Rooftop

Rooftop of a Tibetan Monastery in Inner Mongolia.

Pretty plain and simple.

Tibetan Hallway

A Tibetan monastery in Inner Mongolia. This monastery, to be exact (and self-referential). This was a hallway to the side of the dark chamber where the monks were chanting and reciting their prayers. The sunlight streaming through the wooden bars was beautiful, the air was deliciously crisp due to the high altitude, and the faint chanting could be heard above it all...it was an enlightening way to spend an afternoon.

Photo of the Day: Monastery in the Mountains (two for one!)

Thought I'd make today a double hitter since I missed posting yesterday.

These candles were kept inside a desk-like container (as seen below) at the Tibetan monastery we visited in Inner Mongolia. Getting this picture involved multiple tries because the camera had to be in such close proximity to the flames; I kept wimping out and pulling my hand away.

The view from the steps of the monastery onto the mountains. The view of the monastery itself was POTD on Jan 29. I loved it there because of the slightly higher elevation; the air felt crisp and clean and the overall atmosphere of the monastery was very relaxing. I started feeling very pensive and waxing philosophic. Cheesy but true.

Photo of the Day: Part II

My good friend Hillary, who went to Dongcai with me, in front of the window in the monastery.

Even though we met in Dalian, her college is only 40 minutes away from mine, and our schools actually have a huge rivaly! We spent this Valentine's weekend together; I took her to my house so she could enjoy a home-cooked meal- we were both craving REAL Chinese food!

I love this picture because I totally caught her off guard, and I think it worked really well with the lighting.

A Valentine's Photo of the Day: Longing for More

One of my favorite pictures of all the thousands I've ever taken. This was in the Tibetan monastery in Inner Mongolia that was POTD a couple weeks ago.

A fave because it's one of the only times I've put thought into a picture beyond lighting and angles; I thought about what I wanted the picture to say-
I wanted it to convey the feeling of what it might have been like being a monk stuck inside, wanting to know what more lay outside his walls....

Photo of the Day: Tibetan Monastery in Inner Mongolia

The complex was huge, this was just the main part of it. The air was also much more crisp and clean up here in the mountains. Inside that building there were actual monks chanting, you could donate money for 'inclusion' in the chants- You wrote your name (or whatever) in a ledger and then the head monk would take it somewhere. It was extremely dark inside, with only candles on the periphery of the monks, and we weren't allowed to take pictures or disturb them.