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Cecilia Lim | all galleries >> Galleries >> mixed impressions > The pyramid of El Castillo, Chichen Itza
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18 June 2005 Yucatan, Mexico

The pyramid of El Castillo, Chichen Itza

This is my tribute to Chichen Itza, which was voted into the top 7 "New Wonders of The World" through a global poll this month in July 2007. I thought it was nearly impossible to inject any sense of mystery and drama to my photo that day, given my circumstances: Chichen Itza is one of Mexico's most visited archeological sites and there were throngs of people! The lighting was disappointingly flat and dull that day; and the stark, treeless, well-manicured lawns hardly suggested the atmosphere of a "lost civilization" in the jungle. Then towards the end of my visit, the rain clouds came and gave me a much needed dramatic backdrop for my image!


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Guest 29-Oct-2007 09:30
Awesome!!! V
Guest 01-Sep-2007 04:35
This is the best pyramid photo I had seen in my entire life.
So dramatic with power and strugling people trying to climb to the top, where things are burning... The color balance tends to go to yellows, making it look better than any other color I can imagine for this story.
Cecilia Lim27-Jul-2007 10:19
Thanks Phil & Ai Li for both your wonderful comments on the effect of the clouds. Although that passing cloud was completely unrelated to whatever was going on below it, by implying that it is, it has given life to this ancient relic: for you Phil, it was sacrificial smoke from a chimney and Ai Li, it was like smoke from an erupting volcano. Thanks for sharing how you experienced this image. I am thrilled to see how this wonderful monument has come alive for you, as I had hoped.

Thanks Phil to the links to your wonderful rain/cloud images. Most of the time, it's a hassle to go out into the wet with our non-weatherproof cameras, which is why these types of images are highly unusual. But these conditions can provide some of the most interesting visual and atmospheric effects or context for our images. I've come to embrace the wonderful and unusual opportunities adverse weather can bring to our images. Now, if only I can force myself to get out of my comfort zone...
Phil Douglis19-Jul-2007 01:06
There is nothing like an oncoming storm to create symbolic meaning. You use scale incongruity here beautifully to speak of size, and you perfectly postion that plume of dark cloud ( symbolizing sacrificial smoke?) as if it is coming from the "chimney" of the pyramid. I had much the same kind of weather in Zambia during rainy season and made the best of what it gave me. Here are links to seven of images involving rain clouds or rain:

http://www.pbase.com/pnd1/image/55194793 ,http://www.pbase.com/image/55195599 ,http://www.pbase.com/image/55195609 ,http://www.pbase.com/image/55196259 ,http://www.pbase.com/image/55196274 ,http://www.pbase.com/image/55196310 ,http://www.pbase.com/image/55198479