2013, Day 44 - Heavenly light

This was taken at the temple of Banteay Samre.  During our exploration one of the caretakers informed us that tripods were not allows at the temple.  That was news to us since every other temple in the Angkor complex permitted the use of tripods except on the second and third levels of Angkor Wat where it gets so crowded that it is a hazard.  Banteay Samre was, conversely, almost deserted.  I think we only saw a couple other people while we were there so their prohibition on tripods seemed silly but we are all team players.

That means that all images with only a couple exceptions were taken handheld.  Not a problem but it helps composition to be able to use a tripod.  When I saw this scene I knew I wanted to try to capture it.  The stone sarcophagus with the offerings bathed in the light of a doorway with another door in the background to frame the scene.  The carving on the lintel is the icing on the cake for me so that this photograph captures a different and enchanting element of the temples of the Khmer empire.

Canon 1D X, Canon 24-70/f2.8L Mark II
65mm, f2.8, 1/160 sec @ 800 ISO