a sense (even if fabricated) of concord between the earthly and the celestial realms梩hrills the mind yet.

The geometric & symmetric pattern of the steps from behind the Sun Temple led us to a rectangular tank...the holy tank of the temple. The designs of the steps on all the sides of the temple creating amazing graphic effect...In this earlier post, the geometric stairs can be seen through the pillars in the distance.

My using of f/5 was in all probability a mistake as I would have forgotten to change the aperture after coming out from inside the temple ..eager to click fast with the two local girls in the frame

pierrefonds, gildasjan, abmdsudi, lacroux, dip, Vato_Law, BluSimo, yedirenk, adores, josepmarin, bukitgolfb301, jhm, Fante, Didi, danos, samson, Atousa, kordinator has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

pierrefonds (114556) 2010-08-19 5:49

Hi Angshuman,

The steps have a graphical effect on the composition. The point of view is showing the details and colors of the architecture of this section of the Sun temple. The presence of the person has an effect of scale. The afternoon light is enhancing the colors. Have a nice day.

Pierre

gildasjan (43826) 2010-08-19 5:57

Bonjour Angshuman
Un bon POV pour cette r閍lisation dans laquelle la personne en rose attire l'渋l.Cette image ressemble � du s閜ia lorsqu'on la vignette.
Cordialement
gildas

Bartleby (13552) 2010-08-19 6:36

Hi Angshu,
indeed such an opportunity wasn't to be missed and you didn't! The f/5 doesn't seem to have affected a a whole lot the pictures. I love of course this graphic frame with the two spots of colors of the saris.

Best,

Philippe

sevy (58) 2010-08-19 6:52

Hello Angshu,

A very good photo, the kind I could imagine to see in large print or to buy in a photo shop.
There is the graphism, there is the good light, there is the lonely 2 colored suit people and the strong frame.

Yves.

clio (27961) 2010-08-19 6:59

Bonjour Angshu,
Don't worry with the error of opening in f/5. I think that it would be more embarrassing if you wanted to enlarge the photo.
What a fantastic place! You magnificently placed your two persons and chose one great hour for shadows's play.
Congratulations! I like also the presentation.
Amicalement
Diane

Morac (27725) 2010-08-19 7:01

Bonjour Angshu,
Un bel effet graphique tr鑣 bien habit� par la pr閟ence des deux femmes.
Amicalement
Marc

PixelTerror (0) 2010-08-19 7:51

Namaste Angshu
Wow not the kind of place we see everyday, if I would not know the country I'd name Egypt here, your framing focuses well on the graphism just broken by the few people
Have a nice day JY

npecanhuk (79329) 2010-08-19 8:09

Hello Anshuman!
Very attractive photograph!
Sharpness, exposure, pov, colors, pp, contrasts, horizontal foramt, black & white borders, golden words and composition are all oustanding features here!
You really photographed the geometrical shapes of that temple in a very original, smart, effective and eye-catching way! Wonderful visual results... I love them!
TFS - congrats!
Best regards,
Neyvan

Bluejeans (64251) 2010-08-19 8:44

Ola Angshuman ,
Beleza este templo com estes escadas em forma de tri鈔gulo , interessante os detalhes de arquitectura com linhas direitas , gostei muito das cores, as duas pessoas d鉶 no玢o de escala , parab閚s!!
Um abra鏾 Gon鏰lo

abmdsudi (95869) 2010-08-19 8:45

Namaste angshu
The shapes, shades and shadows and the touch of red and yellow really make this picture so stunning and stand out. Nice tight framing, lots details and sharpness. Your technical execution is impeccable and very informative notes worth reading. thks for sharing
Rgds

lacroux (4562) 2010-08-19 9:01

Hello Angshu
Once again thank you for your comment.
An impression of unlimitedness stressed by the size of both girls.
I like very much parallel lines and staircases which pass from a line to the other one.
It look like a computer game.
Cordialement.
Pierre.

dip (21408) 2010-08-19 9:13

Hi Angshu,
what a wonderful image,light / shadows and structures are really superb!
very good also the inclusion of the two people,
very well done!TFS,
Dimitris.

yquem46 (38752) 2010-08-19 9:15

Namaskar Angshu
I was at this well, next to the Modhera sun temple, but not lucky enough to have these beautiful and colorful saris on the stairs, which make quite some difference and contrast here with the brown stones
Well done, very harmonious and graphical
Best to you
patrick

jasmis (58653) 2010-08-19 11:43

Absolutely splendid shot. Superb magical place shown.
Regards my dear friend.

emka (158204) 2010-08-19 13:02

Hi Angshuman,

The steps are often very interesting graphically. Here is like that. They form nice pattern and your cut enhances it. Very strange series of small steps. You were lucky to manege including these woman in the shot. The light is also fantastic here.

Warm regards

Malgorzata

Vato_Law (12732) 2010-08-19 13:04

Hello Angshuman,
this is really a great framing showing beautiful details and with lots of impact caused by those geometric figures made by the staircases.
The human prsence is also fine here to show us the size of the temple and to break those successions of geometrical figures.

Really nice work!

Cheers.
Paulo

BluSimo (9392) 2010-08-19 13:20

Hi Angshuman
splendid graphical game and of shadow and light. the presences of the persons become a colored element, small however important.
have a nice day
Simonetta

ymrk (15099) 2010-08-19 13:42

incredible light which had been used professionally,indeed!and i thought that,the persons could be more left in capture :) but very affective,really!all the best,

yağmur

yedirenk (11244) 2010-08-19 16:03

Hi Angshuman,
an excellent light management very strong graphical effect..details and textures are amazing..also dynamic scene with two lady..good idea and superb presentation.TFS
Greetings

Cevdet

adores (46979) 2010-08-19 18:49

Hi Angshuman!
It's great, the pov, the geometry, and the two girls with the colourful dresses. Even the light helped, because the shadows create a special effect! very well framed also!

AiresSantos (56155) 2010-08-19 23:46

Hi Angshu
Impressive picture of this wonderful Temple
Very well framed, excellent colors and graphism
I like a lot the shadows effect
Have a nice weekend
Aires

Graal (103040) 2010-08-20 0:04

Hi Angshuman,
amazing geometric lines, fine game of shadows and light. An interesting place, well presentation. Good note. Solid photowork.
Have a nice day.
Aleksander

hemantbuch (1649) 2010-08-20 10:11

Hi Anghshu,

A perfect composition - the sun coning from your right gives beautiful light and the geometry of the place is captured superbly. The sharpness of the picture an the two human figures lends scale to proceedings.

Regards,

Hemant

josepmarin (59385) 2010-08-20 10:28

Namaste, my friend Angshuman,
A fantastic framing, the visual angle is chosen well to capture the interesting geometry of the steps in the Temple, and thus to obtain an impressive graphism, due to the effect of the sunlight on these elements.
Both girls give life and color to the image.
Is a great composition.
Best wishes,
Josep

subhendu_bagchi (26091) 2010-08-20 10:44

Dear Angshu da,
nice composition with the architecture of step well. Great colour tone. Nice light management, where the sun is almost on middle. Good depth and nice sharpness. The girls in salowar add colour and life to it. Very well done. Tfs.
Have a nice WE.
Subhendu

pajaran (116011) 2010-08-20 11:44

Pozdrav.
Odlican motiv i tekst ...
Vrlo interesantna i lepa arhitektura, dobar trenutak snimka, mnogo lepa fotografija.
Uzivanje je gledati i uzivati, cestitam vam na radu.
Sve najbolje.
Paja.

Google.

Hello.
Excellent theme and text ...
Very interesting and beautiful architecture, a good time recording, a lot of beautiful photos.
Enjoyment to watch and enjoy, I congratulate you for your work.
All the best.
Paja.

Fis2 (170885) 2010-08-20 13:57

Witaj Angshu!
A very curious object.
I like the frame and geometry.
The persons add savor of photo.
Best regards
Krzysztof

bukitgolfb301 (54014) 2010-08-20 17:11

Hello my dear Prof. Angshuman

So wonderful and gorgeous shot.
The usage of bird view appraoch makes very effective result. Perfect stable/balanced framework and well considered organized composition as usual.
Th position of two ladies is also quite reasonable.
Amazing sharp and clear color description.
Congratulation on your great job, thanks for sharing and have a good weekend!
Best regards, Takero

jhm (211736) 2010-08-21 0:50

Hello Angshu,

The stairs are often very interesting graphically, very well architecture image, incredible for look at how formerly the people this have made.
Splendid pictures, lovely colors good presentation. TFS.

Have a nice weekend,
John

jafadabret (56501) 2010-08-21 2:02

Bonjour Angshu,
Cette photo est tr鑣 r閡ssie. J'aime le graphisme dessin� par l'architecture et mise en valeur par le jeu de la lumi鑢e et des ombres. La pr閟ence humaine donne de la vie et l'閏helle.
Excellent !
Amicalement
Jacques

Fante (5429) 2010-08-21 13:44

Hi Angshuman,
amazing photo of an amazing architecture. Extraordinary POV and great DOF. Very good sharpness and lovely colors. Perfect central composition. Bravo
TFS
Regards, Sasko

ciakgiak (30) 2010-08-21 14:39

My dear friend Angshuman,
I remained really impressed about this superb image!!!
The geometrical effects of this temple are splendid, and I really adore this masterpiece, congratulations.
Best regards.
Giorgio

kiks (12805) 2010-08-21 15:08

The graffic effect on your composition is not only beautiful but also very intersting. The shadows add something to it and your chooice to not include sky make the compositioen even stronger. I enjoy it.
KIKs

marietom (34611) 2010-08-22 2:28

hello Angshu,

c'est graphique, et tr鑣 bien compos�, avec ces personnages tout petits qui passent ! Superbe !
Bon dimanche
Marie

quillo (11858) 2010-08-22 2:55

Namaste Angshu :

Me gusta mucho el encuadre cerrado y los tonos del Templo,
la luz tambi閚 es buena, la presencia de las
dos mujeres es importante para saber
el tama駉 de la edificaci髇.
BUEN TRABAJO.

Saludos desde Espa馻.

Didi (61589) 2010-08-22 3:47

Salam Angshu
Interesting pattern of horizontal lines.
Good quality frame of the scene.
The twwo characters give us an estimation of the scale.
Best regards

danos (110407) 2010-08-23 1:19

Hi Angshu,
really the Surya temple is full of geometrical shapes as beauty too seeing it from a distance.A multi level tremble with decades of sort stairs that heighten-descenting you in the upper-lower parts of it.The two passing by girls add life in the scene.

Regards,Danos

eversmile (11636) 2010-08-23 1:33

Hi Angshu!

A fabulous composition, perfectly framed, with a strong graphical effect and a superb minimalism! Thanks to the colorful silhouettes of the ladies,the life pulses in it too... Great job, with a classy presentation!
Congratulations!
Regards
Marine

Longroute (19600) 2010-08-25 1:25

Hello Angshu,

I'm just back from London... gray weather there! just the opposite of what I see here: an image full of light - a good trubute to Surya. The graphic effect of those steps and sculputures is undoubtely very appealing and there is a kind of diagonal pattern in the smaller steps which give a feeling of harmony. The inclusion of the ladies gives a colourful focal point which complement the pattern.
Good composition.
Best regards,
Donato

Atousa (7131) 2010-10-03 9:04

Salam Angshu,

Very attractive shot even from the thumbnail!.. like its geometry n the patterns.. good inclusion of the lady although I liked to see them near the bottom in the left.. great work.. tfs
Best regards, Atousa

kordinator (8738) 2010-10-10 1:56

Hello Angshuman
Great composition,perfect framed.
This is beautiful graphism.
Nice woman on the image.
Ideal gooden light,nice shadows.
Nice colors and contrast.
Excellent job.
Regards my friend
Sa歛

iainsp (3298) 2010-11-13 10:55

Greetings Angshu,

Firstly, while it may have been a 'mistake' (I know the feeling about forgetting to reset your camera after a change od situation), it did work out fine - no loss of depth of field, and no problems with overexposure. Sometimes it is way more important to get the shot in the decisive moment, and with the two girls clambering over the site, this was what was required. A great shot, thank you, Iain