Tuk Tuk Grand Prix
On leaving Barefoot Garden last Sunday we couldn’t find a 6 seater taxi to take us to One Galle Face, so took a brace of tuk tuks instead – to great fun as you can see in this short video, here!
Steve
Harley Davidson Fatboy
As you might have spotted in my post ‘Father Christmas comes again‘, one of the Christmas presents that I brought back to Colombo at the end of a January business trip to the UK was a Lego motorcycle for Misa. A Harley Davidson Fatboy to be precise and a lovely gift from my parents, he waited until their arrival last week before opening it – and then enjoyed constructing it with his grandfather.
I think both were rather proud of the result, too! 🙂
Courtesy of a gift from a colleague in Milwaukee, I even had a T-shirt to use as a suitable backdrop for one of the pics.
Steve
Independence Day
On 4th February 1948, Ceylon achieved independence from the British Empire and became the Dominion of Ceylon. Dominion status within the British Commonwealth was retained for the next 24 years, until 22nd May 1972 when it became the Republic of Sri Lanka.
Tuesday this week was therefore a national celebration of the seventy-second anniversary of independence, during which evening I took the above photograph of an office tower, construction cranes, and the illuminated Lotus Tower, each skywards-reaching as symbols of great successes achieved and yet to come from this infectiously ambitious island nation.
For the photographers: The published image is a High Dynamic Range composite comprised of five individual images ranging from 2 stops under exposed to 2 stops over exposed that have been digitally merged together. This was necessary so that I could bring out the shadows without blowing the highlights other than from powerful lighting sources on the cranes, and to give the image texture such as across the corrugated roof in the foreground.
Taken at 16mm with an ultra wide angle 16-35mm f/4 L-series lens on a Canon 5D mk IV body, I have also digitally corrected the image for perspective, returning the verticals to vertical.
All processing was done in Adobe Lightroom CC.
Steve
Reach for the Sky
A bit of fun photographing my father and ever-skywards son, and an observation I made in the morning about yet another tower emerging from the ground.
Steve
Slave Island and the Lotus Tower
The name “Slave Island” was given during British colonisation and refers to the preceding Portuguese rule when slaves were held there, most of them from the Swahili coast and Portuguese East Africa. Today, Slave Island is an area of Colombo known for its Malay, Sinhalese and Tamil cultures.
Being driven home from the Galle Face, we timed it right to see the Lotus Tower briefly lit up in preparation for Tuesday’s Independence Day celebrations. Asking the driver to safely stop, I just had time to run back up the road and take a couple of handheld photos showing the architectural contrast before the lights were turned off. The street light was in an inconvenient place, but better to have the images anyway than not!
Steve
The Dutch Hospital to Galle Face
This afternoon brought a visit to the colonial Dutch Hospital – now nice eateries and a branch of the Odel store – and a walk along the shoreline to Galle Face. On the way we went in to the Kingsbury hotel and up to the sky bar where I asked if I could show Mum and Dad the evolving Port City development and its 660 acres; a much better perspective than from ground level. You can also see in the image above how the Colonial Galle Face Hotel is now dwarfed by high rise towers.
We made it to a suitable vantage point in time for a sunset photo, the golden hues painting the new Shangri La and One Galle Face complex, and the under-construction Sapphire Residencies. I was drawn though to the contrast between these increasingly prevalent high end properties and those persons like the elderly gentleman who walked past as I prepared to take my photos.
Steve
Independence Night
Last night was absolutely priceless and an occasion where soaking up the moment was far more important than photography.
Having dined at King of the Mambo, Rennie took Mum and the children home whilst I went on with Dad to meet up with friends at an English pub, The Manchester – serving Spitfire and Bishops Finger ale if you know to ask!
Two close Sri Lankan friends couldn\’t make it, but a Turkish Kurd, a Czech, a Nepalese and an Englishman met up with Dad and me for a few beers, a lot of natter and many laughs. We started to meet up on the last night before my Turkish friend\’s wife and children flew home from their holiday – so his last night of independence, and the name of our WhatsApp group was born! It was interesting to learn that in Nepalese and Turkish culture you don\’t drink with your father, even as an adult – so my friends enjoyed adopting Dad and were highly impressed that he\’d come with me!
Not as impressed as I was with what came next though; having arrived at about 8:30pm and once again been the last customers to leave just before midnight, Dad came with us to Curve bar – opposite Café Français where we\’d had lunch – rather than being dropped off at home. More happy conversation and a few glasses of Shiraz later, and we toddled in through the front door at 1:25am – Dad still going strong!
He was up with the larks, too – and no hangover.
A very special, priceless occasion.
Steve
King of the Mambo with Mum and Dad
A few posts back I was writing about visiting King of the Mambo in preparation for Mum and Dad’s visit – and then yesterday evening saw that occasion. Rennie took the children directly from school – Emi still dressed for dance! – and I collected my parents from home after a very quick dash from the office.
Searing sunshine prior to sunset made us grateful for factor 50 but this gave way to a lovely balmy evening once the sun had disappeared beyond the horizon.
It still felt hard to believe that here we were, hosting my parents and introducing them to another part of the life we are so very fortunate to have – even sitting at the same table as last week!
Steve
Café Français for lunch
A better place to find a light lunch than Café Français at Park Street Mews is hard to find. A 400 metre walk from Gangaramaya temple, the tartines are proof that high quality ingredients and careful preparation can produce exquisite food.
In my case called a Sri Lankan Twist, the rustic bread baked on the premises and lightly toasted was covered with cheese, pol sambol*, crisp bacon, two absolutely perfectly poached eggs, and fresh chilli. Absolutely bursting with three dimensional taste and texture; as amazing as each time I have ordered one from the menu!
* Pol sambol is a staple of Sri Lankan cuisine; a relish consisting of freshly grated coconut, red onions, dried whole chillies, lime juice, salt and Maldive fish. Yummy!
Steve