How The Mighty Has Fallen Photo

Photographer’s Note

This is a fallen colossal black granite head of one of the two statues of the pharaoh Ramesses II (19th dynasty 1279-1212 BC) which once stood here. The head is situated in the second courtyard of his mortuary temple at Qurna, West Thebes. Behind this fallen head are the remains of a portico with Osiride pillars which forms the entrance to the temple's hypostyle hall. Attached to the pillars are enlarged statues of the pharaoh represented as Osiris the god of the dead. The heads of these statues were hacked away by early Christians when the temple was converted into a church during the 1st century AD. Probably the same iconoclasts even hammered away the nose of the head in order to deprive the statue's right to breath and thus leading to its final death. Ramesses began his mortuary temple in the second year of his reign and it was completed some 20 years later. The egyptian name of the temple was "The House of millions of years of Ramesses that unites with Thebes-the-city in the domain of god Amun. Today it is known as Ramesseum, a name given to the temple by J-F Champollion, who regarded it as perhaps the greatest of all the monuments at West Thebes. Originally the complex consisted of two temples and a palace as well as many administrative buildings. Few tourists are visiting the temple today, which in my opinion is a great advantage to experience the ruins without beeing disturbed by the large tourist crowds.
The title of the photo is a reflection over the ruinous state of this head and the remains of the temple that once was the pride of Ramesses the Great and thus contradictory to the ancient egyptian belief that building in stone would last for eternity.

jpages, gabrieluriel, rage_tm, PixelTerror, aznegrao, elihesamian, Galmeida, PLD_images, Tue, Rinie_Hoff, alford, robiuk, pamastro, loupiot, travelyurt, paulartus has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

gabrieluriel (77) 2005-01-22 10:01

I simply loved it, although I´m suspicious, because I love the Ancient Egyptian culture. It´s curious, because one might think that the head belongs to one of the Ramses-Osiris statues, although it clearly doesn´t, since they are made of different materials. I really loved the note. Thanks!

rage_tm (623) 2005-01-22 10:01

Hi Christian, Good POV and exposure. I also like how framed this shot giving importance to the head statue. Am just curious why they never placed the head back in the statue? Maybe they just wanted it to be that way. thansk for sharing.

jpages (1670) 2005-01-22 10:04

Hi Christian, really to see this colossal head makes one wonder its title, How?. The composition is also great, with the head on the right bottom corner and the statues on the left side. The colours in the photo are very clear. I like the contrast of the granite with the brown of the temple and the blue of the sky (always difficult to obtain with the Egyptian sun).
It is true, to get good photos without tourists is very difficult. You were very lucky in this visit.
See you in next TE!

PixelTerror (86032) 2005-01-22 10:36

Hej Christian,
I like your composition here placing the statues on a perspective and filling the reaining space with the off-centered head, the light falls well on the scene and reveals nice stone colors, another nice shot in your egyptian series.
Jean-Yves

aznegrao (10230) 2005-01-22 12:15

Wow Christian, esse mundo que voce tem retratado me deslumbra. Esse trabalho e um verdadeiro documentario fotografico. Gosto de ver detalhes que não vejo nos livros. Excelente trabalho.
Friend.
aznegrao.

elihesamian (26091) 2005-01-22 14:23

A great informative shot,fine colors,great prespective,excellent POV and indeed very well captured,I enjoy it,Cristian,
...always this kind of historical story and shots are intresting for me,Thanks for sharing,nicely done,Cristian.
Yours
M

LaurentM (313) 2005-01-22 16:27

Very nice composition.
well done

Galmeida (12559) 2005-01-23 6:48

Thanks for your historical and useful guidelines. Great perspective and so many interesting details. Good colors, contrast and composition. Good work and thanks for sharing.

PLD_images (7141) 2005-01-23 7:28

Nice photograph Christian. I really enjoy the composition in this one. The addition of the head is really well done. Good light and good overall sharpness. Your note is very interesting also. Nicely done.

Tue (25608) 2005-01-23 8:15

Nice picture! I like the POV. Good framing too. Very well done!

Rinie_Hoff (9332) 2005-01-23 18:31

Hi Christian, you have really beautiful pictures of Egypt!Your compositon and PoV is very nice.
It reminds me of my own trip, I was there in '89, but your pictures are far better.
Good note!

alford (3897) 2005-01-24 2:55

Hi Christian! Your photos of Egypt are really wonderful - all are sharply done, with always the right amount of lighting and colors. Your notes are very informative, it's like learning Egyptian history in a classroom. Your photo here is not an exception! Very good point of view, and these structures never fail to amaze with their huge size and creative designs. Thanks for sharing. rgds.

singuanti (15240) 2005-01-24 23:43

i think the composition here with the head in the lower right and the rest of the temple on the left is just about perfect. you also have different textures and colors in the temple, which is great. well done.

robiuk (10763) 2005-01-29 20:49

Really good composition and POV, Christian.
And again, a very good light control.
Robi

pamastro (7213) 2005-01-30 22:37

Great composition, Christian. The way you captured both the head on the ground and its body and the other bodies is perfect. It also has a great feel of scale as we look up at the bodies but it's all brought down with the head. And the title is perfect. Something built to proclaim power for eternity has instead been broken. The colors are really excellent, too. Nicely done.

loupiot (3909) 2005-02-03 6:59

Bonjour Christian,
Cette tête de colosse posé sur le sol me semble très impressionnante! La composition est bien vue, avec un angle de prise de vue bien choisi. L'image est bien nette, avec une bonne profondeur de champ. La note est la bienvenue. Un excellent travail, bravo!

Maru (0) 2005-02-13 6:26

Nice low POV, Christian. I like the way you frame the shot, with the head in the foreground and the temple behind. Great sharpness and exposure.
Well done!

colinbrenchley (6130) 2005-02-14 18:00

Christia - Good image and excellent notes, your work has been valuable in preparing for my trip to Egypt and the end of the month. Thank you for posting.Colin

paulartus (824) 2005-06-12 5:59

After seeing your shot from prague I stumbled upon your egyptian photos. A place close to myself. Great picture of the Ramasseum here. The light in just the right angle. But one thing you have coped with well is the harsh light consequently the shadows produced. Here they enhance the photo rather than detract.