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Ancient Pyramid at Coba in the Mayan Jungle
Ancient Pyramid at Coba in the Mayan Jungle
EstimatedEyes


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Object Isolation by Contrast (Advanced Editing V)
Collection: Challenge Entries
Camera: Pentax K100D
Lens: Tamron AF 18-250mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II LD Aspherical (IF) for Pentax
Location: Coba, Mexico
Date: Dec 24, 2007
Aperture: f/6.7
ISO: 200
Shutter: 1/90
Galleries: Nature, History
Date Uploaded: Dec 29, 2007

 Just back from a Mexican vacation and this is the best shoehorn I have from the challenge dates.

Distant view of the old pyramid at Coba from the top of the "new" one. This is a 2000+ year old Mayan ruin, that has one of the few remaining pyramids you can climb. The pyramid I was standing on was about 42 meters high, and I was looking back at the first pyramid at the site, about 300 years older and not open to the top (crumbling away). Fascinating place and history. Coba is about 40 minutes inland from Tulum, the Mayan ruin on the coast (which is an hour and a half south of Cancun).

To me, both the pyramid and the Mayan civilization it represents are isolated by the surrounding jungle. The contrast in colors and form between the jungle and the pyramid are an obvious link to the challenge, but for me the more important contrast is between man and nature, and the isolation of civilization in the untamed jungle.

Shot with my Tamron superzoom (my vacation walkaround lens), and the original image was pretty flat, which seems to be the norm with the distant shots and or full tele shots with this lens (this one was at 85 mm). Needed a lot of work with levels, contrast, saturation, hue and curves to bring out the contrast.

Not expecting much from this shot, probably low 5s, but I miss my update button!

Statistics
Place: 176 out of 188
Avg (all users): 4.6667
Avg (commenters): 3.8571
Avg (participants): 4.6452
Avg (non-participants): 4.6818
Views since voting: 2221
Views during voting: 247
Votes: 150
Comments: 7
Favorites: 0

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AuthorThread
 Comments Made During the Challenge
Canon EOS-30D
Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM
 01/06/2008 06:23:21 PM
Without the title it would be impossible to understand what this image is about. A color cast as well.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6
 01/06/2008 05:37:07 AM
officially jealous of where you are.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Konica Minolta A2
 01/05/2008 09:01:17 PM
Unfortunately, there is not enough isolation, but I can see why you could not get any closer.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D200
Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
 01/02/2008 08:31:15 PM
Ironically this image is lacking in contrast.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D3
Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR DG IF-ED
 01/02/2008 04:22:49 PM
doesn't quite work
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark IV
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS
 12/31/2007 07:07:16 AM
well composed shot, a tad too soft. although the pyramid stands out, the color contrast could be higher
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-30D
Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
 12/31/2007 06:37:23 AM
Its hard to tell if thats texture or grain. This would have been great in the hidden city challenge.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
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