Sri Lanka is an island that everyone loves at some level inside themselves. A very special island that travellers, from Sinbad to Marco Polo, dreamed about.
Romesh Gunesekera, Sri Lankan author
Sri Lanka is such a colourful country that it seems counterintuitive to photograph it in black and white. But I’m always up for a photographic challenge! Plus, I enjoy editing from colour into monochrome, experimenting to see what different effects and moods I can create.
I previously shared some edits of shots taken in Sri Lanka in my response to PR’s minimalism challenge. But there were others that I felt could work well in monochrome, yet didn’t fit the minimalism brief. So for this week’s theme-free Monochrome Madness I looked back again through the many images from my three weeks there and found some more that I thought were worth testing in a black and white version. These are the ones I felt worked best; I hope you agree!
My feature photo is of a white lotus bud at the Swanee Grand hotel in Negombo, where we spent the first and last nights of our trip. Despite the name it isn’t grand, but it has a lovely garden which is the owner’s pride and joy, judging by his pleasure in showing me this half-hidden flower.
All these images were originally shot in colour and edited with Nik Silver Efex Pro
A rainy day in Gal Oya National Park
Asian wild water buffalo and calf, Wilpattu National Park
Land monitor lizard in Wilpattu National Park
Sri Lankan Grey Hornbill, Wilpattu National Park
Waterlily at the Mudhouse eco-lodge
Seated Buddha, Mihintale
An old building in Galle Fort, in use by the Muslim community
Grinding semi-precious stones in Galle
A roadside cycle repair shop
A visitor to Sigiriya
I visited Sri Lanka in February 2026
2 Comments
Egídio
I thought the nature shots would be my favorites. They are gorgeous, and so are the architectural shots and portraits.
Sue
Some good images here despite the lack of colour- the ones with plenty of texture work best, of course. Love the Lotus bud, water buffalo with the little calf, the monitor lizard and the old building in Galle Fort