Exhibition of Photographs

“Standing there, surrounded by that matchless prospect, there on that proud pinnacle and above that enchanting view, one may well refuse to accept that rock-mark as the answer to his question. I want a higher, nobler answer, and is it not afforded? Let each decide for himself, but I like to believe that these legends are all after-thoughts; that the place was already sacred to the primal religions of humanity-the worship of nature –as the enduring, all originating, all absorbing universal whole; -that to this faith, man’s first, and perhaps his last, this spot was already consecrated as its most fitting temple. In a question of this I care little for historic absences or their absence. There are many things which history knows nothing, many more of which it has not chosen to tell.”
Ceylon Observer 2 October 1869 Quoted in Adam’s Peak by William Skeen p.10-11

Paths to the Peak: Ecology, Landscape and Culture on Sri Lanka’s Sacred Mountain

Ian Lockwood is an educator, photographer and writer with an enduring interest in the ecology, landscapes and cultures of South Asia. He and his wife Raina work as teachers at the Overseas School of Colombo. They have two children in the primary school. Prior to this Ian worked as a Geography and Environmental Science teacher in Bangladesh and India. His family is originally from Boston USA but has been living and working in South Asia for four generations. Ian’s paternal grandparents taught at Jaffna College for thirty years and his father Merrick was born in Vaddukoddai. Photography has been a family past time and his father influenced an insatiable interest in black & white landscapes. Ian has published numerous articles and photo essays dealing with ecology, landscape and culture in India’s Western Ghats. He has exhibited his photographs in Dhaka, New Delhi, Mumbai and New York City. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in International Political Economy from the College of Wooster and two Master’s Degrees in Secondary Education (TCNJ) and Ecological Teaching & Learning (Lesley University). Ian has climbed Sri Pada 12 and a half times over the last six years. Further examples of his photography and writing can be found at http://www.highreangephotography.com