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Since Mexico's archaeological site, Chichen Itza does not allow tripods or photos taken near sunrise or sunset, once again all I will say about how I got this photo was that is was hand held at mid day, LOL!
Backlighting provided by a very large cumulonimbus cloud behind and to the left of the camera! I waited behind a building (out of sight of the guards) for quite a while until the light was right.
The Kukulkan Pyramid at Chichen Itza was a terraced monument as opposed to being a true pyramid form such as we see in Egypt. There were reasons for this departure from Egyptian architectural practice because in the West, pyramids convey specific numbers which can enable us to see why they were built where they were upon the earth. This is how you decode the longitude of this structure. (Based on the Great Pyramid at Giza, Egypt being at longitude zero.) 9 terraces x 365 steps x 4 sides x 4 stairways = 52,560 The structure's longitude (based on Giza, not Greenwich) is 119 degrees west, 42 minutes and 10.51620648 seconds. Those numbers multiply out to 52559.99998704 A coincidence? Or did they somehow know exactly where this structure was located in relation to Giza? One of the world's most puzzling mysteries I suppose!
My take: They probably didn't calculate in degrees back then, so it probably is a coincidence. That and maybe a little numerological 'dry labbing!'
This structure was built by the Toltecs around 1200ad. The Mayans were driven out after building structures here for about 600 years. Today, the Mayans are the main group of people living in this area.
1.6 second exposure @F16 with ND grad 0.6
| Title: | Kukulkán |
| Username: | 
PatrickSmith |
| Uploaded: | 10 Jul 2006 - 1:53 PM |
| Camera: | Canon EOS 5D |
| Lens: | Canon 17-40L @35 |
| Recording media: | RAW ISO 100 |
| Tags: | Architecture, General, Kukulkan el castillo chichen itza, Landscape / travel |
| Votes: | 143 |
Comments
another winner, Patrick!
Stunning details in this!
Spot on exposure!
Jouko
Beautiful light and colours, superb composition. Great capture.
Many thanks for the really interesting info too!
Best wishes,
George.
one of the best shots I've seen of these Pyramids (come to think of it the other one was by you also I think lol).
Very moody, powerful and with a timeless feel. AND no other tourists in the shot...result!
Mike
Beautiful shot, well done, not an easy one. We stayed at the hotel in the grounds of Chichen Itza a few years ago and I really hoped to get a picture like this, didn't even come close!
Lovely
Carri
Beautiful shot, well done, not an easy one. We stayed at the hotel in the grounds of Chichen Itza a few years ago and I really hoped to get a picture like this, didn't even come close!
Lovely
Carri
We have a tendency to create mysteries out off coincidenses, great handheld picture
Peter
. . . interesting Maths? . . . I imagine with Mexico being so close the the Antartic and 15 hours of darkness all that . . you had no problems getting the dark, moody skies around midday? 
. .
. . intersting location and a great job Patrick! . .
Mike.W
Superb image well worked and a great discripion to top it of
Brian......
Stunning "Mid-day" ligh and sooo sharp for a "hand-held" shot, surely deserving of an award....
CLIX
Thanks for your comments!
Steve, you could be right. With so many myths and legends going around, (like the DaVinci code), you never know.
LOL Mike (Bonsall), yes there were no other tourists for some curious reason. Maybe they all had lunch at the same time!
Carri, isn't that the greatest Hotel or what?
You are right Peter.....
Yes Mike.W, that is exactly what happened. LOL - At such a southerly latitude, the sun finally rose at noon!
Thanks Tony. I wish I could get an award for hand holding this for 1.6 seconds - LOL!
Patrick
Quote: My take: They probably didn't calculate in degrees back then, so it probably is a coincidence....
Having said that, even if they didn't use degrees, whatever method they did use would have to equate to our methods given that neither structure would have moved since then.
Do you know what I mean?
So why do they not allow tripods or photos at that time?
Paul
Thanks Maddie.
Paul, they do not allow tripods because (paraphraising their words) they do not want professional photographers making commercial quality photographs and selling them for a profit!
I know what you mean about the methods. And longitude is a very difficult thing to figure out and was only done recently by western civilization. Even if they knew how to do it, how did they 'remember' the position of Giza?
Patrick
Good thing you had that sunset filter with you!
The planning that went into some of these structures is pretty amazing.
Therein lies the mystery, as Steve says, I don't really believe in coincidence, particularly where these civilisations (Egyptians/Mayans/Incas etc) are concerned. I was surprised to hear some time ago that the Egyptians invented the battery. A crude one was found in one of the pyramids..A highly intelligent race. PAul
Probably coincidence..
Another stunning image! Banning the tripods doesn't seem to work. Amazing buildning, amazing shot. Love your work! Great description btw.
LOL Marc... yes that's it... it was a sunset filter!
Paul, I think that the truth lies somewhere in the middle. People's IQ's are basically the same as they were thousands of years ago. So people could have figured out many complex ideas and systems. The thing about this is that they took thousands of years to migrate from anywhere near the pyramids, over Alaska, and down to Mexico. All while remembering the exact position of Giza? I'm not sure if that is possible considering that they had to struggle to survive each and every day. Or maybe there was an 'across the Atlantic' connection. The tradewinds do blow directly here from Africa.
Benjamin (zebhylon), banning them does work somewhat. It did stop me from getting most of the shots I wanted. I won't go into too much detail about that!
Patrick
Wow..what a lovely place to go to! I look forward to all your photos from there.
Lizzie
Another good shot Patrick, great mood to it. And I don't believe in coincidence either.
Martin
Great shot and desription - it's such an interesting subject, you could keep on wondering til the cows come home but you'll never know (or until some brainy scientist figures it out). Lyns x
Hi Patrick,another stunner,love pyramids,as i love history and egyptology and inca,mayan that type of history really interest me and they all have pyramids.Magical landscape and it's going to take a lot more than banning tripods to stop you getting a good picture,love the lighting,colour/tones,glow,detail,textures,lead in,exposure,dof,atmosphere and dramatic look to this toltec sunset.Magical,classy shot,wouldn't be out of place in a book or on a wall of a museum about them.Top class.Take care.Ann
Another great shot Patrick. That sky is well worth the wait. I too don't believe in coincidences but neither do I think that we are the superior beings that we say we are.
Alistair.-)
Great capture, Patrick. Has an air of forboding and mistery about it due the the lighting.
SB
This is excellent Patrick, not sure if you tried for mood, but that is sure what you got! 
Brilliant work as always and expected, hats off to you! Spot on! Click!!!
Greg
Yes, and you used thatlight well-- Wonderful image-- makes me want to go there!
Jennnnnnnnnnnnn
Thanks for your comments!
True Lyns, we may never know the truth about this. Most evidence was destroyed by Spanish Catholics trying to preserve the faith.
Me too Ann. Can't get enough....
Yes Alistair, that is why I believe that the truth lies in the middle most fo the time.
LOL Greg, keep your hat on in case it floods again!
Alan, it is a great place to visit for sure.
Go Jennnnnnnnnnn, you won't regret it! There weren't even very many Mosquitoes.
Patrick
Never did swallow Rand Flem-Ath's global measuring theory.
For me the image is interesting in a way, but a touch flat...some light on the building would have been a nice touch.
Me neither.... We used to call this sort of hindsight 'dry labbing' in college chemistry class.
Sorry Keith, the guards were on the other side. So this is where I had to be, if you know what I mean. Still, the cloud helped with some decent backlighting.
This is truly an exciting place for photography, if they will just let you do it!
Patrick
Nice hand held shot Patrick! lol
Honestly though, another fab one. Went to Tulum a while ago but that really was at mid day, so nothing like this...as if I had a hope of creating something like this, lol - but you know what I mean!
Hope you had a great hol
Sweetpea
Excellent history lesson Patrick. Succinct yet interesting.
Oh .... pyramid shot not bad either !!
Dave.
Patrick -- a FANTASTIC shot. Be careful. Don't mess with breaking too many rules down in Mexico. We were stopped by the Mexican Federales on the toll road, driving from Cancun to Chichen Itza. They never took their fingers off the very large machine guns they carried the whole time they were talking to us and searching our car.
Although, I must say, they were very professional and once they realized we weren't transporting drugs, they were quite nice and sent us on our way with friendly smiles. -=Walter
An excellent shot altogether, Patrick.
Jim
You can always "prove" anything by applying what appear to be rules. One of the best examples is the so-called 'hidden messages' in the bible.
Blimey Patrick a real touch of Dan Brown on the write up.LOL.
An excellent shot under the circumstances.
The pyramid is nicely placed in relation to the FG wall. Great image.
Brian
If you look long enough you can find mathematical links to all sorts of things Patrick, I'm with you.
Nice light and detail, a good opportunist? shot.
I'm off to Peru in September so hope to get some similar shots of dawn at Machu Pichu
Malcolm
Congratulation, Patrick.
An excellent photo of this gorgeous monument.
Thanks a lot for the description, really fantastic.
Cheers, Jan
Thanks for looking! I'll reply to all of the PM's later when I get off work.
I don't know what you mean Sweetpea! You could do this any time... if you are a fast runner!
Hi Walter. I saw your message, but I can't get it to run. I'll try later and PM. I didn't see any official cars on the road for the whole time I was there. Just HUGE speed bumps (topes)!
Yes Chris, they have superb midday skies there!
True Jim, you can prove anything if you fudge the numbers enough! LOL - In fact, in this photo, if you remove certain specific pixels, you will see the face of the devil!
True Brian, it did not start out that way, but it does have that sort of feel to it.
True Malcolm. And fortunately they will let you take shots any time at Machu Pichu. A photographer friend is also going I think in September.
Dan... um I mean Patrick
lovely detail and colours Patrick and a very informative description
Very 'Chariot of the Gods' Patrick.I like the composition but I LOVE the sky.
Janet
It must have been frustrating Patrick not getting the shots you had planned to get - such a shame with the restictions. It looks like a magical place and you have captured the atmosphere in this superb image.
Mark.
Some light on the building would be good (as Mr H says) plus it's also showing signs of grads on the top of the temple (it's darker). You really needed a Lee blending filter or a cokin 121F.
Thanks for looking!
Yes Mark, it is a little frustrating. There are SO many great angles and perspectives that you could get here. But you can't climb on the buildings or basically do anything at any decent time of day....legally!
Ian, normally you'd be right, but the upper left side is actually darker because of how they have cleaned the building of grass and moss. See this image taken obviously without a ND grad from the same angle in the middle of the day. Also this was taken a few years ago when people could walk up there. It is even more dark on the upper side now. Also, I angled the 0.6 at a 45 degree angle just on the upper right side to darken the sky only. But I may get some blending filters as they look quite useful.
Patrick
It was worth the deceit lol...cracking shot. Great composure and the colours and sky are brill. The larger pic really does this proud
Chris
Ah, in which case I stand corrected - even the right side of the top part of the temple is darker because of the moss.
Still needs some light on it.
;p
Under the circumstances Patrick (risking facing the local firing squad) you have what can only be called an excellent shot.
John
Patrick beautiful capture with great depth and detail!
stay well
tonymarq
Thanks for looking!
Yes Ian,the whole top gets covered in just a few years and then they have to clear it off. Yes, maybe someday I'll apply to the Mexican government to take some 'legal' shots of this place. For now, I'll settle for reflected light, rather than the light on the inside of a Mexican jail interrogation room!
Actually John, I came way closer than you may realize. I won't go into details, as I may want to return!
Patrick
Hello Pat hope you are well, thanks for your comments on my pictures, this looks a super picture sky looks just right-click.
Doug
Interesting text as always Patrick and the image is inspiring too.
MikeA.
LOL Pat! Athleticism is sadly not one of my qualities! I will leave the dodging bullets to you
A wonderful and fsacinating image, Patrick, and a similarly fascinating description (up to the point where the maths made my head hurt).
Another beautiful composition Patrick. I love the amount of info you supply with you images too! The colours are stunning and you must have a very steady hand
I had a similar problem with tripods not being allowed recently. Was a one off commission to shoot a shopping centre in Birmingham. I wanted to blur the crowds and use about 0.5-1.6 sec exposure. I bought a bean bag (the pod made in Canada) and problem solved. Best little gadget i have bought in ages.
Looking forward to your next posting.
Ben
Impressive and imposing relic of the past, (perhaps not that easy to photograph)is very well captured by yourself! The subdued light makes this picture for me.
This must qualify as a 'candid' landscape/travel shot then - shot from the hip and all that. Well done for sticking to your guns and outwitting the authorities - lovely shot. Bruce
A wonderful shot of mexicos archaelogical heritage Patrick and an excellent narrative.
C
Its a really nice image Patrick, and a good job sneaking in with the tripod. I was going to try the same thing at the Valley of the Gods in Egypt until I saw the teenage policemen with the sub machine guns LoL
I know that it may have led to confiscation of equipment ( and possibly worse...) but I sure would like to have seen a little light on the pyramid. Still its a really nice image as is so I hope you dont think thats too harsh.
russ
Thanks for looking!
C'mon Sweetpea, get out there and jump through some hoops for us or something!
Sorry about the headache Ian - LOL!
Ben? In a shopping centre? Beanbag... great idea!
Bruce? Outwitting whom? Not me! It's just another hand held shot at mid day.
Good idea to back off Russ! Yes, I'd like to have gone to the other side, or been in this spot at sunrise, but NO WAY! And there is an awesome shot just behind this if you are allowed to go up the stairs of the structure. Actually, the last bit is sunlight was hitting the upper right section, but maybe when I adjusted the curves, it became darker. I'll probably adjust it.
Patrick
I know that its possible to gain access at dawn/dusk, on another site I am on they had a trip there a few years back and one of the Mexican mods 'knows' someone high up somewhere and they got 3 days shooting the Mayan stuff. Dont know what he had to do though, but I had heard he was walking uncomfortably for the whole trip :-0
If you can drag that bit of light out it'll really tip the scale, good luck with it.
Russ
Great shot Patrick.I am glad you did not risk to much to get this shot.Would hate to see you somewhere you do not want to be.Take care.
Great shot, Patrick! The sun doesn't rise very high in the sky in Mexico!
;o)
Ted
Hi Patrick, excellent shot with lovely light and composition, excellent colours in the sky, oh and great info whether it's coincidence or not!
Charlotte
Thanks for the comments on the bug shots, for some reason the A75 is a good little camera!
Thanks for your comments!
Russ, I had another look and I got the light back into it. The print looks much better! Yes, You can apply to the Mexican overnment for a special pass. I'm not sure what it woudl take and based on what you said, maybe I'll pass!
John (yjjeep), me too!
Yes Ted, the Mexican sun barely seems to rise much above the horizon at this time of your for some reason - LOL!
Yes it is Charlotte. But don't forget your big one though.
Patrick
Yep a shopping centre!! Bit of a depature from my usual photograpic activites but I was working for an architectural company and offered to do some shooting for them and got a commission! Bean bag has been used a lot since though!
Ben
Sunset filter? A man of your talent has no need to stoop so low....except in this situation. And as you executed it's use so well, I'll give it a click.
Kris.
Thanks for looking!
Thanks Ben, I can see where they would come in handy. Congrats on the commission too.
LOL - Kris. If I did indeed shoot this at mid day as I am officially claiming, I would certainly need one. So um...yes, it was a sunset filter that produced that sky!
Patrick
Very interesting description. It is fascinating to think what they knew in those days.
Lovely picture.
Georg
Fascinating history and scenery. Plenty of detail and superb colour. Great shot!
Atu
Great shot, Patrick. I see that EPZ forces you to take vacations.
No, haven't done the 1200 yet. First I'll have to pump up at the gym
An impressive structure Patrick with the beauty in the sky complimenting its impressive outline and your write up adds to the interest of the scene.
Doug.
hi Patrick, what a superb shot of a world famous site, hope to get there one day!!
Keith
Hello Patrick... been away and just catching up - what wonderful work in this image of yours... The colours of the sky are great. Makes the whole thing look so mystical.
Jeanie
Nice shot Patrick - I have to admit that it's not one of your best (maybe I'm a sucker for the water), but the description is, as always, very informative and the sky is a great capture too.
You know, it's funny - I was just curious to find out when was the last time one of your pictures scored less than 100 . I started looking back and then notice that one the very first page (most recent) you had a picture (The slot v 0.000) which was at 99, so I had to help it along , but besides that one I had to go back 3 pages before I found one. Congrats on spectacular photography!!
BTW, I just remembered that you were selling some prints in a cafe or something - how's that going? Are you quitting the database gig yet??
Cheers
Mike
Thanks for looking! I reprocessed this and it looks better now. It's in my website under keyword 'new-uploads.'
Yes Georg, what did they know back then? I'm not sure, and most of the informatinon was destroyed when the Catholics from Spain tried to corner the market on religion in the Yucatan. But hindsight is always better than perfect when looking for correlations in old data.
LOL Verne, it's time for big glass for you!
LOL - No...not v1.000000.... Bad Mike... very bad! But thanks for the encouragement. Yes, I had some framed prints up in a local photo store. None sold, but few ever sell there. None in many months. But later this year I'm going to have a booth at a local art and wine festival and we'll see how it goes. I have been selling them just by word of mouth. Will I ever go pro? Well, I would love to get out of the intensity of programming but the cause (birth defects) is a good one. Maybe someday. For now, it is just for fun and I'm accumulating a lot of decent shots now. Many I don't have on EPZ or on my website yet.
Sten, thanks for appreciating how steady my hands are - LOL!
Patrick
Beautiful light playing with the clouds, put in a fine composition, with outstanding shapness and clarity.
Well done Patrick...
Cesie
gorgeous lighting! lovely colors! lovely pyramid..it's all great. Well done indeed!
Stunning scene with amazing colour and detail,very good angle, excellent photography, Adrian
Marvelous description Patrick, and the image itself oozes a sense of history. Must have been a great feeling to have such a place all to yourself - especially at "mid day"!!!
Bill
Thanks for looking!
LOL - Um... yes Bill. Considering it was mid day, I was quite lucky to have the place all to myself. Maybe everybody was having lunch!
Patrick
Great shot love the colours and light..
Don
Ps 24-28c
Nice one Patrick,how did you mange this one and your Chichen Itza shots without people in the way .I was at chichen itza on june 5 and tulum june 7 this year and there was far to many people to take any thing like this, and that sky ,we had nothing like that.I thought Tulum was far more immpresive right on the coast.
Ian.
Your growing portofolio is always a delight to look at. Fortunately for me, a lot of people already appreciates your professional work, so I don't have to leave an admiring comment on each picture. Lol
Keep'em coming.
Denis
An excellent capture Patrick and a very interesting bit of info.
Pete.
wow this one is amazing especially since its hand held. Alway dreamed of going to see the mayan ruins in Yukatan, must have been breath taking
Joe
Patrick, that's one of the best pictures of KukulKan i've ever seen. Have they finished the restore of Chicken Piza (as the guides call it) yet?
Cracking shot
Chicken Tree Sunset man
john
Thanks for your comments!
Ian, It is just the time of day. There were no people there then. Can't say why though or they won't let me back in again! Toulm is quite impressive up on that bluff. And I could ony get in during the day so I could nto get any empty shots or good light there.
John, they have a lot of work to do still!
Patrick
you hav been fortunate to visit some outstanding places
this is a stunning shot great composition and the colour is awsome
click
Patrick brilliant shot, could see this on a postcard, when was it taken? I was there in 97, they were re-building several of the structures further down near the Observatory, where they found the massive lens.
john
amazing structure,pyramids around the world, quite a fascinating subject and this is a beautifully photographed example Patrick.
Thanks for looking.
John, it was taken back in June. Now you can't climb on any of the structures and you can't be ther near sunrise or sunset.
Thanks Elizabeth (starliz)!
Patrick
Love the tale behind the picture. Even more the fact you are still alive. Saw this place about 5 years ago, my partner on the trip had no wish to get there early and no way would have been up for adventure. Call me next time you plan a visit.
BTW, GREAT SHOT
I've missed a few, this is one of them...
This monument looks majestic against that Beautiful sky, P!
I'm only about 6 months late in commenting....
Smiley Faces,
Me
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