the one where the great buddha says hello

the one where the great buddha says hi
Originally uploaded by gezelle

since 2001, i have wanted to visit the island of lantau and have my photo taken with the big buddha. after 8 years, my wish was granted.

among the many shots i have taken of the sitting buddha, this one came out a favorite because of the unusually friendly expression of the buddha's face. from other angles, it seems to me that the buddha looks too dignified, too formal and impersonal. from this angle however, he looks as if he smiles and waves "hello," as if he knows my name.

i took three shots from this angle, bracketing with a difference of 2/3 overall exposure. i thought this was a good idea especially since the subject was backlit and i had little time to figure out how to expose my subject correctly. i used photomatix in order to generate the HDR image and photoshop to adjust the hue and sharpen the image.

the visit to lantau was during the third day of our 3-day trip. so although i had to catch my breath in each of the 268 steps and sweat profusely during the ascend to the "altar of heaven", i can happily say that it was worth it. i have saved the best for last indeed.