Colin Miller’s Striking Photography of Buddhist Monasteries

By Alison Lesley --
18 Jun 2015 --

Photographer Colin Miller captures Buddhist Temples throughout China in a new series.

Colin Miller is a Brooklyn-based photographer who shoots for projects by reacting to whatever he discovers along the way. He has always had a love and appreciation for interior design and architecture, a love often reflected in his photography. In many cases, he simply visits a new place and can’t help but photograph the buildings around him. In a recent series, he released these amazing photographs of China’s Buddhist temples. The collection was taken over the course of a month, if not more than that. He travelled with some good friends and visited Chengdu, Sichuan and then Ganzi, home to the Seda Buddhist Institute.

The Temples of Sichuan

In November of last year, Colin Miller and a few friends who lived in Sichuan toured around the province. He was awe-struck by the colorful temples and monasteries that topped the hills and mountains around him. He was moved toward the project by the beautiful colors, the detailed architecture and the unique decorations that were held in each place of worship. His immediate thought was to photograph it all, and he did just that. For two and a half weeks, he and his friends travelled around the province by bus and van, photographing the temples, or at least the ones that would allow them inside.

Seda Buddhist Institute

In Ganzi, the largest Tibetan Buddhist school in the world is held: Seda Buddhist Institute. The building itself is gorgeous. The Seda Buddist Institute has been around since 1980, and gives thousands and thousands of monks a place to worship, learn and sleep. Though Colin Miller was not able to get a look at more interior, he felt it was “a really incredible place to be”. He and his friends would rise before the sun did, listening to the monks chanting.