Abu Simbel at Sunrise Photo

Photographer’s Note

Based in Aswan, south Egypt, it's quite popular to take a 3 hr bus ride at around 4.00/5.00am to get to this site in the far south of the country for sunrise. A few more minutes later and the light would be quite contrasty on the Ramses II carvings, and the scene would be filled with tourists.

One of the statues has been damaged from an earthquake, and its head and remains are visbable in front of the temple.

dareco, happypoppeye, phwall has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

lousat (15034) 2009-04-23 17:16

Hi David,i will be there in May...and your pic give me a nice idea for the future....ehhee..there is a magic light inside,the colors too are fantastic.No better point of view to take a great spectacle like that,my best compliments,have a nice day,Luciano

dareco (17024) 2009-04-23 17:30

Excellent lighting , colors and detail. A very interesting post. TFS

albertojr (718) 2009-04-23 20:10

The light is good as you went there early, good to see the other statues stood still after the earthquake. I like how you added the sky here, the contrast of color is pleasing to the eye. first i thought a different angle would be better than this, but it seems to me that this is the best one.

pauloog (6314) 2009-04-23 20:34

Hello David,
you arrived among the first I guess!
Good soft light to render this incredible temple.
Regards,
Paul

serp2000 (9207) 2009-04-23 21:56

Hi, David,
Superb! Excellent colors, fine POV, good details.I never been in this part of Egypt. TFS!
Serghei

MarcT (20983) 2009-04-23 22:46

Hi David,
That's a famous place. Nice contrasts and great details in those statues.
Best wishes
Marc

rlrad (1187) 2009-04-24 2:10

Hi Dave,

I dream of visiting Egypt again, I have been there many times, but only in coastal cities where I was not allowed to roam far (US Navy, after the first Gulf War). It was torture. I'm glad I can experience places like this due to excellent photographs such as yours, it really makes me want to go there again.

You show us in this photo how intrepid you are - beating all the rest of the tourists to Aswan and getting that first light is not an easy thing to do!

Thanks for sharing!
Reed

kschanna (2604) 2009-04-24 5:38

It must have felt strange knowing our diminutive existance in comparison to these collosal sculptures. I like the sky in the corner acting as a comparison for the earthy colors of the rock face.

thanks for sharing
Kamran

happypoppeye (4060) 2009-04-24 21:58

Great looking shot Dave. Nice contrast and, especially, lack of tourists. I didn't take the bus ride but did see it from the ferry while headed too Wadi Halfa. ...fairly close too.
Nice work
John

phwall (5428) 2009-04-25 17:27

Hi David,
Nice shot, even though, (I'm guessing), you are limited in your choice of POV, you've made the effort to get good light and worked on interesting composition. I like the light vignette you've used to give a little more depth to the capture.
What a fantastic experience this must have been, I know for me, I've wanted to see this place for myself ever since I was a small child, and that's a long time ago.
Very nice.
Regards
Peter

disturbia73 (373) 2009-05-08 22:20

Hi David,

Dont mention waking at 3 am cause they picked us from our hotel to go to aswan at 2.30 am!!
This photo is really nice.
The colours are vivid and the details are high.
Well done,

Regards,

thomas