Machu Picchu [Canon 10D]
(click in the image to see a larger version)
This image is a composite made from multiple tripod-mounted RAW exposures. The multiple exposure technique was used for two reasons. First, the late afternoon sun was so bright that there was no way to retain the subtle shadow details on the side of the mountain and keep the clouds from blowing out to a total white. To fix this, separate exposures were made for capturing good detail in the shadows and holding detail in the very bright highlights. The other reason for the multiple exposure was that my lens did not have a wide enough field of view to capture as much of the scene as I wanted. I took horizontaol shots and them stacked them on on top of each other and blended them in Photoshop. The final image is made up of three exposures; two for the overall view of the scene and a third to control the bright highlights in the clouds.
Machu Picchu is a very impresseive site. Even after seeing a lot of photographs and reading about it, I was unprepared for the vastness of it. I spent an afternoon and a second entire day there, including a visit in the dark of night, where my guide and I were the only ones present under a stunning canopy of stars (night photos taken at that time will be posted at some point in the coming weeks). It is also a very tiring site to explore, with a lot off climbing up and down on the uneven stone steps in the hot sun. And hiking down the mountain after our night visit on the worn Inca steps that wind through the jungle (the bus service doesn't run at that hour), with only the light of a small flashlight remains one of the more memorable (and exhausting) photo adventures I've had.
I will be returning for a second visit when I am in Peru for the Bridges to Understanding workshop in early July (more info on that below). As a photographer, I find it is always interesting to re-visit a favorite location. Your eye knows what to expect and can focus better (pun intended) on the images you want to make. Of course, sometimes, even if you think you know what type of images you will make there, circumstances surprise you and you end up making images that you had not foreseen.
For More Information on the Upcoming Peru Workshop:
Bridges to Understanding
Bridges International Workshops for 2005
Phil Borges, internationally renowned photographer and founder of Bridges to Understanding