Hindagala Temple - Kandy, Sri Lanka

The Hindagala Temple - Kandy, Sri Lanka

The Hindagala temple is an ancient cave temple famous for the art which adorns its ceilings and walls. Most of the paintings date back to the 18th century but there are a few poorly preserved paintings which are said to be from the 5th century. The temple itself was a hermitage used by meditating Buddhist monks for centuries.

More photographs inside.

Paintings at the Hindagala Temple - Kandy Sri Lanka

The main building, seen in the first image, houses a Buddha statue and a Dagoba. Unfortunately when I got there the priest was away and I was unable to photograph the interior of the cave as the doors were locked. Fortunately there were only a few people visiting the temple when I got there. This gave me plenty of time to set up the tripod photograph the exterior of the main building.

Paintings at the Hindagala Temple - Kandy Sri Lanka

There are two entrances to the main temple. The first is a flight of steep stone stairs that lead to the temple from the main road below. The stairs are easy to miss as there are no signs indicating the whereabouts of the temple. The second entrance is a small path accessed from a side road that is some distance away. The path winds its way through a number of large boulders and overgrown properties but is not as steep as the stairs. The photograph below is the  entrance to this path from the temple.

An entrance to the Hindagala Temple - Kandy, Sri Lanka

All photographs on this post were taken with a Canon 7D and the 24-105mm lens. No flash were used to photograph the paintings but the tripod did come in handy! I will try and photograph the interior of the temple on my next visit.

The Museum - Vatican City

The Stairs - Vatican Museum

The queues to get into the Vatican Museum are horrendously long. Fortunately we had booked our tickets with a tour operator and were able to walk right in without having to queue up. The Museum was packed when we got in but the crowds were moving and we were able to spend a fair bit of time inside.

More images from our visit inside.

A Statue at the Museum - Vatican Museum

The origin of the Museum can be traced back to a single marble sculpture purchased over 500 years ago by Pope Julius II. The Pope placed the sculpture on display to the public and this was the start of what is now the Vatican Museum. The Museum celebrated its 500th anniversary in October 2006.

The Gardens at the Museum - Vatican City

The Sistine Chapel was the most crowded section of the Museum and people are asked to stay quiet while inside and photography is prohibited. Tour guides use images of the Chapel's ceiling, set up on a board in the garden pictured above, to point out the features of the paintings. The most annoying part of visiting the Sistine Chapel is seeing people take photographs of the ceiling despite the notices informing you that photography is prohibited. It's a massive problem in the museums in Europe as people don't seem to take any notice of the signs. I though it was bad in Sigiriya in Sri Lanka but this was a lot worse. 

A Ceiling at the Museum - Vatican City

The Interior of the Museum itself is a work of art. The details in the paintings on the ceilings and walls is exquisite. In some sections of the Museum the paintings have been created to look like sculptures and it s quite hard to identify the paintings from the sculptures. We spent hours at the museum but were able to see only a fraction of the art works that were on display at the Museum.

Another Ceiling - Vatican Museum

Graffiti - Hosier Lane, Melbourne

Graffiti - photographed down Hosier Lane in Melbourne

Hosier Lane, on  the southern end of Melbourne's CBD, is famous for it's street art and graffiti. The graffiti covered walls have become a back drop for fashion and wedding photography as well as being a tourist attraction. The lane is also featured in state sponsored tourism campaigns and other publications. Everything along the lane, including the bins which are shown in one of the images below, is covered in Graffiti. The street art on the walls along Hosier lane is legal. More images inside.

Graffiti - photographed down Hosier Lane in Melbourne

While I was photographing the lane, several groups of tourists and school children were being guided through. A number of other photographers were also wondering along the lane capturing images of whatever caught their eye. Below is a selection of images which I managed to capture over the two hours I spent in the area.

Graffiti - photographed down Hosier Lane in Melbourne

Graffiti - photographed down Hosier Lane in Melbourne

Graffiti Bins - photographed down Hosier Lane Melbourne

Graffiti - photographed down Hosier Lane in Melbourne

Graffiti - photographed down Hosier Lane in Melbourne

Graffiti - photographed down Hosier Lane in Melbourne

All these images were captured with the Canon 7D and a 24-105mm lens.