Temple Row

Posted on 2 October, 2011 by Eric

One of the odd things about visiting ruins is that the tour guide books seem to always give them short shrift when it comes to photography. The books will tell you that this set of ruins is more scenic than that one, and one or two things to see at a site — but they always seem to miss a lot of really nice stuff (possibly in the interest of fitting in more plugs for affiliated hotels and such). This is one of those missed things at the Maya ruins of TulÃºm, México:

If you walk down to the far southeast corner of the ruins (on an unofficial trail), you can sight up along the coast to get this nice composition. Much better than some of the other coastal shots you can make here (and the colors came out far nicer than I’d expected they would)…

Life among the ruins

Posted on 14 September, 2011 by Eric

Seen among the Maya ruins of Dzibanché in Quintana Roo, México:

It was more than a bit odd to run across this flower in the depths of the Yucatan peninsula’s dry season this summer — so when I spotted it, I just had to grab this shot. Bright colors against muted tones, life among long-vacant ruins. Can’t beat the contrasts!

The main plaza

Posted on 14 August, 2011 by Eric

“Downtown” Tikal, Guatemala — standing on the platform of Temple II, looking east toward Temple I:

This is a 2-shot panorama using a wide-angle lens, so covers just short of a 180-degree field of view.

Chimney Rock, captured!

Posted on 10 August, 2011 by Eric

If you’ve dropped by this blog more than a time or two in the past, you likely know I’m a bit of an archaeology buff. Here’s a shot through my 60mm crystal ball of Chimney Rock, in southern Colorado:

The Chimney Rock Archaeological Area is home to some ancestral puebloan ruins, nearly 1000 years old. They were built at this site due to the two rock pinnacles in this image — every 18.6 years, the moon rises between the columns (the geometry is called a Major Lunar Standstill). If you’d like to see this event in person, there’s good news and bad news. Good news: the site has public viewing events for lunar standstill. Bad news: the next one won’t occur until 2022.

So patience is the key…

Looking out from Balcony House

Posted on 25 July, 2011 by Eric

Balcony House is one of the “marquis” attractions at Mesa Verde — you can only see it as part of a group, you have to get a timed ticket in advance, etc. But oh, is it ever worth the bother! Here’s the view looking out from just short of the “exit:”

Right in the middle of the frame you can *just* see the 30-foot-tall ladder you climb to get into the site.

This shot is actually a panorama stitched together from two portrait (vertical) frames; I tried to pull as much of the resulting “fisheye” distortion out as I could, but as you can see, there’s still a bit left.

Fajada Butte — captured!

Posted on 13 July, 2011 by Eric

Coming to you from Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, it’s Fajada Butte:

Fajada Butte is the site of an ancient “Sun Dagger” solar clock that marks the occurrence of the solstices and equinoxes. It’s too delicate for visitors to see in person any more (it was damaged by tourism-induced erosion, and closed to the public in 1989), but still inspiring to look at from a distance.

Gone to the Palace

Posted on 27 June, 2011 by Eric

I’ve been working through my Yucatan travel shots, and thought that while I was at it, should take advantage of the 15-day free trial period for “Silver Efex Pro 2.” Here’s a black and white treatment of the Palace at Kabah, on the “Puuc Route:”

I hadn’t thought of it at the time, but old ruins like this tend to look really good in black and white. Use the right colored filter settings, and you can bring out some drama in an otherwise bland sky, too!

Pyramid of the Magician

Posted on 24 June, 2011 by Eric

The “marquis” structure at the Maya ruins of Uxmal in México:

Sadly, you can no longer climb this pyramid’s steps — they were showing the toll of thousands of tourists’ feet over the years. At least visitors can still admire this beautiful structure from a not-too-great distance.

Iguanakeh

Posted on 15 June, 2011 by Eric

An iguana strikes a dramatic pose in the ruins of TulÃºm, México:

The funny thing about this shot is that the iguana wasn’t nearly this well posed until somebody with a point-and-shoot camera intervened. I was working from a distance to get a good shot of the little critter, when the cruise-boat tourist started fiddling and fussing with his P&S, trying to get a head-on shot from about 3 feet away. He made such a sight that this little guy pivoted around to watch the show — lining up perfectly for a profile shot!

About the only time on our recent trip that I was grateful to see one of the cruisers…

Palenque’s Palace

Posted on 12 June, 2011 by Eric

Shot with a long lens from the Temple of the Cross, about 1/4 mile away:

You might think I framed this shot the way I did to heighten the contrast between the structure and its background — but actually, I was avoiding a line of tourists just off the bottom of the shot!