21 November 2012 - 25 November 2012 - Yi Peng Lantern Festival in Chiang Mai

[justinngphoto]

Just shot Yi Peng Lantern Festival in Chiang Mai last weekend and went to a few other places as well. One of them is the most beautiful waterfall, Mae Ya Waterfall, in Doi Inthanon National Park, the home to 8 beautiful waterfalls.



Similar Threads:

• 15 November 2012 - LIVE Photography Sharing Session by Willy Foo
• 02 November 2012 - 04 November 2012 - 65th SCC International Rugby 7s Tournament at Padang
• 04 November 2012 - 65th SCC International Rugby 7s Tournament at Padang
• Brand Specific Photowalks: Fujifilm X-Series Users November
• 03 November 2012 - Singapore Canon Photomarathon

[justinngphoto]

Wachirathan waterfall is also one of the 8 beautiful waterfalls in Doi Inthanon National Park. I walked down the slippery wooden walkway leading to this scene and never expected it to be tougher to photograph than Mae Ya waterfall. In no more than few seconds, my len was shrouded in mist and i can't do long exposure here. I was determined to get this one because of the rainbow and I finally had it after a few attempts.

[justinngphoto]

The Great Holy Relics Pagoda of Nobhamethanidol-Nabhapolbhumisiri are constructed by the Thai Air Force and Thai people on the auspicious occasion of King Bhumibol’s 5th cycle birthday in 1987 and Queen Sirikit’s 5th cycle birthday in 1992 respectively. The Buddha’s relics are kept inside the Nobhamethanidol pagoda. Rain clouds were hovering above this amazing landscape and the area was engulfed by mist approximately an hour later.

[justinngphoto]

Moon shot taken on 23 Nov 2012 in Chiang Mai. Shot using my friend's, Jason Tan's, 400mm f5.6. It's been more than a year since I last took a moon shot. To view my previous moon shot, visit here.

[justinngphoto]

Monks leading the prayer during Yi Peng Lantern Festival. Yi Peng is held on a full moon of the 2nd month of the Lanna calendar ("Yi" meaning "2nd" and "Peng" meaning "month" in the Lanna language). During the ceremony, a handful of lanterns began to fill the night sky though they were told to release at the same time for a magnificent view. A burning angry bird lantern was seen descending slowly from the sky heading towards the platform and it was caught by one of the monks who very quickly put out the fire before it could cause any disaster.

[justinngphoto]

Monks looked up at the magnificent night sky filled with thousands of lanterns in awe. Yi Peng lantern festival is meant as a time for tham bun (Thai: ทำบุญ), to make merit. This was the moment I've been waiting for and it lasted very quickly due to strong wind. A very heavy downpour occurred right after we left the place. The lanterns were made of organic materials.

Dec 2012 - National Geographic Editors' Favorite
Dec 2012 - Featured in National Geographic Travel Blog
Feb 2013 - Featured and published in New York Daily News, Huffington Post, Time Magazine, Yahoo! News, Mashable, The Guardian, The Washington Post, FStoppers, MSN, AOL, Yahoo! News Singapore
Feb 2013 - Sony World Photography Awards 2013 - Finalist (Top 10 out of 122,000 entries from 170 countries)
Mar 2013 - Sony Singapore National Award - 2nd Prize

[justinngphoto]

Two monks watched as the lantern ascended slowly into the night sky after the end of the ceremony, a few minutes before the heavy downpour occurred.