Whenever I go back to Thailand I always make sure to go visit a temple at about once a week to pay my respects. I wouldn't call myself a Buddhist but I guess it's the religion I most identify with and have grown up around. I mostly like the calming aspects of temples and how amazingly intricate and beautiful the architecture is that and the fact it's a nice little break away from the hustle and bustle of Bangkok and my crazy Thai family!
The photos above (and Fisheye below) however were taken whilst I was in China and each of them depicts a temple dedicated to a different religion the first is dedicated to Taoism, the one above left is a Buddhist temple and the one to the right a Mosque and although they each celebrate a different religion there is a distinct Eastern look that almost seems to unify the religions.
The two Holga shots and the Fisheye (above) were my first rolls of film I cross-processed. I'd seen such amazing cross-processed shots from fellow lomographers that I had to try it out for myself. I used Kodak Ektachrome for the Holga and for the Fisheye Agfa Precisia and I was so pleased with Fisheye shots that I ended up buying another 20 rolls of that film!
Every house in Thailand has a little Buddha house outside their house, our house has two. The black and white film I used for my Holga shots kind of gives an eerie presence to the temples, especially the temple (Wat Si Chum) which you can see in the photo to the right and below which houses a humongous Buddha inside a tiny ruined temple in Thailand's historical capital Sukhothai.
Sukhothai is one of my favourite places in Thailand although quite small, it's much more peaceful than Bangkok and although the ruined temples there are not as pretty and intricate or detailed as some of the more common temples the architecture is still quite amazing and let's not forget some of these ruins are hundreds of years old!
One of the most amazing things about Temples in Thailand is they they can be found in such amazing and unusual places whether it be deep in a cave, on top of a mountain or even in a century old tree and not only can they be found in strange places, some are dedicated to the strangest things I've seem hell gardens, penis shrines and a whole temple taken over by some feisty monkeys!
I can't wait to spend the summer in Thailand again this year as I just love taking my Lomo cameras on temple visits with me, they seem to capture the beauty and atmosphere so much better than my digital cameras, each photo is always a surprise to me as I've got into that "Lomo habit" of just snapping away without even looking through the lens so it's always a real treat when I see the final results.
Shutter Bugs & Lomo Love
Cate
xoxo
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