Karnak Temple complex, a photo from Luxor, Inland

Photographer's Note

Visiting Karnak temple complex early in the morning.

You can see here a larger,sharper and more detailed version of the photo.

Karnak

The Karnak Temple Complex, commonly known as Karnak comprises a vast mix of decayed temples, chapels, pylons, and other buildings. Building at the complex began during the reign of Senusret I in the Middle Kingdom and continued into the Ptolemaic period, although most of the extant buildings date from the New Kingdom. The area around Karnak was the ancient Egyptian Ipet-isut ("The Most Selected of Places") and the main place of worship of the eighteenth dynasty Theban Triad with the god Amun as its head. It is part of the monumental city of Thebes. The Karnak complex gives its name to the nearby, and partly surrounded, modern village of El-Karnak, 2.5 kilometres (1.6 miles) north of Luxor.

Overview

The complex is a vast open-air museum, and the second largest ancient religious site in the world, after the Angkor Wat Temple of Cambodia. It is believed to be the second most visited historical site in Egypt; only the Giza Pyramids near Cairo receive more visits. It consists of four main parts, of which only the largest is currently open to the general public. The term Karnak often is understood as being the Precinct of Amun-Ra only, because this is the only part most visitors see. The three other parts, the Precinct of Mut, the Precinct of Montu, and the dismantled Temple of Amenhotep IV, are closed to the public. There also are a few smaller temples and sanctuaries connecting the Precinct of Mut, the Precinct of Amun-Re, and the Luxor Temple.

The Precinct of Mut is very ancient, being dedicated to an Earth and creation deity, but not yet restored. The original temple was destroyed and partially restored by Hatshepsut, although another pharaoh built around it in order to change the focus or orientation of the sacred area. Many portions of it may have been carried away for use in other buildings.

Copyright ｩ - This photograph is an intellectual property of its author,and is strictly forbidden, the reproduction,modification, or exploitation for any way,thus is protected by the Law. The use or reproduction by any way without previous written authorization of the photographer is strictly prohibited.For more please contact: [email protected]

pajaran, ikeharel, macjake, Fis2, PaulVDV, lucasgalodoido, PiotrF, ChrisJ, pierrefonds, papagolf21, alvaraalto, ourania, adramad, mcmtanyel, cornejo, claudeD, adores, Cricri has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

pajaran (115779) 2016-02-23 10:11

Dobro vece.
Lep pogled, interesantan i dobar tekst ...
Dobar rad, lepo pokazana stara arhitektura i detalji na stubovima, dobar kontrast i perspektiva, lepe boje.
Lepa arhitektura i detalji.
Prijatno vece i sve najbolje.
Paja.

Good evening.
Nice view, interesting and good text ...
Good work, beautiful old architecture shown details on the pillars, good contrast and perspective, beautiful color.
Beautiful architecture and details.
Good evening and all the best.
Paja.

macjake (98402) 2016-02-23 10:40

Hi Danos
yes, Luxor has been getting some TE love lately.
this is a city that I know very little about, and it interests me alot for sure.

despite the harsh lighting in the bg you were more than able to get excellent details on the pylons.
great to see the size/scale with the man standing in the middle too. very cool looking shot
cheers
craig

holmertz (102604) 2016-02-23 11:03

Hello Danos,
This is very nicely composed. The person gives us a good idea of the huge dimensions of these pillars. We also get a good view of the marvellous decorations on the nearest pillars, and in the distance we get a glimpse of the Egyptian scenery. Despite the strong contrasts every part is well exposed.
Kind regards,
Gert

Fis2 (170639) 2016-02-23 12:00

Witaj Danos!
A very interesting place.
Wonderful columns.
I like frame and light.
Excellent details.
Well done.
Good evening.
Krzysztof

Silvio1953 (221463) 2016-02-23 12:00

Ciao Danos, my today neighbour, great perspective on fantastic temple, fine details, excellent clarity, wonderful colors and splendid light, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

PaulVDV (62846) 2016-02-23 13:47

Hello Danos,
A clear and beautiful view of the many hieroglyphs on the columns.
This temple and its columns look so huge! Compared to that person, even compared to the tall palmtrees this temple is gigantic.
Very well composed, excellent depth, an impressive presentation.
Best regards, Paul

lousat (139170) 2016-02-23 14:06

Hi Danos,great memory from your egyptian trip,only a man inside,just to give us the exact idea of the big dimensions of columns.Perfect exposure and sharpness,i like it! Have a nice day and thanks,Luciano

carlo62 (81265) 2016-02-23 14:44

Ciao Danos
� impressionante osservare le dimensioni di queste colonne nei confronti della persona.
Bellissima foto, di grande effetto.
Saluti
Carlo

lucasgalodoido (27698) 2016-02-23 14:57

Ol� Danos,
outra bela foto desse s咜io, e aqui a presenla da mulher nos d� uma boa id駟a do tamanho das constru鋏es. Belo trabalho.
Parab駭s e Abra輟,
Lucas

emka (158030) 2016-02-23 15:03

Hello Danos,

How tiny is this figure compared to the huge columns. Nice composition with palm between them. Amazing ancient monument, difficult to believe that it could be constructed so many years ago. Impressive picture.

WArm regrads MAlgo

PiotrF (54538) 2016-02-23 16:21

Hello Danos,
Interesting shot from Karnak. Very good picture with fine details,nice composition and good sharpness.Thank you for detailed notes.
Nice work
Regards
Piotr

ChrisJ (171794) 2016-02-23 17:46

Ciao Danos,

The photographer occupies only a tiny place in the overall frame but is a key component for scale. Good sharpness and textural details in the decorated columns. Tfs!

pierrefonds (114347) 2016-02-23 18:47

Hi Danos,

The presence of the person has an effect of scale. The point of view is showing the details if this section of the Karnak temple. It is clear and precise. Have a nice day.

Pierre

shreya2000 (2815) 2016-02-23 22:22

Hi Danos,

Quite interesting image. The pillars are very strangely put over the platform. The scrip written on the pillars must have some specific information. I like the picture.

Regards,
joginder

papagolf21 (152607) 2016-02-23 23:31

Bonjour, cher ami Danos,
Cette pr駸entation est excellente, elle donne la dimension de l'ouvrage. Le personnage donne la taille des lieux.
Tr鑚 bon effet de perpective.
J'aime beaucoup.
Amiti駸.
Philippe

dkmurphys (79209) 2016-02-23 23:58

Hi Danos,
Impressive columns, a lovey shot through the big historic relics. Well done!

Daniel

alvaraalto (42804) 2016-02-24 0:42

Hello Danos,
We were lucky that there is one tourist on the picture and some palm trees at the background. It shows is the enormous size these huge columns with the fascinating hieroglyphs on it.
I like the composition with the passage in the center of the scene and the columns on both sides.
Groet Rob

jmdias (115046) 2016-02-24 0:52

danos

incredible these large columns and so numerous letting few space around. the carvings are elements I ever love to watch and these ones are marvelous. nice image.

hugs

jorge

ikeharel (113241) 2016-02-24 2:07

Kalimera Danos,
An extraordinary scale achieved with the figure standing between the giant pillars and taking photos.
Excellent light management on the variable shadows and light coming through. The inscriptions on the culumns clearly shown, evident of the ancient culture.
Bravo for this magnificent site on photo.
Ike

Sergiom (117241) 2016-02-24 5:44

Bonjour Danos,

Elles sont tr鑚 impressionnantes ces colonnes un peu ventrues mais tellement bien d馗or馥s . Elles semblent raconter une histoire. Un beau point de vue tr鑚 sym騁rique qui donne beaucoup de profondeur.

Amicalement

Serge

rychem (72187) 2016-02-24 8:14

These columns are huge! The little person among columns looks like an ant, very nice photo, very well composed
regards Ryszard

ourania (51103) 2016-02-24 9:33

Καλησπέρα Δάνο,
μια πολύ ενδιαφέρουσα και ελκυστική εικόνα, τόσο λόγω του αρχαιολογικού θέματος όσο και λόγω της αίσθησης προοπτικής και κλίμακας που δημιουργείται από τη συγκεκριμένη γωνία λήψης. Χειρίστηκες θαυμάσια τις εναλλαγές του φωτισμού και η εικόνα που μας προσφέρεις είναι ευκρινέστατη. Εξαιρετικές και πολύ ενδιαφέρουσες οι λεπτομέρεις, φυσικά και αρμονικά τα χρώματα. Συγχαρητήρια και ευχαριστώ!
Να είσαι καλά, καλό σου βράδυ,
Ουρανία

Tue (92302) 2016-02-24 14:12

Hello Danos,
These huge columns look really impressive and their size is well shown thanks to the lonely visitor in the centre of the photo. The sharpness is great and allows us to see the stone carvings clearly.
Lars

adramad (72934) 2016-02-24 16:19

Hi Danos.
An impressive for its magnificence and proportions, we can see very well, having rightly included, the person we see in the middle of the temple, palm trees in the background are a nice touch of color and lively nature.
Very nice colorful, giving much appeal to the image.
Superb management brightness, sharpness is also perfect to enjoy the details.
Very well seen and well taken.
Have a nice day.
Best wishes.
Luis.

abmdsudi (95869) 2016-02-24 17:38

Hi Danos
I can see the tiny fig which suggests the massiveness at full size of the temple structures and you sure pulled the right strings to get that. It's the contrasting proportion that does it for me. This is a marvellous take of this very special and unique place, but pic just don't seem to do this justice. Thanks for sharing this great shot, Congrats
Best wishes

eldancer1 (36343) 2016-02-25 7:21

Awesome capture of those massive columns! Good pov and dof with nice details. I'm glad you included the person for scale. Well done, tfs.

mcmtanyel (68383) 2016-02-25 19:13

Hello Danos,
I think I remember this photo from facebook. I did not look at it carefully on fb and thought this was from the jungles of Africa. I like the view of the opposite side through the columns.
Regards,
MT

cornejo (61504) 2016-02-26 3:59

Hello Danos, great picture of this interesting composition in this super-interesting place, very well captured in this interesting image with good sharpness, light, color and quality. Very good and interesting work perfectly realized, my congratulations my friend. Thanks for sharing.

Good evening and happy weekend.
Best wishes from southern Spain.
Angel.

ymrk (15099) 2016-03-01 12:07

kalispera file mou!
what an interesting architecture i've never seen before..good choice of the angle,
take care

yağmur

claudeD (47754) 2016-03-05 9:29

Hello Danos,

wonderful architecture picture from Karnak showing this amazing location in perfect sharpness and clarity. Very good and informative note.TFS.

With regards from Luxembourg

JC

adores (46979) 2016-03-07 15:51

Hi Danos!
Just magnificent, the columns are so huge and beautiful and the man there looks so small. A great composition, you captured the details really well. Just a pity the problems they are having there, it's such a great destination!

berek (50518) 2016-03-11 22:25

Dear Danos,
They are very impressive these slightly bulging columns but so well decorated. They seem to tell a story. A beautiful very balanced perspective which gives a lot of depth.
Have a nice weekend.
Burak Erek

Cricri (176) 2016-03-20 9:27

Hi Danos
Excellent le cadrage, la nettet�, le jeu de lumi鑽e, les figures sur les colonnes, la personne donne l'馗helle, un autre beau souvenir super bien pr駸enter
belle soir馥
cricri

mkamionka (74311) 2016-03-20 14:09

Hi Danos,
I have quite a similar photo in my collection. This hall with columns is quite impressive but so difficult to photograph. What I like in your composition is that we also see the trees behind, it adds a lovely exotic touch.
Presence of a person allows to imagine the scale,
Excellent work,
M