First the stairs: I'll always remember the stairs in Myanmar leading up to the PopaTaungkalat Shrine. There are 777 of them—you have to climb barefoot and there's no railing. Macaques hang around looking for handouts and they can be aggressive. Although we saw them jumping all over the place, they didn't bother us. Hot and sweaty during the climb, I was happy we'd asked for a safe journey from one the 37 Great Nats who live at the bottom of the stairs.
Nats are spirits connected with Buddhism. Most Burmese think of them as a combination of fairies and saints. They don't really believe in them, but just as we don't pass under a ladder unless necessary or avoid a black cat, so do the Burmese make sure, if they really want something, they consult the nats first and leave an offering. The offering is often liquor, coconuts, bananas or small bills.
The first photo is my straight-forward photo. The second, I fiddled with on LunaPic's free photo software online (spell check wants to change LunaPic to Lunatic). Okay, I'll admit...I may have overdone it....like a lunatic.
I think this effect "dreaming" makes the photo less threatening. More like a castle and less like a fort.
Now the arch: This arch-framed view of the Taj Mahal is iconic. The area was more crowded than it looks when we visited last year. I held the camera up over my head to get this shot. The second shot, also run through an effect on LunaPic, I actually like better.
For more peeks through arches, go to Sepia Saturday sample how others interpret this week's prompt.
I'm happy enough if I can get down and up the stairs at the Strand in Dana Point (can't recall--144 steps). A lot of huffing and puffing without the heart attack--yet.
ReplyDeleteHelen, I doubt if you would ever get me on those steps - and going down could be more scary than going up. Your photographs of the Taj Mahal are amongst the most stunning that I have ever seen - both magical. A superb match for arches and steps. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI can’t do hot and sweaty climbs up steps anymore, and the the thought appals me. I love the photo effects with Luna Pic, a new one for me to discover and play with.
ReplyDeleteThat is a serious climb, well done for making it to the top. I assume that both the shrine and the view from on high made it worthwhile. That photo effect makes the last photo look like a painting.
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking me to new and exotic places! I loved your creativity with the photos.
ReplyDeleteI would never attempt those stairs at this point, although in my youth I could have climbed them like a mountain goat.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Kristin -- when younger, I could do those in a single stretch. Now, though, the thought of climbing them makes me short of breath!
ReplyDeleteI don't know which of the things about your climb to the Popa Taungkalat Shrine would have most unnerved me - the 777 steps, the fact that you had to climb them barefoot, or that there were no railings??? You were braver than I ever would have been. Yikes! I like your artful transitions of that picture!
ReplyDeleteStriking photos and art effects of what must be very memorable places.
ReplyDeleteFantastic pictures Well done!
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