Dotted with glistening gold temples, the lush landscape of Myanmar is any aerial enthusiast’s dream come true. In a sky-high series of photographs taken from drones and hot air balloons, London-based architect and photographer Dimitar Karanikolov offers viewers a bird’s-eye view of this picture-perfect scenery.
Each photo features one of the thousands of centuries-old Buddhist temples, shrines, and pagodas built in the sprawling forests of Bagan, Yangon, and Mandalay. Though they tower high above the trees, one can not fully appreciate these buildings from ground-level, as Karanikolov’s aerial photos reveal their surprising scale and unexpected symmetry.
In addition to highlighting the beauty of the temples’ designs, these photographs also visually illustrate the prominence of Buddhism in both past and present Myanmar. Over 10,000 temples exist in Bagan alone, and—as evident in Karanikolov’s photos—many of them are currently being restored.
Though Myanmar has an ancient relationship with the religion, Karanikolov’s modern approach to photographing its temples shows it from a dazzling new perspective.
In Myanmar Temples, a series of aerial photos, London-based architect and photographer Dimitar Karanikolov captures the beauty of Buddhist temples in Bagan, Yangon, and Mandalay.
