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Comparison of images taken on a Sony NEX-C3 processed in Phase One Capture One Pro and in-camera jpgs.
Blog post at:- soundimageplus.blogspot.com/2011/08/sony-nex-c3-and-phase...
Please respect copyright! All images are protected under UK copyright law and the Berne international copyright convention and are visibly and/or invisibly watermarked. No images are within the public domain. images may not be reproduced, copied, used or altered in any way, by any method, without written permission
As New York City entered Phase 1 reopening on Monday, June 8 riders made a safe return back to the subways, As New York City entered Phase 1 reopening on Monday, June 8 riders made a safe return back to the subways, MTA New York City Transit worker Tammy Taylor hands out hand sanitizers to customers at Atlantic Av Station in Brooklyn. MTA New York City Transit / Patrick Cashin
Phase 5 of Steel City LUG's evolving display at S.W. Randall's toy store on Smithfield Street in Pittsburgh. This phase depicts a Battle of the Bands at a music festival on the shore.
Cleveland
January 2014
Sony A7R | Contax G Carl Zeiss Biogon T* 28mm f2.8 (TechArt V2 AF Adapter) | Lightroom 5 Flat Field Plug-in
Photographer - Valery Shpak @valeryshpakphotography - New York wedding photographer on film and digital
Master Sgt. Travis Cooper, 159th Maintenance Squadron, unloads an AIM-120 Missile off of an Louisiana Air National Guard F-15C Fighter Aircraft during Phase II of the Consolidated Unit Exercise, March 3, 2013, Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans, Belle Chasse, La. The purpose of the CUE is to test the Wing’s ability to execute their wartime tasking under simulated wartime conditions. Approximately 800 Airmen and 12 F-15C fighter aircraft will be participating in the five-day event. (National Guard Photo, Staff Sgt. Yolanda C. Addison, 159th Fighter Wing Public Affairs)
Central Market Austin Texas , January 30, 2017
Straight out of the back +1 exposure nothing else, this back is remarkable! the pictures that come out of this back are a dream!
This rehouse involved cutting the PCB into 2 pieces and sandwiched together into a 1590BB enclosure.
As New York City entered Phase 1 reopening on Monday, June 8 riders made a safe return back to the subways, an MTA New York City worker sets up a table at Atlantic Av Station in Brooklyn to give out hand sanitizers and face masks. Photo: MTA New York City Transit / Patrick Cashin
Brig. Gen. Linda L. Singh, commander of the Maryland Army National Guard, visits candidates and staff during phase I of Officer Candidate School in the Edgewood area of Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., on Aug. 6, 2014.(Photo by Staff Sgt. Michael E. Davis Jr., Maryland National Guard Public Affairs Office)
Too late for the sunset, too early for the stars. One day I'll be in the right place at the right time.
Canon EOS 1000F (1991)
35mm focal-plane shutter multi-mode AF SLR camera
EF lens mount
AF System: TTL phase detection. AF modes: One-Shot AF and predictive AI Servo AF. AF operating range at ISO 100: EV 1 - 18.
Vertical-travel, focal-plane electronic shutter. 30 sec. - 1/1000 sec., B. X-sync at 1/90 sec. (hot shoe). Built-in electronic self-timer (with beeper).
Fixed eye-level pentaprism viewfinder 0.75x magnification and 90% coverage.
Viewfinder Information: AF mark, in-focus indicator, partial metering circle, depth-of-field AE, shutter speed, aperture setting, flash on/ready, and other indications.
Metering and Exposure Contro:Composite SPC for TTL full-aperture metering (3-zone evaluative or 9.5% partial at center) with shutter speed-priority AE, aperture-priority AE, Intelligent program AE, depth-of-field AE, 4 program AE modes, match-needle manual. Exposure compensation range of ±2 EV (in 1/2-stop increments). AE lock enabled. Metering range at ISO 100 and f/1.4: EV 2 - 20. Film speed range: ISO 6 to 6400.
External LCD info: Shutter speed, aperture setting, film speed, film-loaded indicator, frame counter, multiple-exposure count, exposure level, depth-of-field AE, and other indications.
Built-in Flash: Located on pentaprism hump. Manual pop-up head. TTL autoflash control with off-the-film metering. Guide No. 12 (at ISO 100 in m).
Power Source: One 6 V 2CR5 lithium battery
Film Loading and Advance: Align film leader at mark, then close the camera back for prewind loading. First, the entire roll is wound on the take-up spool. Then each time a picture is taken, the film advances back into the cartridge. Film transport with the built-in motor. Film advance speed: 1 fps.
Film Rewind: After the last frame is exposed, the film is rewound automatically.
Dimensions and Weight: 148 x 100 x 69 mm, 500 g (with battery)
EF 35-80mm f/4-5.6 zoom lens
I invite you to visit my blog at Classic Cameras
Another rebuilt unit, this is an original phase one unit from the 80's but now rebuilt to look like the new phase IV units delivered in 20009/2011.
I stopped taking photos not long after this after that dark sky got even darker!
Comparison of images taken on a Sony NEX-C3 processed in Phase One Capture One Pro and in-camera jpgs.
Blog post at:- soundimageplus.blogspot.com/2011/08/sony-nex-c3-and-phase...
Please respect copyright! All images are protected under UK copyright law and the Berne international copyright convention and are visibly and/or invisibly watermarked. No images are within the public domain. images may not be reproduced, copied, used or altered in any way, by any method, without written permission
Capture in Varanasi - India
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The Ajanta Caves (Ajiṇṭhā leni; Marathi: अजिंठा लेणी) in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, India are about 30 rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments which date from the 2nd century BCE to about 480 or 650 CE. The caves include paintings and sculptures described by the government Archaeological Survey of India as "the finest surviving examples of Indian art, particularly painting", which are masterpieces of Buddhist religious art, with figures of the Buddha and depictions of the Jataka tales. The caves were built in two phases starting around the 2nd century BCE, with the second group of caves built around 400–650 CE according to older accounts, or all in a brief period of 460 to 480 according to the recent proposals of Walter M. Spink. The site is a protected monument in the care of the Archaeological Survey of India, and since 1983, the Ajanta Caves have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The caves are located in the Indian state of Maharashtra, near Jalgaon and just outside the village of Ajinṭhā 20°31′56″N 75°44′44″E), about 59 kilometres from Jalgaon railway station on the Delhi – Mumbai line and Howrah-Nagpur-Mumbai line of the Central Railway zone, and 104 kilometres from the city of Aurangabad. They are 100 kilometres from the Ellora Caves, which contain Hindu and Jain temples as well as Buddhist caves, the last dating from a period similar to Ajanta. The Ajanta caves are cut into the side of a cliff that is on the south side of a U-shaped gorge on the small river Waghur, and although they are now along and above a modern pathway running across the cliff they were originally reached by individual stairs or ladders from the side of the river 35 to 110 feet below.
The area was previously heavily forested, and after the site ceased to be used the caves were covered by jungle until accidentally rediscovered in 1819 by a British officer on a hunting party. They are Buddhist monastic buildings, apparently representing a number of distinct "monasteries" or colleges. The caves are numbered 1 to 28 according to their place along the path, beginning at the entrance. Several are unfinished and some barely begun and others are small shrines, included in the traditional numbering as e.g. "9A"; "Cave 15A" was still hidden under rubble when the numbering was done. Further round the gorge are a number of waterfalls, which when the river is high are audible from outside the caves.
The caves form the largest corpus of early Indian wall-painting; other survivals from the area of modern India are very few, though they are related to 5th-century paintings at Sigiriya in Sri Lanka. The elaborate architectural carving in many caves is also very rare, and the style of the many figure sculptures is highly local, found only at a few nearby contemporary sites, although the Ajanta tradition can be related to the later Hindu Ellora Caves and other sites.
HISTORY
Like the other ancient Buddhist monasteries, Ajanta had a large emphasis on teaching, and was divided into several different caves for living, education and worship, under a central direction. Monks were probably assigned to specific caves for living. The layout reflects this organizational structure, with most of the caves only connected through the exterior. The 7th-century travelling Chinese scholar Xuanzang informs us that Dignaga, a celebrated Buddhist philosopher and controversialist, author of well-known books on logic, lived at Ajanta in the 5th century. In its prime the settlement would have accommodated several hundred teachers and pupils. Many monks who had finished their first training may have returned to Ajanta during the monsoon season from an itinerant lifestyle.
The caves are generally agreed to have been made in two distinct periods, separated by several centuries.
CAVES OF THE FIRST (SATAVAHANA) PERIOD
The earliest group of caves consists of caves 9, 10, 12, 13 and 15A. According to Walter Spink, they were made during the period 100 BCE to 100 CE, probably under the patronage of the Satavahana dynasty (230 BCE – c. 220 CE) who ruled the region. Other datings prefer the period 300 BCE to 100 BCE, though the grouping of the earlier caves is generally agreed. More early caves may have vanished through later excavations. Of these, caves 9 and 10 are stupa halls of chaitya-griha form, and caves 12, 13, and 15A are vihāras (see the architecture section below for descriptions of these types). The first phase is still often called the Hinayāna phase, as it originated when, using traditional terminology, the Hinayāna or Lesser Vehicle tradition of Buddhism was dominant, when the Buddha was revered symbolically. However the use of the term Hinayana for this period of Buddhism is now deprecated by historians; equally the caves of the second period are now mostly dated too early to be properly called Mahayana, and do not yet show the full expanded cast of supernatural beings characteristic of that phase of Buddhist art. The first Satavahana period caves lacked figurative sculpture, emphasizing the stupa instead, and in the caves of the second period the overwhelming majority of images represent the Buddha alone, or narrative scenes of his lives.
Spink believes that some time after the Satavahana period caves were made the site was abandoned for a considerable period until the mid-5th century, probably because the region had turned mainly Hindu
CAVES OF THE LATER OR VAKATAKA PERIOD
The second phase began in the 5th century. For a long time it was thought that the later caves were made over a long period from the 4th to the 7th centuries CE, but in recent decades a series of studies by the leading expert on the caves, Walter M. Spink, have argued that most of the work took place over the very brief period from 460 to 480 CE, during the reign of Emperor Harishena of the Vakataka dynasty. This view has been criticized by some scholars, but is now broadly accepted by most authors of general books on Indian art, for example Huntington and Harle.
The second phase is still often called the Mahāyāna or Greater Vehicle phase, but scholars now tend to avoid this nomenclature because of the problems that have surfaced regarding our understanding of Mahāyāna.
Some 20 cave temples were simultaneously created, for the most part viharas with a sanctuary at the back. The most elaborate caves were produced in this period, which included some "modernization" of earlier caves. Spink claims that it is possible to establish dating for this period with a very high level of precision; a fuller account of his chronology is given below. Although debate continues, Spink's ideas are increasingly widely accepted, at least in their broad conclusions. The Archaeological Survey of India website still presents the traditional dating: "The second phase of paintings started around 5th – 6th centuries A.D. and continued for the next two centuries". Caves of the second period are 1–8, 11, 14–29, some possibly extensions of earlier caves. Caves 19, 26, and 29 are chaitya-grihas, the rest viharas.
According to Spink, the Ajanta Caves appear to have been abandoned by wealthy patrons shortly after the fall of Harishena, in about 480 CE. They were then gradually abandoned and forgotten. During the intervening centuries, the jungle grew back and the caves were hidden, unvisited and undisturbed, although the local population were aware of at least some of them.
REDISCOVERY
On 28 April 1819, a British officer for the Madras Presidency, John Smith, of the 28th Cavalry, while hunting tiger, accidentally discovered the entrance to Cave No. 10 deep within the tangled undergrowth. There were local people already using the caves for prayers with a small fire, when he arrived. Exploring that first cave, long since a home to nothing more than birds and bats and a lair for other larger animals, Captain Smith vandalized the wall by scratching his name and the date, April 1819. Since he stood on a five-foot high pile of rubble collected over the years, the inscription is well above the eye-level gaze of an adult today. A paper on the caves by William Erskine was read to the Bombay Literary Society in 1822. Within a few decades, the caves became famous for their exotic setting, impressive architecture, and above all their exceptional, all but unique paintings. A number of large projects to copy the paintings were made in the century after rediscovery, covered below. In 1848 the Royal Asiatic Society established the "Bombay Cave Temple Commission" to clear, tidy and record the most important rock-cut sites in the Bombay Presidency, with John Wilson, as president. In 1861 this became the nucleus of the new Archaeological Survey of India. Until the Nizam of Hyderabad built the modern path between the caves, among other efforts to make the site easy to visit, a trip to Ajanta was a considerable adventure, and contemporary accounts dwell with relish on the dangers from falls off narrow ledges, animals and the Bhil people, who were armed with bows and arrows and had a fearsome reputation.
Today, fairly easily combined with Ellora in a single trip, the caves are the most popular tourist destination in Mahrashtra, and are often crowded at holiday times, increasing the threat to the caves, especially the paintings. In 2012, the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation announced plans to add to the ASI visitor centre at the entrance complete replicas of caves 1, 2, 16 & 17 to reduce crowding in the originals, and enable visitors to receive a better visual idea of the paintings, which are dimly-lit and hard to read in the caves. Figures for the year to March 2010 showed a total of 390,000 visitors to the site, divided into 362,000 domestic and 27,000 foreign. The trends over the previous few years show a considerable growth in domestic visitors, but a decline in foreign ones; the year to 2010 was the first in which foreign visitors to Ellora exceeded those to Ajanta.
PAINTINGS
Mural paintings survive from both the earlier and later groups of caves. Several fragments of murals preserved from the earlier caves (Caves 9 and 11) are effectively unique survivals of court-led painting in India from this period, and "show that by Sātavāhana times, if not earlier, the Indian painter had mastered an easy and fluent naturalistic style, dealing with large groups of people in a manner comparable to the reliefs of the Sāñcī toraņa crossbars".
Four of the later caves have large and relatively well-preserved mural paintings which "have come to represent Indian mural painting to the non-specialist", and fall into two stylistic groups, with the most famous in Caves 16 and 17, and apparently later paintings in Caves 1 and 2. The latter group were thought to be a century or more later than the others, but the revised chronology proposed by Spink would place them much closer to the earlier group, perhaps contemporary with it in a more progressive style, or one reflecting a team from a different region. The paintings are in "dry fresco", painted on top of a dry plaster surface rather than into wet plaster.
All the paintings appear to be the work of painters at least as used to decorating palaces as temples, and show a familiarity with and interest in details of the life of a wealthy court. We know from literary sources that painting was widely practised and appreciated in the courts of the Gupta period. Unlike much Indian painting, compositions are not laid out in horizontal compartments like a frieze, but show large scenes spreading in all directions from a single figure or group at the centre. The ceilings are also painted with sophisticated and elaborate decorative motifs, many derived from sculpture. The paintings in cave 1, which according to Spink was commissioned by Harisena himself, concentrate on those Jataka tales which show previous lives of the Buddha as a king, rather than as an animal or human commoner, and so show settings from contemporary palace life.
In general the later caves seem to have been painted on finished areas as excavating work continued elsewhere in the cave, as shown in caves 2 and 16 in particular. According to Spink's account of the chronology of the caves, the abandonment of work in 478 after a brief busy period accounts for the absence of painting in caves such as 4 and 17, the later being plastered in preparation for paintings that were never done.
COPIES
The paintings have deteriorated significantly since they were rediscovered, and a number of 19th-century copies and drawings are important for a complete understanding of the works. However, the earliest projects to copy the paintings were plagued by bad fortune. In 1846, Major Robert Gill, an Army officer from Madras presidency and a painter, was appointed by the Royal Asiatic Society to replicate the frescoes on the cave walls to exhibit these paintings in England. Gill worked on his painting at the site from 1844 to 1863 (though he continued to be based there until his death in 1875, writing books and photographing) and made 27 copies of large sections of murals, but all but four were destroyed in a fire at the Crystal Palace in London in 1866, where they were on display.
Another attempt was made in 1872 when the Bombay Presidency commissioned John Griffiths, then principal of the Bombay School of Art, to work with his students to make new copies, again for shipping to England. They worked on this for thirteen years and some 300 canvases were produced, many of which were displayed at the Imperial Institute on Exhibition Road in London, one of the forerunners of the Victoria and Albert Museum. But in 1885 another fire destroyed over a hundred paintings that were in storage. The V&A still has 166 paintings surviving from both sets, though none have been on permanent display since 1955. The largest are some 3 × 6 metres. A conservation project was undertaken on about half of them in 2006, also involving the University of Northumbria. Griffith and his students had unfortunately painted many of the paintings with "cheap varnish" in order to make them easier to see, which has added to the deterioration of the originals, as has, according to Spink and others, recent cleaning by the ASI.
A further set of copies were made between 1909 and 1911 by Christiana Herringham (Lady Herringham) and a group of students from the Calcutta School of Art that included the future Indian Modernist painter Nandalal Bose. The copies were published in full colour as the first publication of London's fledgling India Society. More than the earlier copies, these aimed to fill in holes and damage to recreate the original condition rather than record the state of the paintings as she was seeing them. According to one writer, unlike the paintings created by her predecessors Griffiths and Gill, whose copies were influenced by British Victorian styles of painting, those of the Herringham expedition preferred an 'Indian Renascence' aesthetic of the type pioneered by Abanindranath Tagore.
Early photographic surveys were made by Robert Gill, who learnt to use a camera from about 1856, and whose photos, including some using stereoscopy, were used in books by him and Fergusson (many are available online from the British Library), then Victor Goloubew in 1911 and E.L. Vassey, who took the photos in the four volume study of the caves by Ghulam Yazdani (published 1930–1955).
ARCHITECTURE
The monasteries mostly consist of vihara halls for prayer and living, which are typically rectangular with small square dormitory cells cut into the walls, and by the second period a shrine or sanctuary at the rear centred on a large statue of the Buddha, also carved from the living rock. This change reflects the movement from Hinayana to Mahāyāna Buddhism. The other type of main hall is the narrower and higher chaitya hall with a stupa as the focus at the far end, and a narrow aisle around the walls, behind a range of pillars placed close together. Other plainer rooms were for sleeping and other activities. Some of the caves have elaborate carved entrances, some with large windows over the door to admit light. There is often a colonnaded porch or verandah, with another space inside the doors running the width of the cave.
The central square space of the interior of the viharas is defined by square columns forming a more or less square open area. Outside this are long rectangular aisles on each side, forming a kind of cloister. Along the side and rear walls are a number of small cells entered by a narrow doorway; these are roughly square, and have small niches on their back walls. Originally they had wooden doors. The centre of the rear wall has a larger shrine-room behind, containing a large Buddha statue. The viharas of the earlier period are much simpler, and lack shrines. Spink in fact places the change to a design with a shrine to the middle of the second period, with many caves being adapted to add a shrine in mid-excavation, or after the original phase.
The plan of Cave 1 shows one of the largest viharas, but is fairly typical of the later group. Many others, such as Cave 16, lack the vestibule to the shrine, which leads straight off the main hall. Cave 6 is two viharas, one above the other, connected by internal stairs, with sanctuaries on both levels.
The four completed chaitya halls are caves 9 and 10 from the early period, and caves 19 and 26 from the later period of construction. All follow the typical form found elsewhere, with high ceilings and a central "nave" leading to the stupa, which is near the back, but allows walking behind it, as walking around stupas was (and remains) a common element of Buddhist worship (pradakshina). The later two have high ribbed roofs, which reflect timber forms, and the earlier two are thought to have used actual timber ribs, which have now perished. The two later halls have a rather unusual arrangement (also found in Cave 10 at Ellora) where the stupa is fronted by a large relief sculpture of the Buddha, standing in Cave 19 and seated in Cave 26. Cave 29 is a late and very incomplete chaitya hall.
The form of columns in the work of the first period is very plain and un-embellished, with both chaitya halls using simple octagonal columns, which were painted with figures. In the second period columns were far more varied and inventive, often changing profile over their height, and with elaborate carved capitals, often spreading wide. Many columns are carved over all their surface, some fluted and others carved with decoration all over, as in cave 1.
The flood basalt rock of the cliff, part of the Deccan Traps formed by successive volcanic eruptions at the end of the Cretaceous, is layered horizontally, and somewhat variable in quality, so the excavators had to amend their plans in places, and in places there have been collapses in the intervening centuries, as with the lost portico to cave 1. Excavation began by cutting a narrow tunnel at roof level, which was expanded downwards and outwards; the half-built vihara cave 24 shows the method. Spink believes that for the first caves of the second period the excavators had to relearn skills and techniques that had been lost in the centuries since the first period, which were then transmitted to be used at later rock-cut sites in the region, such as Ellora, and the Elephanta, Bagh, Badami and Aurangabad Caves.
The caves from the first period seem to have been paid for by a number of different patrons, with several inscriptions recording the donation of particular portions of a single cave, but according to Spink the later caves were each commissioned as a complete unit by a single patron from the local rulers or their court elites. After the death of Harisena smaller donors got their chance to add small "shrinelets" between the caves or add statues to existing caves, and some two hundred of these "intrusive" additions were made in sculpture, with a further number of intrusive paintings, up to three hundred in cave 10 alone.
A grand gateway to the site, at the apex of the gorge's horsehoe between caves 15 and 16, was approached from the river, and is decorated with elephants on either side and a nāga, or protective snake deity.
ICONOGRAPHY OF THE CAVES
In the pre-Christian era, the Buddha was represented symbolically, in the form of the stupa. Thus, halls were made with stupas to venerate the Buddha. In later periods the images of the Buddha started to be made in coins, relic caskets, relief or loose sculptural forms, etc. However, it took a while for the human representation of the Buddha to appear in Buddhist art. One of the earliest evidences of the Buddha's human representations are found at Buddhist archaeological sites, such as Goli, Nagarjunakonda, and Amaravati. The monasteries of those sites were built in less durable media, such as wood, brick, and stone. As far as the genre of rock-cut architecture is concerned it took many centuries for the Buddha image to be depicted. Nobody knows for sure at which rock-cut cave site the first image of the Buddha was depicted. Current research indicates that Buddha images in a portable form, made of wood or stone, were introduced, for the first time, at Kanheri, to be followed soon at Ajanta Cave 8 (Dhavalikar, Jadhav, Spink, Singh). While the Kanheri example dates to 4th or 5th century CE, the Ajanta example has been dated to c. 462–478 CE (Spink). None of the rock-cut monasteries prior to these dates, and other than these examples, show any Buddha image although hundreds of rock-cut caves were made throughout India during the first few centuries CE. And, in those caves, it is the stupa that is the object of veneration, not the image. Images of the Buddha are not found in Buddhist sailagrhas (rock-cut complexes) until the times of the Kanheri (4th–5th century CE) and Ajanta examples (c. 462–478 CE).
The caves of the second period, now all dated to the 5th century, were typically described as "Mahayana", but do not show the features associated with later Mahayana Buddhism. Although the beginnings of Mahāyāna teachings go back to the 1st century there is little art and archaeological evidence to suggest that it became a mainstream cult for several centuries. In Mahayana it is not Gautama Buddha but the Bodhisattva who is important, including "deity" Bodhisattva like Manjushri and Tara, as well as aspects of the Buddha such as Aksobhya, and Amitabha. Except for a few Bodhisattva, these are not depicted at Ajanta, where the Buddha remains the dominant figure. Even the Bodhisattva images of Ajanta are never central objects of worship, but are always shown as attendants of the Buddha in the shrine. If a Bodhisattva is shown in isolation, as in the Astabhaya scenes, these were done in the very last years of activities at Ajanta, and are mostly 'intrusive' in nature, meaning that they were not planned by the original patrons, and were added by new donors after the original patrons had suddenly abandoned the region in the wake of Emperor Harisena's death.
The contrast between iconic and aniconic representations, that is, the stupa on one hand and the image of the Buddha on the other, is now being seen as a construct of the modern scholar rather than a reality of the past. The second phase of Ajanta shows that the stupa and image coincided together. If the entire corpus of the art of Ajanta including sculpture, iconography, architecture, epigraphy, and painting are analysed afresh it will become clear that there was no duality between the symbolic and human forms of the Buddha, as far as the 5th-century phase of Ajanta is concerned. That is why most current scholars tend to avoid the terms 'Hinayana' and 'Mahayana' in the context of Ajanta. They now prefer to call the second phase by the ruling dynasty, as the Vākāţaka phase.
CAVES
CAVE 1
Cave 1 was built on the eastern end of the horse-shoe shaped scarp, and is now the first cave the visitor encounters. This would when first made have been a less prominent position, right at the end of the row. According to Spink, it is one of the latest caves to have been excavated, when the best sites had been taken, and was never fully inaugurated for worship by the dedication of the Buddha image in the central shrine. This is shown by the absence of sooty deposits from butter lamps on the base of the shrine image, and the lack of damage to the paintings that would have been happened if the garland-hooks around the shrine had been in use for any period of time. Although there is no epigraphic evidence, Spink believes that the Vākāţaka Emperor Harishena was the benefactor of the work, and this is reflected in the emphasis on imagery of royalty in the cave, with those Jakata tales being selected that tell of those previous lives of the Buddha in which he was royal.
The cliff has a more steep slope here than at other caves, so to achieve a tall grand facade it was necessary to cut far back into the slope, giving a large courtyard in front of the facade. There was originally a columned portico in front of the present facade, which can be seen "half-intact in the 1880s" in pictures of the site, but this fell down completely and the remains, despite containing fine carving, were carelessly thrown down the slope into the river, from where they have been lost, presumably carried away in monsoon torrents.
This cave has one of the most elaborate carved façades, with relief sculptures on entablature and ridges, and most surfaces embellished with decorative carving. There are scenes carved from the life of the Buddha as well as a number of decorative motifs. A two pillared portico, visible in the 19th-century photographs, has since perished. The cave has a front-court with cells fronted by pillared vestibules on either side. These have a high plinth level. The cave has a porch with simple cells on both ends. The absence of pillared vestibules on the ends suggest that the porch was not excavated in the latest phase of Ajanta when pillared vestibules had become a necessity and norm. Most areas of the porch were once covered with murals, of which many fragments remain, especially on the ceiling. There are three doorways: a central doorway and two side doorways. Two square windows were carved between the doorways to brighten the interiors.
Each wall of the hall inside is nearly 12 m long and 6.1 m high. Twelve pillars make a square colonnade inside supporting the ceiling, and creating spacious aisles along the walls. There is a shrine carved on the rear wall to house an impressive seated image of the Buddha, his hands being in the dharmachakrapravartana mudra. There are four cells on each of the left, rear, and the right walls, though due to rock fault there are none at the ends of the rear aisle. The walls are covered with paintings in a fair state of preservation, though the full scheme was never completed. The scenes depicted are mostly didactic, devotional, and ornamental, with scenes from the Jataka stories of the Buddha's former existences as a bodhisattva), the life of the Gautama Buddha, and those of his veneration. The two most famous individual painted images at Ajanta are the two over-life size figures of the protective bodhisattvas Padmapani and Vajrapani on either side of the entrance to the Buddha shrine on the wall of the rear aisle (see illustrations above). According to Spink, the original dating of the paintings to about 625 arose largely or entirely because James Fegusson, a 19th-century architectural historian, had decided that a scene showing an ambassador being received, with figures in Persian dress, represented a recorded embassy to Persia (from a Hindu monarch at that) around that date.
CAVE 2
Cave 2, adjacent to Cave 1, is known for the paintings that have been preserved on its walls, ceilings, and pillars. It looks similar to Cave 1 and is in a better state of preservation.
Cave 2 has a porch quite different from Cave one. Even the façade carvings seem to be different. The cave is supported by robust pillars, ornamented with designs. The front porch consists of cells supported by pillared vestibules on both ends. The cells on the previously "wasted areas" were needed to meet the greater housing requirements in later years. Porch-end cells became a trend in all later Vakataka excavations. The simple single cells on porch-ends were converted into CPVs or were planned to provide more room, symmetry, and beauty.
The paintings on the ceilings and walls of this porch have been widely published. They depict the Jataka tales that are stories of the Buddha's life in former existences as Bodhisattva. Just as the stories illustrated in cave 1 emphasize kingship, those in cave 2 show many "noble and powerful" women in prominent roles, leading to suggestions that the patron was an unknown woman. The porch's rear wall has a doorway in the center, which allows entrance to the hall. On either side of the door is a square-shaped window to brighten the interior.
The hall has four colonnades which are supporting the ceiling and surrounding a square in the center of the hall. Each arm or colonnade of the square is parallel to the respective walls of the hall, making an aisle in between. The colonnades have rock-beams above and below them. The capitals are carved and painted with various decorative themes that include ornamental, human, animal, vegetative, and semi-divine forms.
Paintings appear on almost every surface of the cave except for the floor. At various places the art work has become eroded due to decay and human interference. Therefore, many areas of the painted walls, ceilings, and pillars are fragmentary. The painted narratives of the Jataka tales are depicted only on the walls, which demanded the special attention of the devotee. They are didactic in nature, meant to inform the community about the Buddha's teachings and life through successive rebirths. Their placement on the walls required the devotee to walk through the aisles and 'read' the narratives depicted in various episodes. The narrative episodes are depicted one after another although not in a linear order. Their identification has been a core area of research since the site's rediscovery in 1819. Dieter Schlingloff's identifications have updated our knowledge on the subject.
CAVE 4
The Archeological Survey of India board outside the caves gives the following detail about cave 4: "This is the largest monastery planned on a grandiose scale but was never finished. An inscription on the pedestal of the buddha's image mentions that it was a gift from a person named Mathura and paleographically belongs to 6th century A.D. It consists of a verandah, a hypostylar hall, sanctum with an antechamber and a series of unfinished cells. The rear wall of the verandah contains the panel of Litany of Avalokiteśvara".
The sanctuary houses a colossal image of the Buddha in preaching pose flanked by bodhisattvas and celestial nymphs hovering above.
CAVES 9-10
Caves 9 and 10 are the two chaitya halls from the first period of construction, though both were also undergoing an uncompleted reworking at the end of the second period. Cave 10 was perhaps originally of the 1st century BCE, and cave 9 about a hundred years later. The small "shrinelets" called caves 9A to 9D and 10A also date from the second period, and were commissioned by individuals.
The paintings in cave 10 include some surviving from the early period, many from an incomplete programme of modernization in the second period, and a very large number of smaller late intrusive images, nearly all Buddhas and many with donor inscriptions from individuals. These mostly avoided over-painting the "official" programme and after the best positions were used up are tucked away in less prominent positions not yet painted; the total of these (including those now lost) was probably over 300, and the hands of many different artists are visible.
OTHER CAVES
Cave 3 is merely a start of an excavation; according to Spink it was begun right at the end of the final period of work and soon abandoned. Caves 5 and 6 are viharas, the latter on two floors, that were late works of which only the lower floor of cave 6 was ever finished. The upper floor of cave 6 has many private votive sculptures, and a shrine Buddha, but is otherwise unfinished. Cave 7 has a grand facade with two porticos but, perhaps because of faults in the rock, which posed problems in many caves, was never taken very deep into the cliff, and consists only of the two porticos and a shrine room with antechamber, with no central hall. Some cells were fitted in.
Cave 8 was long thought to date to the first period of construction, but Spink sees it as perhaps the earliest cave from the second period, its shrine an "afterthought". The statue may have been loose rather than carved from the living rock, as it has now vanished. The cave was painted, but only traces remain.
SPINK´S DETAILED CHRONOLOGY
Walter M. Spink has over recent decades developed a very precise and circumstantial chronology for the second period of work on the site, which unlike earlier scholars, he places entirely in the 5th century. This is based on evidence such as the inscriptions and artistic style, combined with the many uncompleted elements of the caves. He believes the earlier group of caves, which like other scholars he dates only approximately, to the period "between 100 BCE – 100 CE", were at some later point completely abandoned and remained so "for over three centuries", as the local population had turned mainly Hindu. This changed with the accession of the Emperor Harishena of the Vakataka Dynasty, who reigned from 460 to his death in 477. Harisena extended the Central Indian Vakataka Empire to include a stretch of the east coast of India; the Gupta Empire ruled northern India at the same period, and the Pallava dynasty much of the south.
According to Spink, Harisena encouraged a group of associates, including his prime minister Varahadeva and Upendragupta, the sub-king in whose territory Ajanta was, to dig out new caves, which were individually commissioned, some containing inscriptions recording the donation. This activity began in 462 but was mostly suspended in 468 because of threats from the neighbouring Asmaka kings. Work continued on only caves 1, Harisena's own commission, and 17–20, commissioned by Upendragupta. In 472 the situation was such that work was suspended completely, in a period that Spink calls "the Hiatus", which lasted until about 475, by which time the Asmakas had replaced Upendragupta as the local rulers.
Work was then resumed, but again disrupted by Harisena's death in 477, soon after which major excavation ceased, except at cave 26, which the Asmakas were sponsoring themselves. The Asmakas launched a revolt against Harisena's son, which brought about the end of the Vakataka Dynasty. In the years 478–480 major excavation by important patrons was replaced by a rash of "intrusions" – statues added to existing caves, and small shrines dotted about where there was space between them. These were commissioned by less powerful individuals, some monks, who had not previously been able to make additions to the large excavations of the rulers and courtiers. They were added to the facades, the return sides of the entrances, and to walls inside the caves. According to Spink, "After 480, not a single image was ever made again at the site", and as Hinduism again dominated the region, the site was again abandoned, this time for over a millennium.
Spink does not use "circa" in his dates, but says that "one should allow a margin of error of one year or perhaps even two in all cases".
IMPACT ON MODERN INDIAN PAINTINGS
The Ajanta paintings, or more likely the general style they come from, influenced painting in Tibet and Sri Lanka.
The rediscovery of ancient Indian paintings at Ajanta provided Indian artists examples from ancient India to follow. Nandlal Bose experimented with techniques to follow the ancient style which allowed him to develop his unique style. Abanindranath Tagore also used the Ajanta paintings for inspiration.
WIKIPEDIA
The Architect of the Capitol is in the final painting phase of the Dome Restoration Project. Other restoration work also continues.
Starting at the top, scaffolding will be removed gradually, with certain levels taken down over time, as work is completed. The entire project (exterior and interior) will be complete and all scaffolding will be removed prior to the Presidential Inauguration in January 2017.
Full project details at www.aoc.gov/dome.
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This official Architect of the Capitol photograph is being made available for educational, scholarly, news or personal purposes (not advertising or any other commercial use). When any of these images is used the photographic credit line should read “Architect of the Capitol.” These images may not be used in any way that would imply endorsement by the Architect of the Capitol or the United States Congress of a product, service or point of view. For more information visit www.aoc.gov/terms.
Reference: 445057
As New York City shifts to Phase 1 reopening amid the COVID-19 pandemic, New York City Transit resumes full service on Mon., June 8, 2020.
Interim New York City Transit President Sarah Feinberg greets a Conductor at the 74 St-Broadway Station on the 7 line.
(Marc A. Hermann / MTA New York City Transit)
Sophie's book bag. This is the first side, though it needs a few repairs and an ironing.
I think I like it.
I love reading pattern from Booksmart Pattern set by SeptemberHouse on Etsy.
Girl reading is a colouring page by Elizabeth Dulmeba.
Queen Rania Al Abdullah touring a classroom within the Madrasati phase four schools.
Mafraq, Jordan/ May 11, 2011
الملكة رانيا العبدالله خلال جولتها في أحد صفوف المدارس المشمولة بالمرحلة الرابعة لمبادرة مدرستي.
المفرق، الأردن/ 11 أيار 2011
© Royal Hashemite Court
HISTORIC AVATAR DECLARATION DAY - 20th October, 1940
The year 1940 was very significant. Satyanarayana Raju - Sathyam, Raju, Sathya, as he was affectionately called by his play mates, classmates, villagers, members of his family and even his teachers revealed his identity, his reality in three phases The first one was in 8th March 1940; the second one on May 23rd and the final Declaration on 20th October, the same year, which brought a total change in the entire town of Uravakonda. Sathya from that day onwards gave up his studies – declared that he was Sai Baba and that his devotees are calling him and that he would carry on his task and left the house and family.
On the twentieth day of October, 1940, Sathya started for school as usual at Uravakonda. The Excise Inspector of the place, Sri Anjaneyulu, who was very much attached to the young Baba, accompanied Him as far as the school gate and reluctantly went home. He seemed to see a superb halo around the face of Baba that day, and he could not take his eyes away from that enchantment. Within a few minutes Baba also turned back to the house. Standing on the outer doorstep, He cast aside the books He was carrying and called out, "I am no longer your Sathya. I am Sai." The sister-in-law came from the kitchen and peeped out; she was almost blinded by the splendour of the halo which she saw around Sai Baba's Head! She closed her eyes and shrieked. Baba addressed her, "I am going. I don't belong to you; Maya (illusion) has gone; My devotees are calling Me; I have My Work. I cannot stay any longer." So saying, He turned and left in spite of her pleadings. The brother hurried home on hearing of this, but Sai Baba only told him, "Give up all your efforts to 'cure' Me. I am Sai. I do not consider Myself related to you." Neighbour Sri Narayana Sastri heard the noise; he listened and realized that it was something serious. He ran in. Seeing the splendour of the halo, he fell at Sai Baba's Feet. He too heard the historic declaration: "Maya has left; I am going; My Work is waiting."
Seshama Raju was non-plussed. He could hardly collect his wits to meet the new situation. A boy, just fourteen, talking of devotees, work, illusion, and the philosophy of "belonging"! He could think of only one plan. Sathya was entrusted to him by his parents, and it was therefore his task to inform them and keep Sathya in the house until they came to Uravakonda for Him.
But Sathya would not step into the house again. He moved out into the garden of Sri Anjaneyulu's bungalow and sat on a rock in the midst of the trees. People came into the garden from all directions bringing flowers and fruits. The very first song which He taught the astonished mass of humanity was an invitation to surrender to the Feet of the Guru who had so mercifully appeared. It also contained a lesson that Baba has always emphasized since then that Bhajan or reverential adoration must be a mental upsurge, not an oral exercise. It ran thus:
Manasa Bhajare Guru Charanam,
Dustara Bhava Sagara Taranam
Guru Maharaj Guru Jai Jai
Sai Natha Sad Guru Jai Jai
"Meditate in thy mind on the Feet of the Guru.
This can take you across the difficult sea of existence in birth after birth." (Sathyam Sivam Sundaram Part I)
I held the hand of Narayana Raju, the then Municipal Commissioner of Bellary and asked, “What is this?” He said, “It is my hand.” I took out the pen from his pocket and asked, “What is this?” “It is my pen”, he said. “You say, it is my hand, my pen, my body, my mind, my senses, etc. The word ‘my’ indicates that you are different from all this. Then who are you? I asked him. Then everyone started thinking, “Yes, what Raju says is correct. We say, this mine and that is mine, but we do not know who we are.” Everybody was silent. They accepted that they did not know their true identity. I told them that I had come down in human form only to make people realise their true identity.
It is the eye that sees and the mind that thinks. (Showing the ring and handkerchief. On what basis can you say that it is a handkerchief? You say, my mind is the basis for all this. What is mind? Whom does it belong to? You do not know. What you think you know, in reality, you do not know, that is your true Self. Make efforts to realise it.
From that day (20th October 1940) onwards, many seekers of Truth started visiting Me. They used to say,”Raju, What You are saying is correct. But how are we to realise our true identity?” People quote from scriptures and talk high philosophy but do not know their real meaning. “You say, this is my ring, my body, my handkerchief, so on and so forth. Then who are you?” I questioned them. They had no answer. Then I started explaining thus: “There are two important aspects that you have to consider, one is Drishyam (seen) and the other is Drastha (seer). Yad Drishyam Thannasyam (all that is seen is bound to perish). So, whatever you is only an illusion. You are Drashta that is your true identity.”
The English lecturer, H.S. Ramana was a noble person. His house was on the way to My school. He used to sit in the front verandah of his house. As soon as he saw Me, he used to call 'Raju!’, take Me into his house and offer Me coffee and snacks. But, I was not interested in these worldly things. Earlier I used to address him as 'Sir’. But, from that day onwards, the worldly relationship of teacher-student had ceased between us. I used to tell him that all that was seen by the eye is merely Drishyam, which was perishable and that one day one had to go beyond and search for the Drastha. From that day onwards wherever I went and whomever I met, I used to teach these higher principles.
The, one day Ramana called Seshama Raju and told him. ”Seshama Raju! Do not trouble yourself much in trying to understand the behaviour of Sathyam. This boy is delving deeper and deeper into the mysteries of life. It is not possible for anybody to fathom His true nature. Let us wait for some time and see”, saying thus, he took Me into his house and offered snacks, coffee, meals, etc., with great love. Poor man! He did not realise that I was never interested in those worldly maters. I did not touch any of those food stuffs. In My view, they were all worldly things which underwent constant change. They were never permanent. I explained to him, “you brought this Upma for Me. How real is this stuff? Only till one consumes it. What happens o it after eating? Nobody can see its shape thereafter. It just disappears. You are all considering these unreal worldly things as real.” Thus, I started teaching them higher Vedantic concepts. H.S.Ramana was astonished at MY knowledge of these higher principles. Till then, he was addressing Me as Raju! Raju!” But, from then on he started addressing Me as ‘Guruji’! Holding My feet, he pleaded with Me “Guruji! Please come to my house.” Those who were witnessing the scene were amazed that this elderly gentleman was holding the feet of this young boy, his student. Then Ramana declared in front of all those people, “Not only me; a day will come when the entire world will fall at His Feet.” The people gathered there on that occasion were all powerful, holding high positions in society. There was a neighbour by name Ramnarayana Sastri, who was an astrologer. He was called in and appraised of all those higher truths of life which I was explaining to them. Sri Sastri was amazed at My knowledge of Vedantic concepts at such a young age and shed tears of joy. One or two drops of tears fell at MY feet. From then onwards, everybody in Uravakonda started addressing Me as Sathya Sai Baba. I told them that I had come only for the purpose of revealing this truth. Unable to comprehend the full truth about My revelations, some of them questioned Me, “How can You declare Yourself to be Sai Baba?’ I just took some flowers in My hand and threw them on the floor. Lo and behold! The flowers arranged themselves as Sathya Sai Baba in Telugu letters. On witnessing this miracle, they were wonderstruck and dumbfounded! Then, everybody started chanting in chorus “Sathya Sai Baba Ki Jai”, “Sathya Sai Baba Ki jai”!
I emphatically told them that this was a name which they themselves had ascribed to Me and, in fact, I had no name at all! I declared thus on the occasion thus:
Know that I am Sai in reality,
Cast off your worldly relationships.
Give up your efforts to restrain Me,
The worldly attachments can no longer bind me,
None, however great he may be, can hold Me. (Telugu Poem)
I got up and started walking away. In the meanwhile, all those assembled there including Ramana and Sastri tried to follow Mw, but to strive for self- introspection and mental transformation. Since I am not the body, none can hold Me. Therefore, I advised them to follow My ideals. Only then can they realise My true nature.
In this vast expanse of the universe, right from the minutest atom to the mightiest, everything is permeated by the Atmic reality. It appears as minutest of the minute and mightiest of the mighty. In fact, the principles of microcosm and macrocosm is the fundamental reality which You have to enquire into. That is why Ramana Maharshi used to say, “Enquire, who you really are?’
You are not a single entity.
You are. In fact, three in one,
The one you think you are, (body)
The one others think you are (mind) and
The one you really are (Atma).
The Atma is known as conscience and the body which consists of the senses is called conscious. The Chaitanya (consciousness) which is present in all, transcends the senses. There is yet another principle that is beyond consciousness. It is called Super consciousness.
In the earlier days, not many people knew who Sai Baba was. He was considered a Muslim saint. When I first returned to Puttaparthi declaring Myself as Sai Baba, people thought that I had taken a Muslim name. But, no one can bind Me to a particular religion like Hinduism or Islam.
The Vaishnavites say that the Lord Vishnu is the greatest
While the Saivaites declare that Lord Siva is the greatest of all. Ganapatyas (the worshippers of Ganapati) declare that Ganapati is the greatest.
The educated say Goddess Sarada is the greatest.
Shaaktas (worshippers of Shakti) proclaim that Goddess Shakthi is the greatest.
My devotees say I am the greatest. Some others say all are one.
People may speak on the basis of their feelings but in truth,
There is only one GOD and that the rest are names. (Telugu Poem)
Different people may ascribe different names to the Atmic Reality and try to define it in different ways. But The underlying Atma Tattwa is one and the same. This truth has to be explained to the people in an understandable language. You can see that thee some houses beyond. In the front portion of the house, you will find a verandah; then a living room and then kitchen. Thereafter, you will find a bathroom and a toilet. Thus, there are different names for different utilities. How did they acquire these names? It is only because they are so divided by walls, for different purposes. But, the truth is they are all parts of the same house. Similarly, different people have different relationships with people like mother, brother, etc. From where did you acquire these relationships? Everything is your making. Remove these barriers. What remains is a vast expanse of oneness. One person refers to Divinity as Atma, another refers it as Brahman and the third one calls it as Vishnu. These are only names ascribed by human beings in the nameless, formless, attributeless Divinty. The Brahma Tattwa is one that has no names ascribed to it.
Where did this Brahma come from? The Atmic consciousness that permeates every living being is referred as Brahman. When it is individualised, it is called conscience. It is also referred to as Jiva. When the Atma Tattwa is encased in a body, it becomes an individual. The individual, the Atma and consciousness – ALL THE THREE ARE ONE AND THE SAME. People think they are different because they are given different names. Remove the names. There is only one Atma Tattwa in every individual. It has no form. It assumes different forms by joining different individuals. Supposing you name this object (showing handkerchief) as Atma. It is a handkerchief in common parlance. But, when you look at it from a spiritual angle, it is an object. I call it a thread. Again, after some time I refer to it as cotton; whether we call it as hand kerchief or thread or cotton, it refers to only one object. Only different names are given to the object. Take for instance the names of Rama and Krishna. Rama was not born with particular name. He was christened Rama only after His birth. Similarly, the name of Krishna. Since He was an embodiment of bliss, He was referred to as Krishna. Akarshana sakkti Iti Krishna( because He attracts, He is Krishna). But, His real nature is Ananda. He is Ananda Swarupa (embodiment of bliss) The same principle has taken different names. This one single principle Ananda is:
Brahmanandam, Parama Sukhadam, Kevalam Jnanamurtim,
Dwandwateetam, Gagana Sadrisham, Tattwamasyadi Lakshyam,
Ekam, Nityam, Vimalam, Achalam, Sarvadhee Sakshibhutam,
Bhavateetam Trigunarahitim
(God is the embodiment of Supreme bliss, He is wisdom absolute, the One without a second, beyond the pair of opposites, expansive and pervasive like the sky, the goal indicated by the Mahavakya Tattwamasi, the eternal, pure, unchanging, the witness of all functions of the intellect, beyond al mental conditions and the three Gunas of Sathwa, Rajas, and Thamas).
Divinity has no attributes. How can one give a name to it? Since it is not possible to assign any particular name to this principle, they named it as Atma. This Atma Tattwa is permeating every individual. It has no specific form. Explaining thus, I told those people that it is only for making them realise this principle that I have come. Then, Seshama Raju put a big question. He was a Telugu Pandit. Whatever question he put, had a certain value. He questioned, “Who are You?’ I answered. “Since you are calling Me as Sathya, I am Sathya. Since you are referring to Me as your brother, I am your brother, Since you call Me as a student, I am a student. By whatever name and form you refer to Me, I assume that name and form. In fact, no one is able to realise the truth, No one has any relationship whatsoever with Me. Call Me by any name, I will answer. If you call Me “Sai”, I will answer. If you call Me, “Baba”, I will respond. By whatever name you call Me, it is the same for Me. All these names are only names ascribed to Me. I have, in fact, come to make you realise thus truth” (DD 20th & 21st October 2003 p 7/12)
Bhagawan Baba Assures us: "Call Me whenever you need Me; I shall be with you". All belong to Me and I belong to all. My only wealth is love. Do not entertain any doubt or weakness. I am ready to give whatever you require. Be courageous. Why fear when I am here? "