Xinaliq

Photographer's Note

When I posted this picture, I promised one day to show a general view of Xinaliq, so here it is.

Xınalıq is an ancient Caucasian village going back to the Caucasian Albanian period, high up in the mountains of Azerbaijan. It is located just west of Quba (which is two hours from Baku) in the east of the Greater Caucasus mountains that divide Russia and the South Caucasus. Xinaliq is also the highest, most remote and isolated village in Azerbaijan and among the top highest in Caucasus. Xinaliq has a population of about 2,000 people and although the people of Xinaliq mostly speak Azerbaijani they have their own unique language and are considered to be a different ethnicity.

Because of its dramatic location, spectacular scenery and relative isolation, the village is considered one of Azerbaijan's premiere destinations for hikers and adventure travellers in such travel guides as Lonely Planet.

Xinaliq is amongst the most ancient and still active places in the world, the history of Xinaliq is 5,000 years old. Before the conversion to Christianity of Caucasian Albania in the 3rd century, and Islam in the 7th century, the people of Xinaliq were followers of the prophet Zoroaster, who established Zoroastrianism. Because of the high altitude and remoteness of Xinaliq it managed to survive and withstand many invasions and therefore many historical sites in Xinaliq are still intact and are considered as holy places for Zoroastrianism. In the vicinity there are also many ancient holy caves of early humans, from one of these - facing the village - I took this picture.

ryno, daddo, Buin, feather, lilimih33, AgaA, AiresSantos, ChrisJ, Uhu, carper, papagolf21, macondo, Paul65, john_c, jonathan_hart, ribeiroantonio, jhm, Tort, anes_lc, meyerd, Wandering_Dan, zmey, narges_samandi, srgabreu, corjan3 has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

smarcell (19875) 2007-10-18 1:11

The cave is a natural frame for this picture, which gives a nice sense of depth. Very well composed.

Paolo (41216) 2007-10-18 1:23

Hi Aleksander, beautiful view from the cave, looking out to the mounts and the distant village.
good quality, exposure and beautiful view.
thanks, ciao

ryno (6302) 2007-10-18 1:56

Hi Alexander, this is a beautiful and well-executed photo. Your POV, with the dark overhanging cave almost framing the mountain, makes the whole image more striking. The alignment of the view along the valley is an additional bonus. Good light and clarity, and good note too. Regards,
Ryno

daddo (18629) 2007-10-18 3:25

Hi Alexander. Incredible place made more enchanting by your PoV. Definitely no pollution here.What a history! Very informative notes to go with this unique shot. Regards. Klaudio.

Buin (42088) 2007-10-18 4:04

Hallo Alexander!
What an impressive and interesting view! The frame by the cave's entrance works very well here. This landscape and the situation of the village truly are breathtaking. In combination with the most interesting note an excellent contribution in the sense of Trek Earth! Great!
Greetings from cool and rainy Germany!
Frank

feather (51128) 2007-10-18 4:32

The view here is spectacular and the composition with the sinuous path leading the eye all the way to the town on the ridge is very good even without the cave. By including the cave you have raised the image another notch. I'm surprised at the depth you got with f7.1 as the cave is sharp and well focused too. Well done
Kath

ktanska (21631) 2007-10-18 5:00

Hi Alexander,
Great velvet like texture on those grass covered mountains. Good direction of light that emphasizes landforms. The cave roof is good on clipping some of the featureless sky. By moving just a bit to right the roof would better follow the mountain line.
Kari

lilimih33 (9912) 2007-10-18 5:34

Hello Alexander!
Very beautiful place!
Great colours and light and very good point of view!
Good clarity!
Excellent done!
Best regards!
Lili

markstaples (15670) 2007-10-18 6:23

A nicely framed view ... good to keep the roof of the cave visible. The textures of the hills are well seen and the eye follows the little path towards the mountains in the background. Well composed for this reason.
Best wishes
Mark

gilou530 (34) 2007-10-18 10:58

salut alex
un paysage grandiose de ces montagnes arides, le cadrage est bien trouvé avec la grotte qui ferme le haut de l'image,ce village planté au milieu de ces montagnes semble bien petit
amitiés
gilbert

sebinho342 (19317) 2007-10-18 15:55

Hi Alex, don't ask me tomorrow to remember the sequence : Azerbaijan >> Guba-Khachmaz >> Quba >> Xinaliq ;)
What i can say and what i can also say you tomorrow is that this one is very good, you used what was offered to you for this compo, of course the beautiful view, but also the foreground and the arche of stone, clever shot of such a remote country ... perhaps will i never go there, but that's the majesty of TE, to know places you'll never visit.
Excellent

AgaA (2636) 2007-10-18 20:31

Hi,
I like your picture with inclusion of foreground rock. Perfect frame, beautiful view, very nicely colored mountain slopes.
Cheers,
Agnieszka

PixelTerror (0) 2007-10-19 1:27

Privet Alexander,
nice perspective with the snaking road leading to the village, beautiful landscape as it seems, I like the inclusion of the top to set the cave context.
Have a nice day,
Jean-Yves

AiresSantos (56155) 2007-10-19 2:39

Hi Xinaliq
Great view of the Xinaliq with excellent colours and depth.
I like your POV and details. Very well framed and done
TFS and have a nice weekend
Aires

leo61 (0) 2007-10-19 9:54

Hi Alexander!
A nice view out of this cave? at this fantastic landscape ,the curvy roar and the nicely situated village.The image has a good depth and I like the soft tones of the mountans in the distance.
Regards,Leo

Uhu (8347) 2007-10-19 13:48

Вот сколько на свете мест, про которые никогда и не слышал. Отличная фотография. Горы такие... Пустые и впечатление возникает, что никто тут не живет лет этак 800.

Gerrit (43745) 2007-10-19 14:19

Hi Alleksander,
great landscape and picture,Beautiful colours and excellent framing.
Regards, gerrit

jurek1951 (35765) 2007-10-20 0:36

Hi Alexander,
Very beautiful. Awesome light. Great colour and contrast. Lovely composition and POV.
Georg

carper (96) 2007-10-20 1:03

a fantastic photo out a hole Alexander,
very nice pov good lines and a good quality photo, I like the good photojob here, have anice day.
gr. jaap

papagolf21 (76973) 2007-10-20 1:26

Bonjour, mon ami Alexander,
Pas facile de trouver un moyen de mettre en valeur une photographie. Et pourtant, la preuve en est donnée ici, la façon de rendre ce paysage étonnant en lui donnant de la profondeur avec cette ouverture. Très riche idée parfaitement exploitée.
Félicitations.
Amitiés.
Philippe

ChrisJ (87654) 2007-10-20 2:20

Hi Aleksander

I like the reverse C shape, formed by the road & fg ridge. Fantastic view, with excellent use of the cave roof as a framing device. Good sharpness & colour. Have a great weekend!

macondo (17997) 2007-10-20 5:33

Hi Alexander.
I really like the viewpoint showing the winding track, the village perched on the ridge and the bare mountains behind. Perhaps the cave roof-line is not quite in synch with the mountains' outline, but the idea was a good one and the fact you managed to get some of the detail of the rock certainly adds interest to the photo, given the rather pale sky you had at that moment. It's a pleasure to see photos of this little heard-of country. I just looked at one from Bhutan, and now this!
Regards,
Andrew

john_c (24662) 2007-10-20 9:53

Hi Alexander,
What an amazing place! So remote and yet steeped in history. There is great depth in the photo, and I really like the clear view of the folds in the hills in the distance. The framing with the cave portion at the top is ideal, as one gets the feeling of viewing through a portal of time. Well captured, my friend.
John

toto (0) 2007-10-20 11:31

Belle photo de cette vue superbe sur ce point stratégique qu' est cette route. Jolie couleurs et grande netteté de votre photo.Bien vu cette roche découpée qui prend le dessus de votre photo, ce qui donne avec cette montagne du fond une très belle profondeur de champs. Amitiés Thomas

jonathan_hart (21268) 2007-10-21 3:32

hello Alexander
maybe it's the cave of Zoroastre hermitage ? interesting note and place, amazing landscape photo with a good light and very fine colours, a good POV and excellent framing, well composed, interesting, TFS
regards
jo

ribeiroantonio (22618) 2007-10-21 4:37

Wow, the top of the cave framing the view is excellent. I like the way the edge of the rock follows the line of the mountain top. The scenery is spectacular and the colours wonderful. Well done
Antonio

jhm (123116) 2007-10-21 4:45

Hello Alexander,

A wonderful through look here, the dark overhanging cave almost framing the mountain, together with the bend way between the mountains. Very well done.
Thanks for sharing.

Have a nice sunday,
John.

Tort (2266) 2007-10-21 5:21

Hi Alexander,
Wonderful landscape photo with beautiful colors light and POV. Very good work
Very interesing note too.
Best regards
Juan Tort

Fis2 (73626) 2007-10-21 8:38

Witaj Aleksander!
Beautiful place, wonderful landscape. I like the frame and composition. Good colors and light.
Regards
Krzysztof

Graal (89420) 2007-10-21 23:25

Hi Alexander,
great landscape, fantastic mountains and valley, fine composition. I like it. Good work.
Gr., Aleksander

anes_lc (14968) 2007-10-22 4:03

i did missed ths one?...i can belive :) great view,i love the natural frame ...good POV .the mountains are just perfect...wish to be there to admire
thanks share,anes

drewniany (1142) 2007-10-23 13:49

Hi Alexander
Very excellent POV! Beautifull Caucasus Mountains. I like it. Good natural frame, colours and light.
TFS
M

jrj (34841) 2007-10-24 4:52

A fun and interesting short from the inside of the cave A. Spectacular landscape on the outside with a good lead by the road into the small background village. Guess there is some pp here - well done for the final result

meyerd (1600) 2007-10-24 11:19

Hello Alexander,
what a wonderful view of Xinaliq of which I hear from you for the first time. The excellent picture and the detailed and interesting note make me want to visit this place. Thank you for sharing the pic.
Best regards,
Dietrich

Wandering_Dan (3449) 2007-11-18 11:52

A really nice shot, well framed, with great diagonals leading the eye to the main element while showing off the setting well. Good note, too. If I have any criticism, it's that you might have moved forward another inch to give just the tiniest bit more space between the overhang and the horizon.

Regards,
Dan

Tom1971 (25) 2007-11-29 11:29

Great composition, you really set that up nicely. I like the lead from the overhang to the village

zmey (7335) 2007-12-15 9:53

privet, alexander

a beautiful cave-man sight indeed. love your POV. it seems your haze controller has done its work reigning in the mid-day sun. all is crispy clear far into the scene and the view is breath-taking. good job and thanks for sharing.

question: how was it traveling in the caucaus in 2007? i mean, did you feel safe? i was there back in 1992-1993; was helping a british/canadian documentary group to shoot a film about the civil war in georgia. hope things have changed for better since then.

kind regards,
kristaps

jrodtx (6) 2008-03-07 10:20

Ah, I love it. The Caucasus at their most Caucasian. Gorgeous green mountains with windy roads/paths linking ancient villages.

kasia66 (31) 2008-03-23 5:11

I like the composition. I love mountains and I know it is not easy to make great photos there. Congratulations.
Kasia

capthaddock (28790) 2008-07-30 20:13

The austere beauty is incredible, the angle is just right, if the top of the cave was touching the mountains, it would have ruined it, great work.

LondonBoy (1294) 2008-08-09 6:28

Amazing depth.
I like the greyish-green of the far end hills particularly.

TFS
Alex

lietuvaphoto (37) 2008-09-15 14:09

Hi Alexander!
It jus beutiful picture, composition is excellent with directed lines. Goo POV! Xoroshyj snimok!

Arvydas

wojteczek (1136) 2008-11-15 11:15

awesome shot

texastony (128) 2009-01-06 7:06

your story is the same as the picture. very,very, nice.
the picture more on the perfect side

thanks texastony

npecanhuk (54207) 2009-05-05 6:55

Hello Alexander!
The picture is simply fantastic!
The vertical format was perfect for it! The pov was excellently chosen and it was very priviledged to compose this image so magnificently! All the other technical qualities are very good too!
Outstanding photo job! It pleases me a lot!
TFS - Congratulations!
Greetings from Brazil,
Neyvan

fotka (2320) 2010-01-29 11:20

Hello Alexander,
It's a lovely composed view from the cave. The rock on the top of your picture added interesting frame. The landscape is fantastic with the village located on the top and light green mountains in the background. The note is very interesting too.
TFS and best regards.
Zbigniew

corjan3 (1879) 2011-01-03 8:37

Hello Aleksander,
In one word beautiful and very informative notes. Definitely useful and excellent photo without any dead areas. Thank you for sharing.
Neels