Sacrificial Climb, a photo from Maan, South

Photographer's Note

The High Place of Sacrifice, known locally as Al-Madbah (the altar) is one of the more accessible of the many sacrificial places around Petra. According to my guide book it takes about 45 minutes to climb up the steps, is best visited in the morning and upon reaching the summit the visitor is rewarded with stunning views. In contrast, my visit was late in the afternoon, I don’t recall how long the climb took and I was have no memory at all of the views!! Perhaps I was just tired after having already walked for quite some hours; perhaps the lighting was not optimal or perhaps it was just less impressive than the views I had encountered from Aaron’s tomb earlier that day. Nevertheless, the ascent from the western side was wonderfully lit in the evening sun and along this stretch of the way I was very struck with the rich colours of the rock.

fabio_ts, ChrisJ, feather, capthaddock, nwoehnl has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

cessy (13647) 2005-12-07 8:46

hi Susanna, your pictures from your trip are excellent, including this one.
excellent contrast of colors, very well composed too

fabio_ts (13696) 2005-12-07 8:58

Great color, optimal POV and perfect lights for this beautiful document, ...Really well done and composed Susanna, compliments!!!

have a nice day,
Fabio.

ChrisJ (172372) 2005-12-08 4:47

Hi Susanna

I like the low pov looking up, the repetition of the steps, & the superb warm cold color opposition, between the red & blue. Congratulations!

feather (51130) 2005-12-08 5:56

Excellent POV looking up the steps. There are good light/shade contrasts with the strong light. I sympathise with your feelings; this must have been a very demanding trip.
Kath

capthaddock (28790) 2005-12-08 10:52

Hi Susanna - wonderful rosy colours, I like how the steps are blending into the rock after centuries of erosion, and excellent POV.

nwoehnl (122) 2005-12-08 16:16

A nice light for this one, Susanna, well enhancing the vivid colors and textures of this place. The framing is well made with the stairs leading the eye upwards (good to have the bush in the converging point), and the sandstone formations are vividly rendered. Interesting notes, too.

PixelTerror (0) 2005-12-09 4:01

Salut Susanna,
Tu as choisi le bon moment pour obtenir des couleurs chaudes qui contrastent bien avec le ciel, j'aime bien aussi le PoV qui oppose la diagonale montante de l'escalier a la diagonale descendante de la falaise. Il ne manque plus que le Genie de la Lampe qui va te donner tes trois voeux ;-))
Bonne journee,
Jean-Yves

jbweasle (9393) 2005-12-16 5:05

Hi Susanna, you have a lovely rich colour and good detail in these rocks. The perspective you have here really does make this look like a steep climb.