Photographes à Ayutthaya

Ayutthaya was the capital of Siam for four centuries until the Burmese army sacked it in 1767, and what survived is a city of brick and stucco ruins on an island where three rivers meet, inscribed by UNESCO in 1991. It photographs in warm tones that flatter a session: weathered red brick, pale stucco, saffron cloth draped over some of the Buddha images and green lawns between the temples. Wat Mahathat holds the image people come for, a sandstone Buddha head held in the roots of a tree; the custom is to kneel or crouch so that no head in the frame is higher than the Buddha's, and the guards are firm about it. The three tall chedis of Wat Phra Si Sanphet line up for a clean wide shot, and Wat Chaiwatthanaram, on the west bank of the river, is the place to finish as the sun goes down behind its towers. A boat around the island at the end of the day shows the temples from the water. The ruins have little shade, so mornings and late afternoons are the shooting hours; the cool months from November to February are the most comfortable, and covered shoulders and knees are expected wherever monks are present.