About the Image(s)

The Hemis Tsechu festival at the Hemis gompa, a Himalayan Buddhist monastery in Ladakh, India, celebrates the birth anniversary of Guru Padmasambhava, the founder of Tibetan Buddhism. It features the masked Cham dance, part of the Tantric tradition, performed by monks in elaborate, multi-colored brocaded costumes, to the accompaniment of drums and a variety of indigenous musical instruments. While this is part of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition, with great historical, spiritual and religious significance, it does attract a lot of visitors, both local pilgrims and foreign tourists. Here I tried to get a shot of the masked dancers in action, with the monastery in the background, without too many foreign tourists in focus.
Canon EOS XTi and Canon EF75-300mm f/4-5.6 USM Lens @ 80 mm. f/9 @ 1/200 sec. ISO: 200.