Rainbow Mountain
The Vinicunca mountain (better known as 'Rainbow Mountain') near Cusco, Peru.
It took a full day trek to get to this mountain and I had to walk ...
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The Vinicunca mountain (better known as 'Rainbow Mountain') near Cusco, Peru.
It took a full day trek to get to this mountain and I had to walk up to 5100 meters above sea level. The view was literally breathtakingly beautiful.
Read less
It took a full day trek to get to this mountain and I had to walk up to 5100 meters above sea level. The view was literally breathtakingly beautiful.
Read less
Jan, 2017Views
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Awards
Peer Choice Award
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Absolute Masterpiece
Outstanding Creativity
Genius
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photograph on top of the Vinicunca "Rainbow" Mountain near Cusco in Peru. It is located at 5100 m.a.s.l., which made the view literally breathtaking.Time
As it was a one-day trek, we started the hike early in the morning at around 7 or 8 a.m. I didn't look at my watch, but I estimate that it must have taken around 4 to 5 hours to actually get to the top (which is where the picture is taken from). Because of the high altitude, there was a very cold wind. Luckily it was the dry season, so I had a clear blue sky that contrasted with this perfect landscape to top off the photo. I usually don't like people (or better said: tourists) in my pictures, so I waited untill there was almost no one in the picture (which was a challenge because there were loads of hikers!!).Lighting
This is a picture that just happened without too many thoughts behind it. I hiked to the top of this mountain, snapped pictures as best as I could and hoped they would turn out alright. So the lighting was what it was at that moment, which was the midday sun with no clouds.Equipment
The only equipment I used was a Nikon Coolpix S9700. Unfortunately, this camera got stolen the day after. Luckily, I had put all my pictures from that trek onto my tablet, which saved my life. This means the quality isn't that good (because it was compressed onto my tablet), but I am still glad that I have the picture.Inspiration
I think it is obvious what my inspiration was to take this photo: the amazing colorful landscape!Editing
Yes, in GIMP I enhance the contrast and a the saturation a little bit. I didn't overdo it, because I wanted it to look like how it was in reality. I've seen many pictures of this mountain with way too much color saturation, which gives a false image of what this colorful mountain acutally looks like.In my camera bag
I normally just carry around my Nikon S9900 (which I bought right after I got my S9700 stolen). It is a very good travel camera: it takes good pictures, has a 30x optical zoom, great macro function and is easy to transport. I also have a mini tripod with me when I travel.Feedback
I think a lot about this picture was luck and circumstances like weather. Other than that I recommend to try and make sure there are the least possible people in the shot.
