A few stairs towards Inca heaven
The mythic Inca city of Machu Pichu, Peru
The mythic Inca city of Machu Pichu, Peru
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Feb, 2015Views
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July 09, 2015
Great photo - but it doesn't qualify for the Challenge for images from the Blue Ridge Parkway (North Carolina)!
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photograph was taken during a trip in Peru from North to South. The visit of the Inca city of Machu Picchu was the climax of this trip. The legendary lost city of Machu Picchu is a dream destination for many travelers. After having climbed the mountain by minibus on a forest track, the site springs up suddenly into sight. And photographer, heart pounding, enters Paradise ...Time
During that memorable day, one of the best in my life, it seemed as if time had stopped. Departure from Urubamba to Machu Picchu occured early in the morning. After a trip by bus, by train and finally by all-road minibus, we arrived in the lost city at around 9 am. From that moment, fully invaded by excitement and fascination, I lost track of time. Therefore, I can hardly tell the exact time of day this photograph was taken, probably aroud 11 am.Lighting
I was pretty lucky during this day at Machu Picchu. When I arrived on the site, the sun was shinning and there was no thick fog hiding the scenery all around. Only some ominous clouds were sticking at the top of the surrounding mountains of the Cordillera of the Andes. Those clouds brought some drizzle in the afternoon but at the moment when I shot the photo, I took advantage of a good sun light, a clear air and a nice cloudy sky adding a dramatic atmosphere to the scenery.Equipment
This photograph (three images actually) was shot on a Nikon D5100 body, equipped with a 10-24 mm lens. The true focal used was 10 mm, at F/11 with ISO 400. No other equipment was involved.Inspiration
As a photographer, I have hoped to visit one day Machu Picchu for a long time. On the site, I couldn't help shooting numerous photos lacking in originality, as everybody do. But while wandering through the site I was also seeking opportunities to shoot from unusual points of view. When I came across these few stairs directed towards the old city, I thought it was an interesting foreground in order to lead the viewer's eyes to the heart of the scenery.Editing
Yes, I did post-processing. This image is actually an HDR one from three hand-held Raw source images, +2, 0, -2 EV. While merging the 3 images together by an appropiate software, I proceeded to a contrast optimization and a soft sharpening.In my camera bag
For long haul travels, I have in my bag a Nikon D5100 body, a Nikkor 18-200 mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom, ideal for travelers, and a Nikkor 10-24 mm f/3.5-4.5 zoom for large-angle pictures like this one. I have also an IR remote shutter release, 2 Nikon batteries with their charger and a lot of SD cards because I usually shoot 3 (actually 6) images at once, in both JPEG and Raw fine formats. Ideally, I should have brought my tripod, but I refrained from doing so for this travel to Peru where we spent most of the time at more than 3000 m in altitude. A lighter bag was better.Feedback
I spent only one day on the mythic site of Machu Picchu, and even not the whole day. My advise is to spend at least 2 or, better, more days in this magic atmosphere in order to enjoy all the spectrum of the lighting from dawn to dusk (there is an hotel next to the main entrance of the site). If you are lucky, you could see the scenery under different lightings, with more or less clouds in the sky, or wrapped in a light mist which brings some mystery to the site. You could also climb to the peaks (picchus) surrounding the old city (Machu and Huayna) to have dramatic points of view on it, or walk along the Inca trail dug with mountainside. And finally, you would have more chances to encounter the photogenic llamas which serve as lawn mower on the numerous terraces of the site.
