It's been a while since I had the privilege of photographing His Holiness the Dalai Lama at Emory. I wanted the folks who hired me to have a chance to use the images before I posted to to my blog. What an opportunity! Especially for a recent seminary student and admirer of the man of peace. As you might imagine, I had to undergo the scrutiny of the State Department before being approved as a photographer for the event. Thankfully I passed muster.

The event took place in a large gymnasium turned auditorium and believe me, the shooting conditions were far from ideal. The lights were turned down low to suit His Holiness who has sensitive eyes. (Even with the lights turned down low, he eventually pulled out his visor to shield his eyes.) I turned up the ISO to 3200 and pulled some Lightroom 3 noise reduction tricks to produce the images below.

I also had to contend with State Department security, but that's another story.

** Check out the Center for the Study of Law and Religion web site for more information about the Interfaith Summit on Happiness.