The Labná Arch

Posted on 10 October, 2011 by Eric

Labná is a neat little Maya ruin that doesn’t get nearly as much visitor traffic as it deserves. On the east end of the “Puuc Route” in the Yucatan, Labná isn’t particularly close to any major modern cities — but it and its neighboring sites are an easy day trip from Mérida.

Should you ever make it to Labná, its arch is its claim to (touristic) fame:

The unusual (and somewhat funny) thing about this arch is where it’s found. Most arches at Maya sites served as ceremonial entrances to the cities — a way to both announce your arrival at the city, and demarcate the boundaries of the city core.

But this arch is different — it separates the royal from the mercantile parts of Labná. This side of the arch (the fancier of the two) is what you’d see as you were walking into the royal part of town (those two ground-level doors may have been where guards were stationed). The other face of the arch, far plainer, announced your arrival into the home of the merely affluent.

I guess some things never change…

Kinichná in Becán

Posted on 4 October, 2011 by Eric

The old Maya ruins of Becán in México have quite a few things to recommend them. A number of structures have been restored, and are open to public viewing; several structures are both climbable and riddled with passageways (so many places to explore).

But really, the marquis attraction is this stucco figure of the Maya sun god Kinichná:

Since the stucco needs to be protected from the hot and humid environment (as well as from vandals), it’s in a purpose-built enclosure with a glass front. But the lighting’s tricky (no artificial light in the enclosure), and the glass is both dirty and scratched (take wet wipes and a paper towel) — so you have to work to get a decent shot of this bit of artwork…

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.

Turtles all the way down

Posted on 30 June, 2011 by Eric

I haven’t antiqued any photos for months (if not years), so while I was playing around with black and white conversions I thought I should indulge myself and give a shot from Uxmal the full aging treatment:

This is the House of Turtles, so named because of the little turtle figurines decorating the top of the walls.

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.