Dark Sunrise Photo

Photographer’s Note

The Place
A cloudy sunrise in Rapa Nui (a.k.a. Easter Island or Isla de Pascua) . This is the Ahu Tongiriki , on the east side of the island.
On Easter Sunday 1722, Easter Island's 1400 years of isolation ended when three Dutch ships under the command of Jacob Roggeveen sighted the island. The probably encounter people like this man.
After the Dutch, the Spanish under Don Felipe Gonzalez de Haedo were the next to arrive, in 1770. Captain James Cook stopped briefly in 1774, during his second voyage to the South Seas.
They found most of the Moais toppled, as shown here, due to the internal wars between clans. But the damage brought by those wars pale in comparison to the catastrophic effects of their discovery by the western world on the island society.
You can always check the location of my photos by clicking on the map link.

Background
I woke up when still dark in Hanga Roa. My wife told me not to bother her, and I drove alone to this site, on the opposite side of the island. There were no body else in the road, not even horses. At the site I found another two people also taking photos, but since they did not have a tripod they were putting the camera on top of a toppled moai!! (it is strictly prohibited to touch a moai or climb an ahu (platform where the moais are standing)). I gave them a funny face and they understood the message.
I planned this photo for months, and just this day had to be completely overcast. I was very disappointed, it was black, fully cloudy…. I decided to call the shooting off, packed my gear, fold the tripod and walked to the car…. then, I noticed a small, very small opening of clouds just in the horizon… I rushed back, set the tripod and camera again, and shoot as it was. This is the result, almost a “point & shoot” photo.

Technical
Just resize, but I cropped to have a panorama format. The 2:3 frame is here. Which one do you like more?

sabyasachi1212, argycon, Wanda1, maximage, avene, Cretense, BennyV, worldcitizen, feather, alainh, belido, Floydian, happypoppeye, mafegan has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

fkk (1806) 2009-03-09 8:04

hi muller...
woow very nice photo and capture

catman

andante (7092) 2009-03-09 8:10

This is one of the places that I want to see before I die. An amazing photo to document the mystery that surrounds the famous statues on the island. Two thumbs up from the Andante.
TFS

sabyasachi1212 (19546) 2009-03-09 8:12

Hi Jorge,
Patience is always rewarded and yours surley did. Excellent silhouette. I love the panoramic crop.
With Greetings from India
Sabyasachi

bracasha75 (22125) 2009-03-09 8:33

Helo Jorge
Place where i could speend many ,many time and very misterious statues on easter islands
TFS
Cheers,Braca

lolly172 (57) 2009-03-09 8:42

Magical photo... looks like a dream

argycon (2749) 2009-03-09 8:53

Hi Jorge,
Amazing sunrise capture with the moai shilouettes.
It, really, was worth the effort!!
Superb composition!
tfs
Kostas

ingvar (546) 2009-03-09 10:25

Sembrano i 15 difensori che osservono il tramonto fantastico!

Molto ben fatto Jorge!

Buone cose!

I.S.

Wanda1 (10957) 2009-03-09 10:25

Hi Jorge,
It's lucky that you saw that break in the clouds, and it produced this lovely shot with that light just coming over the horizon and casting the row of statues into silhouettes. This must be such a magical place, and you captured a nice atmosphere.
Regards
Wanda

maximage (13392) 2009-03-09 10:33

Bonjour Jorge,
Une composition très artistique et bien construite.
Bien vu et bien capturé.
Excellent travail photographique, j'aime beaucoup.
Amitiés.
max

emka (21506) 2009-03-09 11:01

Hi Jorge,

Sunrise at Ahu Tongariki - my second photo on TE was something like this and you wrote me that it was Valparaiso region. I do not think you remember this. When we went there, there were some people already and it seemed quite bright although with no Sun. Some people wanted to return to Hanga Roa as it seemed they missed the sunrise. I told them to wait. And indeed - some minutes later the wonderful spectacle began. I was so happy - I was dreaming to see it forty years!

Thanks for sharing, regards

Malgorzata

avene (11014) 2009-03-09 18:12

hi Jorge,
I cannot decide which version I prefer, panorama format or the one in the WS. the panorama certainly emphasises the horizontal lines and repetitive shapes of the moai, but at the same time WS offers more sky that I like a lot, I find that, in turn, emphasises the minimalism of the scene. in any case - lucky you :) the damatic sky works really well with the golden sun. Rapa Nui has always been my dream destination, now it is even more so :)

best,
Kristine

jimkilgallon (0) 2009-03-09 21:35

Hi Bruno
You have not disappointed with this shot. Fine POV ad composition, the dark mood really helps this image. Fine note to accompany this image.
Regards
Jim

Cretense (56192) 2009-03-10 1:18

Hola Jorge!

Aunque he visto muchas fotos de las Islas de Pascua, esa no se parece a ninguna otra, es unica, muy original, muy creativa, muy atmosferica! Gran composicion y encuadre, impresionante manejo de la luz, fantasticos colores y gran grafismo! Felicidades!

Un saludo,
Hercules

BennyV (4721) 2009-03-10 6:13

An impressive scene, Jorge. Magical, with just the right exposure and crop (I prefer this one to the WS). Excellent image, brilliant timing.

Benny

Angshu (33665) 2009-03-11 22:39

Hello Jorge
Superb silhouette of these Moais, with the sun behind them. Difficult to choose between this version & the 2:3 frame, maybe I would prefer the later because of more sky. But both versions are awesome!
Regards
Angshu

worldcitizen (2257) 2009-03-13 16:38

Hello Jorge,
Your determination paid off! The silhouettes of these Moais with a ray of sun shining through is beautiful and mysterious. I like your framing. For me, the horizontal frame compliments the line of statues very well.

dvlazar (6486) 2009-03-14 15:47

Great shot of these statues - the wide angle works great. The sun rise idea was a great one- and yes its interesting how light and clouds can change unpredictably. Glad you got it!
Dave

feather (49860) 2009-03-15 15:21

What a good job you turned round when you got to the car. Far from hampering the photo the dark clouds are a bonus, although only because of the narrow gap through which we can see the sun arriving. I agree with you that the crop is better.
Kath

alainh (35369) 2009-03-15 22:09

hello Jorge
one of the most mystétious and mystic place of our earth !!
the good timing for the picture.
a nice work
friendly
alain

pastadog (12821) 2009-03-18 1:08

You are right, Jorge, this tiny strip with the sunlight just getting in, under that big dark cloud gives a fantastic background to the famous statues. I saw many photos of this site, but yours is unusual, refreshing and fascinating, congratulations, Daniel

wolf38 (12823) 2009-03-19 0:28

Hello Jorge. A world-famous motive. You photographed it in impressive and professional way. Very beautifully, - and worth seeing. Best regards, Wolfgang.

belido (16499) 2009-03-21 7:00

Hola Bruno,

this is a magnificent and mysterious artwork. You have chosen the right moment with the sunrise and silhouettes, the dark clouds and the panorama format. To my theme!
Regards,
Carlos

aristo (1565) 2009-03-21 9:03

Hello Jorge!
Fantastic place and great shot!Amazing sky and misterious statues make a superb mood on your photo.
Great job!
Regards,
arek

TopGeo (21811) 2009-03-21 12:37

Hi Jorge,Amazing sunrise capture with the silhouettes Easter Island or Isla de Pascua.Fine POV and composition Amazing sky and mysterious statues Excellent point. Nice work well done
Georgios

AlvaroEsp (36) 2009-03-22 18:58

Si hay un buen consejo que puedo darte, sin ser pro ni nada, es nunca abandonar la escena, porque las sorpresas pueden presentarse en el ultimo momento!!!

Creo que el contraluz le viene muy bien a la fotografía, las siluetas resaltan con mucha fuerza, el formato panorama le va a la medida...

Me gusta también la idea de levantarse temprano solo a fotografiar... valió la pena

Saludos

Álvaro

meltemi (9746) 2009-03-30 1:55

Hello Jorge,
a beautiful impression in this photo, with the group of statues standing in the sunrise. Very nice color setting with the limited yet vivid early-morning tones, and good composition with the nice cloudy sky which adds an interesting and slightly mysterious aspect. Nice photo.
All the best.
Stella

Floydian (30970) 2009-04-16 12:06

Jorge...!!!

There they stand, in line, waiting for another day...what a great site, what a great place to be. I never knew you've been here, but of course from Santiago it isn't that far anymore. A great shot, maybe even better when using just a 20% of hdr technique to bring some more colour on top, but also this one works pretty good. I would love to go there and trying to make something like this...it sure would sell.
Great work...i like it a lot....respect..!!!

Regards,

Henk

zumoduvas (1974) 2009-04-24 12:56

Hola Jorge.

Excelente toma al ponerse el sol formateando las famosas siluetas de la isla.

Saludos.
Jose Luis.

happypoppeye (4060) 2009-04-27 19:54

Nice shot. Love the crop with the sun peeping out from in between the Maois. Honestly, a really good looking photo overall. Good silhouette's, a sunrise shot and an interesting subject
Great work
...ps - sh*t, I'll send you an email (I suck at emailing), but some nice shots in there (if you know what I mean). How many do you have???!!!

jonathan_hart (22576) 2009-05-08 13:49

this mood is amazing, great dark cloud against sunrise
you were at the right moment at the right place
jc

ilvao (2248) 2009-05-15 3:57

Ola Jorge,
a great idea to include the sunrise all together with the statue
they face the sun to get vitamins :-) to resist western invasion
all the best - olivier

Paul57 (1635) 2009-07-13 9:59

Hi Jorge,
Excellent POV and very good use of the sunrise.
Another place that has always fascinated me.
Regards,
Paul

mafegan (4197) 2009-08-06 17:32

Hello Jorge
A spectacular sunrise photo captured at just the right moment. The dark clouds above enhance this brilliant photo. Cropping works well. Tfs, Marlene