Portfolio

While most of the artwork is traditionally burned at night during this festival, the 70-foot wooden sculpture entitled ‘Embrace’ was set ablaze just after sunrise revealing the thick billowing smoke and many successive dust devils that could not have been seen otherwise in the dark.

Comet PanSTARRS C/2011 L4 and a very new Moon setting over the Pacific above Half Moon Bay in March 2013

The Victorian architecture of the famous Painted Ladies in Alamo Square contrasts with San Francisco’s modern skyscrapers seen in the background.

Illuminated umbrellas scattered throughout the bamboo forest at Kodaiji temple.

A collective creative effort of Aurora and fellow Sri Lankan photographer Sachintha Gurudeniya (Sach), with a composition inspired by a past photo shoot with the ever-amazing Karim Iliya.

At the Jigokudani Monkey Park, even the monkeys have learned the ways of the Japanese hot bath (onsen).

A row of lampions lining one of the alleys of Ueno Park at dusk.

Sunset over Valley of the Moon, San Pedro de Atacama, Chile

Swimming with a lemon shark in the blue waters of Moorea Island, Tahiti. My scuba instructor is floating carefree in the background, for scale.

Colorful sunset over Crater Lake National Park, Oregon

Maasai warriors-to-be near the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

View of Mount Fuji among cherry blossoms from the park next to Kawaguchi Asama Shrine. Probably the best sakura-viewing day trip outside of Tokyo on a clear day.

Lioness turns down male lion’s advances near the entrance of Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

Sequoia National Park seen at sunrise from the Mount Whitney Trail, California.

An unusually action-packed sumo wrestle at the tournament in Tokyo in May 2014. Most fights are over in the blink of an eye with one of the wrestlers stepping outside the ring, but this was a captivating exception.

A group of Indian girls on a school outing to the Ellora Caves near Aurangabad, Maharashtra.

Sun shining through the roof of the Pantheon, Rome, Italy

Time series combining 9 photos taken at different stages of the eclipse.

Yoyogi park on a cloudy day: the leaves are back-illuminated with a headlamp to make up for the lack of sunshine, and add some interesting shadows.

A long exposure of the Red Beach close to Hana shows the contrasting colours of the volcanic sand and the blue ocean waters at dusk.

I went to the famous Shibuya Crossing one night to try to capture that special feeling when one is caught in a beautiful moment and time seems to stand still while the rest of the world is whizzing by. This is the result: a photo of two of my friends who proved to be very patient and talented models, and learned the hard way that standing still for 2 full seconds is not an easy feat!

Onbashira Matsuri (“Honored Pillars Festival”) near Lake Suwa, Nagano prefecture

Night illumination at Kiyomizu-dera.

Yellowstone’s Grand Prismatic Spring seen from the outlook point off of the Fairy Meadows trail.

Bay area evaporation ponds seen from above.

The Milky Way above Crater Lake, Oregon

Laguna Hedionda, Bolivian Altiplano

A huge crowd gathered on Champ de Mars to watch (and photograph/film on their iPhones and iPads) the Bastille Day fireworks show marking 100 years since the start of World War I.

A long exposure of an amusement ride at the Yokohama Cosmo World. Again, I zoomed in while the shutter was open to make this look like a whirlpool of light.

Reflection of St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow’s Red Square

A modern plaza built in honor of the Chinese regime is placed right across the street from the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet. This palace was the main residence of the Dalai Lama until the 14th Dalai Lama fled to Dharamsala, India, during the 1959 Tibetan uprising.