“Api Awa Colombata, Gota Epa Kiwwata!”

“අපි ආවා කොළඹට, ගෝටා එපා කිව්වට!” (“We came to Colombo, though Gota said no!”) chant hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankans covering the Galle Face Green promenade in downtown Colombo, on 9th July 2022; the culmination of months of demonstrations demanding President Gotabaya Rajapakse step down. Since the protests began in April, Gotabaya’s brothers, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse and Finance Minister Basil Rajapakse have been forced to step down, accused of corruption and ineptitude that has caused the worst economic catastrophe in the country’s recorded history. After protestors overran President’s House and several other government offices and official residences on the 9th, and burned down the home of current Prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe that night, President Gotabaya Rajapakse fled the country, though he continues to issue decrees while in exile, amidst mounting tension and clashes between protestors and the in Sri Lankan police.

^{• 50mm • f/4.5 • 1/2500 • ISO400 •}

Christmas in Colombo

One Galle Face Christmas centerpiece. EF16-35mm/2.8L at 20mm, f/8, 0.8s, and ISO100.

A night out with the Canon EOS R

Like many in Colombo I was both thankful and surprised not to have had a curfew slapped down on the city over the Christmas weekend; something that quite a few thought was inevitable. So, gift-buying duties completed, and the freezer stocked up with enough goodies to last ’til 31st night, I thought I’d do a bit of Christmas sightseeing in nighttime Colombo.* Canon/Metropolitan‘s offer of their EOS R as a date made the evening’s possibilities even more promising.

Planters’ Tea

Sri Lankan tea plantation industry leaders enjoy a cup of Ceylon Tea. L/R: Johann Rodrigo, CEO Horana Plantations; Dr Roshan Rajadurai, Managing Director, Hayleys Plantations; Bhathiya Bulumulla, CEO Elpitiya Plantations; Anura Weerakoon, CEO Kelani Valley Plantations; and Senaka Alawattegama, CEO Talawakele Tea Estates. Shot on assignment for Save the Children, at the Galle Face Hotel, Colombo. November 2020.

Travel in the Time of Covid

The Travelers’ Bar at the Galle Face Hotel would normally be teeming with drinkers at this lunch hour, but the ‘oldest hotel east of Suez’ is completely deserted, even as Sri Lanka heads into what would, if not for the Corona pandemic, be its winter tourist season. Colombo, November 2020.

Old & New

Colombo’s changing skyline. January 2013.