Taoist ceremony

At the end of the ceremony, paper idols and fake money are burned on a pyre.

Taoist ceremony

When visiting one of the temples, I was invited to return to witness a ceremony that takes place once a year at the site. The purpose of the event is to call back the souls of the ancestors for a day, offer them food, entertainment and transfer some wealth. They should then return satisfied and assist in ensuring good health and fortune to the participants and their families.

Red light

Lamps of local temples are often imported from China, like the ones pictured above.

Taoist Temple

The care taker explained that the temple was over 150 years old and built to house and safeguard a statue originating from a small village in China. It is the immigrants from this village that came to Singapore that funded the construction. Their descendants have ensured the protection of the statue and venerate their ancestors in this sanctuary.

Dragon on the roof

Another temple, another roof, another dragon.

Dragons on the temple roof

Tucked into an industrial zone in the Yishun district of Singapore lie a few temples that were relocated into this area when the lands they originally had been build on were taken back by the government. Going to an excellent Thai restaurant well hidden in the neighborhood, I used to pass by these buildings and, one day, decided to visit them with the camera.

Alcoves at the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple

Two opposite walls of the temple are covered with alcoves each featuring a statue of Buddha.

Luodai Ancient Town - revisited

Scouting through old files, I choose this image of a street in the Ancient Town of Luodai to experiment with the usage of background textures. I had seen this method been used in very pleasing and effective ways by Trey Ratcliff on his blog "www.stuckincustoms.com" and decided to try my humble hand at it.

The giant smiling faces of Angkor - Revisited

This is a new version of an earlier post, with the image reworked in photoshop. Bayon is one of my favourite temple in the region of Angkor. To be fully appreciated, it needs to be visited early in the morning for two main reasons: the place turns into a zoo when the large operators bring their hord of tourists by bus loads (from 9AM onwards)... and the light just after sunrise is just amazing creating moving shadows between the smiling giants.

Mountain goat at the Creux-du-Van - Switzerland

Young male bouquetin at the cliff edge.

Mountain goat at the Creux-du-Van - Switzerland

The Creux-du-Van is a large semi-circular cliff up to 200m high situated in the Jura mountains of Switzerland. Mountain goats, locally named "bouquetin" populate the area and can be seen on top of the cliff in the early and late parts of the day.

Lights & Colours - Mid-Automn Festival

A play on depth of field.

Mid-Automn Festival @ Clarke Quay

Decorated bridge for the Mid-Automn Festival (Mooncake festival) at Clarke Quay. With some delay!

Contrast

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Candid Portrait in Kota Kinabalu

Candid portrait of a lady manning a vegetable stall at the market in Kota Kinabalu.

Selingan Island - Borneo

A parting shot at Selingan Island, the morning after the visit of the green turtles.

Sipadan Turtle Cave

The squeleton of a green turtle in the Turtle Cave at Sipadan.