Category: Architecture

Architecture

Phra Phai of Wat Arun

Phra Phai of Wat Arun
The pictures I take sometimes stir up retrospective curiousity about the subjects I have taken. Luckily, I usually manage to dig up enough information on the Internet to satisfy the curious streak in me 😛

This was taken in Bangkok during my trip there last month… When I took the picture, it was nothing more than a study of contrast, lighting and architecture to me. Searching on the Internet though, I am made aware that the picture I have taken is that of a Wind God, or Phra Phai residing in one of the four Prangs (Khmer-style tower) that surrounds the central 79-meter high pagoda (Phra Prang) of Wat Arun. Wat Arun, or the Temple of Dawn, is a 17th-century Siamese temple named after the Indian god of dawn, Aruna. The Phra Prang is decorated with a mosaic of multi-colored Chinese porcelain and is symbollic of Mount Meru, the home of the gods in Buddhist mythology. The temple served as a royal temple and palace during the reign of King Taksin (1733-1782 AD). It is currently one of the most well-known landmarks of Bangkok visited frequently by tourists.

ARPS #8 – Another Gateway Within

Another architectural picture from my ARPS panel…

Another Gateway Within shows an almost abstract view of one of the Gateway Towers reflected in the other. Designed by internationally-acclaimed architect, I.M. Pei, the Gateway Towers overlook Beach Road just outside the city of Singapore. These unusual and high-tech looking towers are shaped geometrically such that from a certain angle, the towers look flat and two-dimensional, with a lack of depth, as if they were merely a flat plates planted vertically into the ground.

Exposure information – Camera: Canon Powershot G3, ISO 50, Shutter: 1/800 sec, Aperture: f/7.1, 35mm effective FL: 140mm, Exposure Mode: Manual

ARPS #7 – Lighted Windows

Another familiar sight for Singaporeans from my ARPS panel…

The windows of the Ministry of Information, Communication and The Arts (MITA) building at Hill Street has fascinated many photographers with their brightly coloured windows. I was lucky to take this shot right before dusk, when the lights were just turned on within the building. Due to switch timer differences perhaps, the group of windows on the left had their lights turned on first, leaving the rest of the windows dark. I thought that the lighted windows provided an interesting distraction from the repetitive patterns of the darker windows.

Answer to the previous ARPS picture: the streaks of light are made by the tourist bumboats travelling by the water-side. The flashes of light are made by tourists taking snapshots with their compact cameras as the boats passed by. Guess I was lucky that they were timed and spaced at such regular intervals!