Ahu Tongiriki Photo

Photographer’s Note

The Place
Late afternoon 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.
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.

There are more explanation about Moais in this photo.

You can always check the location of my photos by clicking on the map link.

Background
This day started very early in the morning to take this sunrise. Later that day we went again to the same place and I took this photo. The clouds were giving some shadow on the mountain behind, so there is a good contrast with the main subject.
I am not sure if the lonely Moai in the foreground is original or it was set there as tourist attraction. According to the logic of positioning of the Moais, I think that this is fake (I mean the Moai itself is real, but the position is not original).

Technical
Basic PP, resize, and frame

csabee, PixelTerror, Charo, shevchenko, ktanska, Cretense, belido, Clementi, robertosalguero, adramad, pablominto, John_F_Kennedy, ciakgiak, AiresSantos, Angshu, ls7902 has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

csabee (221) 2009-07-22 9:43

Hi Jorge

Great landsape, those statues look as if they were organic parts of the scene. The lights are spectacular as well.

Csabee

ManuMay (11373) 2009-07-22 9:43

Hola Jorge!!

Muy buena foto...un bello conjunto, bella composición y un muy buen manejo de las condiciones de luz, me gusta mucho también como has compuesto la escena, dando profundidad y sentido de espacio...

Felicidades...

Que pases un buen día!!

Manuel

PixelTerror (86837) 2009-07-22 12:34

Hola Jorge
Nice view of the Rapa Nui sculptures, I always have found them fascinating, I like the compo in two plans
Have a nice day JY

Charo (31779) 2009-07-22 13:54

Hola Jorge,
Un lugar al que posiblemente nunca iré, pero que me fascina. La composición es perfecta y me gusta la sombra que cubre la colina, hace que destaquen más las estatuas del plano medio. Excelente trabajo amigo.
Un abrazo,
Charo

pauloog (6883) 2009-07-22 15:12

Hello jorge,
A fine view of the mysterious island, made special by the single statuye i nthe foreground and the row in the background. Well composed.
Regards,
Paul

emka (22285) 2009-07-22 23:33

Hi Jorge,

Splendid Ahu Tongariki. Here in this POV, without any people they may seem small. Interesting contrast of the row of moai with the dark mountains behind. I do not know about this lonely Moai either.

regards

Malgorzata

shevchenko (10072) 2009-07-23 3:15

Hello Jorge,
Good pov to show these statues near to the sea, nice morning view with long shadows, interesting composition and notes, thanks for sharing.
Ally

ktanska (16695) 2009-07-23 3:23

Hi Jorge,
Well arranged shot from a far corner of the world. The foreground staue facing other direction than others adds interest. Good contrasty light too.
Kari

Cretense (57010) 2009-07-23 5:49

Hola Jorge!

Tremenda foto, tremendo lugar, como me gustaria visitarlo! Perfecta composicion y encuadre, fantastica perspectiva y campo de profundidad! Impecable manejo de la luz, preciosos colores! Felicidades!

Un saludo,
Hercules

belido (16813) 2009-07-23 9:46

Hola Bruno,

this theme always provide such good photography opportunities. You did a great job in here. The angle was well chosen, the lighting is quite natural and the details are really good. Well done!
Abraço,
Carlos

Clementi (45179) 2009-07-23 17:21

Ciao Jorge,
spectacular image of this site rich in history, very beautiful the composition and interesting the note.
good job
Giorgio

dvlazar (6488) 2009-07-23 18:19

Very impressive - it's nice to see quality photos of those sites we know a little bit about but dont see too often, like Easter Island.

Dave

robertosalguero (110) 2009-07-23 23:50

Hola Jorge,

I often forget that La Isla de Pascua belong to Chile. Perhaps because is so far from my part of the world. This view is very nice. The details and excellent framing make this a pleasant composition. I wonder what the real story behind this island is all about. Thanks Jorge :-)

Roberto

popsick (221) 2009-07-24 1:50

composition, sharpness, the rich colours.. they all great. well done, ;)

luighi (4286) 2009-07-24 9:37

Hi Jorge ,
Perfecto quilibrio entre luces y sombras siempre dificil de conseguir y muy buen composicion .Buen trabajo.
Un cordial saludo.
Luis

adramad (3968) 2009-07-25 10:55

Hola Bruno.
Disculpa mi tardanza en contestar, pero he tenido problemas con mi conexion Internet y hasta ayer no podia contactar con TE.
Una gran composicion de este magnifico lugar, me gusta el Moais en primer plano dando profundidad al conjunto, igualmente la linea horizontal de sombra causa un buen efecto, parece que el resto de la foto gana en nitidez, gran calidad de detalles y precioso color, igualmente elegante marco.
Saludos y buen fin de semana.
Luis.

darek1978 (11491) 2009-07-25 17:04

Hi Jorge,
What a fabulous view of the famous Moais on Easter Island. The light on the silhouette is just fantastic. It is a pleasure looking at this picture. Congratulations!
Regards,
Darek

Paul57 (1667) 2009-07-28 19:52

Hi Jorge,
What a magnificent view and spectacular landscape. If I had more $$$ my wife and I would extend our trip and spend a few days on this beautiful island. You had excellent lighting and such a nice blue sky, just a few of the components needed to make this an exceptional photo. Your frame is also very eye-catching. TFS.
Regards,
Paul

pablominto (41340) 2009-07-29 3:20

Hello Jorge,

One of the more mysterious places on this globe!
Amazing sculptures with a strong symbolic value, but I guess we will have to suffice with theories concerning the ideas behind...
And I'm pretty sure the placement of the single statue was done to offer future photographers fine compositional opportunities, hehehe...!

Greetings,
Pablo -

wolf38 (13107) 2009-07-30 1:04

Hello Jorge. A wonderful motive. Very beautifully. Best technical quality. Compliment. Regards, Wolfgang.

John_F_Kennedy (31994) 2009-07-30 3:20

Hello Jorge
Great capture with lovely contrast between the sky, the sea and the dry land. Well done.
Best wishes,
Achim

ciakgiak (11230) 2009-08-02 10:40

Hello Jorge,
fantastic image of this famous site. I like a lot how you composed the scene, with the first statue on FG and the others on BG. There's a fantastic light too and magnificent natural colours.
Congratulations and TFS.
Friendly regards
Giorgio

AiresSantos (42844) 2009-08-07 0:30

Hi Jorge
Wonderfl POV and colours in this excellent picture from Easter Island
I like those statues, lovely clouds in deep blue sky and how you framed it
Best Regards
Aires

Angshu (34093) 2009-08-07 3:07

Hello Jorge
One of the first books I read when I was in High school was Thor Heyerdahl's Aku-Aku, which was based on this Island. From then on, I have always been fascinated with these Moais. Your earlier images Dark Sunrise (which was fantastic) & the Quarry quenched my thirst to see more pictures from this place. I like the two plan approach here, with the isolated statue anchoring the shot in the FG while a row of them line the BG. Fine work!
Regards
Angshu

macjake (2328) 2009-08-08 12:46

Hi
Great choice with your point of view. I've never seen this angle before with the Moai.
Nice colour and background.
Very well done!

ls7902 (6362) 2009-08-22 8:11

Hi Jorge,
Very interesting photo and story. I like how you compose and arrange the perspective. Beautiful colors and great depth of field. You have many new and high quality photos in gallery. Really impressive. Cheers and have a good weekend. Regards. Latiff.

kiks (6147) 2009-08-28 15:13

Fantactic POV you choose to get this very intersting composition. I love the position of statue at the fg. Fantastic colors also. Congratulations
KIks

boa (1400) 2009-10-12 12:05

Hi Jorge,
this is really a place of my "wish-to-visit" list. A very interesting place, with a lot to see. Excellent composition and a great note, Tfs !
Best regards.
Boa

Photo Information

Copyright: Jorge Muller (Bruno40) (6442)
Genre: Places
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2008-12-20
Categories: Nature, Ruins
Camera: Canon EOS 400D, RAW, Marumi Circular Polarizer 77mm
Exposure: f/5.6, 1/640 seconds
More Photo Info: view
Map: view
Photo Version: Original Version
Travelogue: Chile 2008
Theme(s): Archeology. Mysterious. Historical. Ancient. Old, My Top Photos [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2009-07-22 9:14
Favorites: 1 [view]