21st Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Travel
Shadows within

During my recent visit to the Ladakh region of Northern India, I visited the Thiksey monastery. Apart from being the largest monastery of Central Ladakh, the monastery is also famous for its 49 ft tall statue of Maitreya Buddha in the lotus position, covering two floors of the monastery. It was late afternoon, beautiful light was filtering through the windows of the monastery. I was intrigued by the play of shadows and light inside the monastery and a middle aged monk teaching the Buddhist scriptures to a young monk. I immediately composed and made the photo.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 10.2023
Date Uploaded: 11.2023
Photo Location: Leh region, India
Camera: X-E3
Copyright: © Sudeep Lal