Contemplating lake Nasser Photo

Photographer’s Note

This place is one of the most touristic places in Egypt and also the one more far away from Cairo, to the south, close to the Sudanese border.
This is the great Sun Temple of Ramses II and don't need any presentation since it's one of the most photographed temples of the country - and the notes in the pages of TE are very informative.
This is an unusual angle that shows how the temple relates with the landscape, with the huge statues of Ramses II carved in the cliffs overlooking Lake Nasser. It's amazing to think that this massive hill of sandrock with a temple inside was originaly placed where all that water is. It's also hard not to sense its artificiality, for all the meticulous reconstruction and landscaping. But gradually the temple's presence asserts itself and your mind boggles at its audacious conception, the logistics of constructing and moving it, and the unabashed megalomania of its founder.

WS - complementar photo showing the common view of the front facade.

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Informative NOTE about the Colossi and the Façade of the Temple:

The temple facade is dominated by four enthroned Colossi of Ramses II, whose twenty-metre height surpasses the Colossi of Memnon at Thebes (though one lost its upper half following an earthquake in 27 BC). Their feet and legs are crudely executed but the torsos and heads are finely carved, and the face of the left-hand figure is quite beautiful. Between them stand figures of the royal family, dwarfed by Ramses' knees. To the left of the headless colossus is the pharaoh's mother, Muttuy; Queen Nefertari stands on the right of the colossus; Prince Amunhirkhepshef between its legs. On the right leg of this same figure, an inscription records that Greek mercenaries participated in the Nubian campaign of the Saïte king Psammetichus II (c.590 BC).
The facade is otherwise embellished with a niche-bound statue of Re-Herakhte, holding a was sceptre and a figure of Maat. This composition is a pictorial play of words on Ramses' prenomen, User-Maat-Re, so the flanking sunk-reliefs of the king presenting the god with images of Maat actually signify Ramses honouring his deified self. Crowning the facade is a corvetto cornice surmounted by baboons worshipping the rising sun. On the sides of the colossal thrones flanking the temple entrance, twin Nile-gods entwine the heraldic papyrus and sedge around the hieroglyph "to unite". The rows of captives depicted beneath them are divided between north and south, so that Asiatics feature on the northern (right-hand) throne, Nubians on its southern (left-hand) counterpart.

Source: Rough guide to Egypt book.

fabio_ts, carper, feather, asajernigan, zeynepe, Photo65Net, siamesa, litiancai, JCG, paura, PaulVDV, lucasgalodoido, danos, patdeph, Cricri, josepmarin, Emile, AiresSantos, ribeiroantonio, robiuk, Juntas, Didi, xuaxo has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

fabio_ts (13674) 2008-11-25 1:11

Olò Ricardo, this is a finelyl taken and composed picure, you have well used the spaces, the light is also really nice, excellent work!!

have a nice day,
Fabio.

carper (64546) 2008-11-25 3:08

very beautiful Ricardo,
good contrast, fine pov and a very good photojob here, well done my friend, have a nice day.
regard jaap

feather (49858) 2008-11-25 3:09

I have never seen the temple at Abu Simbel from this angle before, so a big thank you for that. The setting overlooking the lake is beautiful. The tiny people show the scale perfectly, and the long shadows show you timed your visit for the best of the strong light. The background has a bit of a "neat-imaged" appearance, although none the worse for that. Thanks also for the common view in the WS so we can remind ourselves while reading the note about the family members included in the sculptures.
Kath

ALIRIZA (16197) 2008-11-25 3:21

Hi Ricardo,
Blue and brown very nice colour contrast. Great POV and good controliing the light. Well done my dear friend...
All the best...
Ali Rıza

asajernigan (14080) 2008-11-25 3:38

Ricardo,
This is a well composed shot of this famous place. The angle of the shot is great showing the carvings to one side while allowing us to see some of the surrounding landscape. The lighting and colors are fine with excellent sharpness and detail. The people add a sense of scale to the shot.
TFS,
Asa

zeynepe (9342) 2008-11-25 3:43

What a coincidence is that the sky and the water contain almost the same pantone of pale-blue and the temple and the soil around the temple contain almost the same pantone of the light brown. This harmony is spoiled by the white rock in BG.
Have a nice day Ricardo,
Zeynep

Photo65Net (43084) 2008-11-25 3:58

Hello Ricardo,
Superb colors here !
Wow, a great one, very eyecatcher, perfectly composed... Congrats itr is very beautiful,
Have a nice day,
JB.

Yves-triga (3356) 2008-11-25 4:04

Hello ricardo,
Very originale view,and the colors are hot...
Here it's snowing.
Thank you for explications.
Yves

mkamionka (4272) 2008-11-25 5:11

Very nice original point of view!
M

siamesa (12680) 2008-11-25 5:17

Bom dia Ricardo,
Fascinante, como fascinante é o Egito e suas maravilhas cheias de mistérios e história. Uma foto perfeita sob todos os aspectos.
Abraços
Maria

litiancai (1040) 2008-11-25 5:39

Hi Ricardo,
I like the fact it's not the typical view and I prefer this shot to the workshop for just that reason. The detail you've captured in the surroundings is great and the depth of field is perfect. I would be great to have seen more of the view looking out cross the lake, and perhaps a couple of photos stitched together would have been more impressive. Fine shot though, and nice soft light.
Regards
Lee

Leonie (8641) 2008-11-25 7:58

Hola Ricardo!
This view is stunning! The angle is nice and the background on the lake looks really exotic! Very good light also!

Cheers, Léonie

JCG (25147) 2008-11-25 10:24

Hi Ricardo,

I do not remember to have seen a point of view like this one on this famous places. Indeed the water of the Nile is a recall on its displacement of an about sixty meter compared to its places initial to prevent that this inheritance is not submerged. The light is superb giving to the stone a very beautiful color. A photo good made up and very interesting, thank you Ricardo. The photograph of the site in WS is more traditional but it emphasizes it well also, cheer.

With all my friendships and a very good evening,

Jean-Charles

paura (38266) 2008-11-25 11:56

Ricardo,
Aperec que você esoclheu o lugar que o sol deveria ficar para trabalhar em conjunto na boa apresentação. Lindo trabalho.

Abraço

Paulo

chris04stop (2277) 2008-11-25 13:39

A wonderful one, Ricardo. This pic speaks to my soul. Because the light is wonderful. Because the POV is great. Because the panorama is magnificent. Because you are a big photographer. And because...because...oh, stop, please, old witch! No...I can't... I am SO sure: I was there, in one of my past life, in the time of Ramses II. I am SO sure. Yes...I am crazy..okay...
Ciao, Ricardo,
A.P.

PaulVDV (5144) 2008-11-25 14:31

Olá Ricardo,
Most pictures of Abu Simbel are taken from the same angle. So I really like it that you show the temple from a different POV, specially because you included the landscape and the famous Lake Nasser.
I've visited this place also in April (but in another year) and then there were hordes of tourists.
Your picture gives us a better idea of the remoteness of the site.
Best regards, Paul

jmdias (19071) 2008-11-25 15:34

ricardo

esta é outra que não funciona bem na miniatura e é uma beleza vista em tamanho real. Lindo o contraste da estátua e seu ambiente árido contra as águas do Nilo represado. bela luz e enquadramento, pequenos detalhes como a palmeira e a forma dos montes são admiráveis

abraços

jorge

lucasgalodoido (16583) 2008-11-25 18:15

Olá Ricardo,
realmente esse POV lateral ficou bem melhor a foto, mas não que outro esteja ruim. Gosto do contraste de cores aqui, e a textura foi muito bem capturada também. Belo trabalho.
Parabéns e Abraço

emka (21179) 2008-11-25 23:23

Hi Ric, Finally we have Abu Simbel. Nice picture, not standard one. Funny this lonely palm on the lake. Have you gone up the hill? There you can see the way it was made, very amusing.

Regards

Malgorzata

danos (32198) 2008-11-26 0:07

Good morning Ricardo,
here is a place that did never visit when i passed some days in Egypt.Great the view of the huge statues of Ramses II surrounding from the rock cliffs.The complementary WS is a good link to understand the whole scene of Abu Simbel.The Naser lake in the background, is a technologocal oasis in the heard of the desert.Well done.

Have a nice day,Danos

patdeph (17694) 2008-11-26 2:05

hello Ricardo
you have taken the temple in all his splendour, in front of the lake, and in a light of dream!It seems really imposing,and its golden colours makes a splendid contrast with the soft blue of the background!I went herre,a few years ago,and remember that it was the most fabulous temple of Egypt!
Regards
Pascale

Cricri (43030) 2008-11-26 10:01

Hola Ric
Une image trés belle et intéressante de ce temple avec les sculptures face a la mer, magnifiques couleurs, une trés belle complémentaire en WS et une note bien détaillée
Have a nice evening for you
cricri

edal (6567) 2008-11-26 11:33

Wow, I cannot stop taking pleasure at your grand reportage from the place. Wonderful pov! Why don't you post them in wikipedia.
Best wishes!
Anton

josepmarin (33785) 2008-11-26 11:39

Olá Ricardo,
este ángulo es muy interesante y distinto a las fotos habituales de este conocido lugar. Me gusta cómo has integrado estos colosos en el paisaje que los rodea, y cómo explicas en tu nota la asombrosa historia de su traslado de lugar para evitar que quedaran sumergidas bajo el agua del embalse que vemos al fondo del encuadre.
Un gran trabajo, con buena luz y colores.
Un abrazo,
Josep

Emile (19883) 2008-11-26 21:00

Hola Ricardo.
Good diagonal view of the famous temple, you did a very good PP here that worked very well. Good light, sharpness and POV. Your WS is also a very good shot.
Well done.
Best regards.

AiresSantos (41866) 2008-11-28 0:42

Ola Ricardo
Mais uma excelente foto do Egipto.
O enquadramento esta muito bom e as cores maravilhosas. Gosto muito do contraste entre o templo e o lago lago
Um abraco Amigo
Aires

ribeiroantonio (21859) 2008-11-28 16:46

Ainda me lembro de ter lido artigos sobre a mudança do templo quando estavam a construir a barragem. Foi um trabalho impressionante. E o mais curioso é nas fotos não se vê aonde é que os cortes foram feitos. E no local, há vestigíos da transferência?
A foto está fantástica pois mostra bem o contexto em que o templo está agora inserido e que é certamente muito diferente do original.
António

robiuk (10763) 2008-11-29 14:43

What to say, Ric!
I really like your doc photo. I can't remember seeing
the temple in this context, taken from this angle.
Thanks for that,
Robi

Juntas (3147) 2008-11-29 17:33

Olá Ricardo. Fiquei aliviado ao olhar para esta foto. Pelo menos ao nível do TE, acho que é a única foto que não me faz sentir pequenino, sendo das poucas, ou mesmo a única que me deixa olhar de cima para baixo. Só esse facto faz desta uma foto bastante original e bem conseguida. Parabéns. Paulo

Ainda dentro dos 15 minutos: Só agora li os comentários. Ainda por cima correste riscos: mais dois pontos ;). PAulo

Mais uma vez: Parece que o número de smiling critiques baixou para dezanove (sistema burro, nem sabe contar ;)). Amanhã serás o primeiro (venha a papagolfada)

Didi (35998) 2008-11-30 5:28

Olà Ricardo
Interesting difference of contrast with the foreground under atmospheric veil.
Your POV is very original different of a traditional post card.
Best regards.

Angshu (33551) 2008-11-30 19:49

Ola Ricardo
Yes the audacity of the people to move the massive structure post Aswan Dam is nothing short of one of the most astonishing achievements of mankind. The scale is massive as seen by the antlike people walking down there. Definitely an original POV, I think you might have applied NI in the left FG..looks a bit plasticky. The WS maybe the most common view, but can be see again & again. Good work my friend!
Best Regards
Angshu

stego (22350) 2008-12-01 13:38

Olá Ricardo,
É frequente eu dizer que não dou demasiada importância à originalidade, mas mas aqui tenho mesmo que tirar o chapéu, pois nunca tinha visto esta perspectiva, por sinal fantástica e muita fotogénica. Gosto imenso da compo "em L inclinado", das cores e da luminosidade tipicamente de deserto, acho que até o nebulosidade azul acastanhada ao fundo fica bem! E como é teu hábito, há imensos detalhes curiosos, como as pessoínhas, as árvores, as ilhotas ao fundo, com aquela intrigantemente branca... Muito bem! TFS!
O postal do WS tb. está óptimo.
Um abraço, José.

Bluejeans (32021) 2008-12-11 10:21

Oi Ricardo ,
Que paisagem árida , mas os monumentos deve ser magníficos e gigantescos pelo tamanho das pessoas , gostei muito da luz os detalhes ficaram muito bons , parabéns!!
Um abraço Gonçalo

xuaxo (5693) 2009-01-11 9:36

Olá Ricardo,
Sem o Ramsés, isto seria uma paisagem costeira de Cabo Verde, incluindo o céu com aquela cor irritante.
Gostei de ver este ângulo diferente do famoso sítio.
Cumprimentos,
F