Lighting the way

While reading the article Seeing the light in AP 5 August, particularly James Abbott’s suggestion of using a phone or tablet as a light source, I was reminded of an image I made during a visit to China (see right).

As part of my trip I visited the Songzanlin Monastery near Zhongdian in what the Chinese describe as the ‘ Tibetan Autonomous Region’. While sitting in the semi- dark of the monastery I started talking to one of the monks and he showed me his prayer book. It was around 6x20cm with the prayers hand-written. Towards the end of our conversation he said that he needed to go to pray and I asked if I could take a photograph of him. He said that I could take ‘one’ – no photographic pressure, then!

As I pulled out my camera and fiddled with the settings (1/60sec at ISO 4000), I noticed him slipping his prayer book back into his sleeve and pulling out an iPad. I watched as he opened his prayer book stored as a PDF file. He must have seen my look of childish disappointment at which he chuckled and said, ‘Have you ever tried to read by the light of a buttermilk lamp?’

Looking at the image later, I realised that while not so romantic, the iPad had provided both a useful soft supplementary light and wonderful catchlights in his eyes. Peter Dorman, via email Great image, Peter – a fascinating mix of ancient and modern – Geoff Harris, deputy editor