11
Sep
2009
Egyptian Dreams
I had hinted on my facebook fan page that I was going to self publish a book of my photos from Egypt. And after a bit of a learning curve, it’s ready to see the light of day!
It’s an opportunity for those of you who don’t have enough wall space to devote to all my photos from that lovely country to own them and enjoy them.
Egyptian dreams
Scenes from Across the country of modern Egypt, from the pyramids (the only surviving one of the seven wonders of the world) to the Red Sea, an exploration of the amazing beauty of Egypt’s past and present.
That’s the cover of the book, Egyptian Dreams – following the links to it will give you a chance to preview some of the interior of the book as well as front and back covers. I’m really happy with how it turned out.
Let me take the opportunity to say how entirely responsive the support people at Blurb were throughout the process. That along with feedback from others I know who have worked with them is why I’m confident enough to print my book through them. And the copy I have looks brilliant to me!
Still, if any customer has an issue with the quality of their book, please let me know the details as well.
All the details of the book can be found here – if you have any questions, please let me know!
23
Aug
2009
Red Sea Camp
An amazing part of our trip was two days relaxing on the Red Sea at the Sawa Camp near Nuweiba.
Sinai Sunrise
We literally stayed in straw huts a few steps from the waters. Here you can see an early morning shot of the beach and huts with a mountain range as a backdrop. After over a week of being on the move, this was a great place to just relax. Some in the group went scuba diving and their was a wealth of options like that, but this was my chill place. Just looking at this photos puts me back into that same state relaxed state of mind. Check out the clouds streaking the sky with pinks and blues!
Red Sea Sunset
And this is a colorful photo of the sunset. The mountains you can just see silhouetted on the left side of the photo is Saudi Arabia. This was taken with a neutral density lens so that it was a long exposure – this is what creates that soft feel to the water and really gave the camera time to soak up some of that rich color. If it looks like paradise, it’s because it was the next thing to it. Amazing stark contrast, though, a beach location and yet so dry. There’s very little rainfall and the water to this little community on the beach has to be brought in by truck. Still worth it for a view like this…
For more of my photo prints from Egypt, please check out my Egypt gallery.
20
Aug
2009
Saint Catherine’s Monastery
There was one part of the journey that I felt I only walked away with one shot I really liked. I’ll explain that in a minute, but first, that one shot.
Side By Side
This photo was taken outside the walls of Saint Catherine’s Monastery on the Sinai Peninsula. Inside the walls is a bush revered to be the original burning bush from biblical history. It’s also the site of the oldest working Christian monastery in the world, founded in the 6th century by Helena, mother of Constantine I. It’s also a place where Muslims and Christians exist side by side. Within the grounds of Saint Catherine’s is both a church and a mosque. It’s a place of incredible and rugged beauty as you can tell from this black and white photo.
It’s also the base of Mount Sinai, and the starting point for many for the 3,750 steps of penitence. When you climb this route, you are supposed to be following in the footsteps of Moses. And that most of my group did. Frankly, I probably should not have. I was in no shape for such a climb, but I went anyway, just arriving at the top as the last of the sunset finished. And just in time to turn back around! It was an incredible trek and I’m very proud to have completed it, but I’ve done my penitence and if I was ever near Mount Sinai again, I would take the camel route up if I went up at all!
For more prints of Egypt, please check out my Egypt Gallery.
18
Aug
2009
Karnak Temple Prints
Columns of Karnak
Karnak Temple was the last of the ancient temple ruins we visited on our tour of Egypt. It was definitely the largest complex we visited, although I’d be torn to pick a best. We were told that the Nile had flooded these temples and knocked down most of the columns and walls. What we see today is the result of close to a 100 years of restoration (and correct me if I’m wrong, principally French assisted). But righting these columns and walls has also given a lot of insight into what the construction process on these ancient temples was like. This column, for instance is one of 134 eighty foot columns that once supported the roof of the Great Hypostyle Hall in the precinct of Amun-Re. If you look closely, you can see it’s not all one piece, but made up of many disks. It’s believed that the ancients laid a row of these disks, built up the earth around it, added another and repeated this process until the reached the top. After which, they cleared the earthen mound that had formed to reveal the completed columns. Of course, knowing the “secret” to the construction doesn’t diminish the grandeur of this old temple!
Obelisk of Hatshepsut
This photo was taken from within a small temple looking out the doorway at a lovely obelisk and the reconstructed rubble around it. There’s something about the dark shadows and the stark divisions between that and the golden light that really called to me. The Obelisk itself is historic, in honor of an ancient female pharaoh of Egypt. Hatshepsut represented something of a golden moment in the history but was also perhaps embarrassing to later male pharaohs. There’s evidence of an attempt to literally erase her from the physical record but it wasn’t a thorough attempt and there were objects that survived to tell us her story today.
Lost Guardians
These rams were the apparent victims of changing fashions. It’s believed the once lined an avenue, possibly between Karnak and Thebes. They were found buried away within the ruins of Karnak, socked away and disused. Goes to show that people have always been fashion conscious. As much work as apparently went into these statues, their time too came. This is why they are in such good shape today! It didn’t hurt that they and the wall behind them were being bathed in such pretty morning light when we saw them!
Hollow
One final detail shot from Karnak, this wonderful bit of statuary an an ancient Pharaoh. I’m fairly certain we were told this was likely Ramses II. I also know that we were told that many of the statues of the Pharaohs were re-used. In a generation or two, the cartouche of the previous pharaoh would be wiped away and replaced with a new one. Sometimes archaeologists are able to discover who it was originally carved for through examination. Other times the best we can tell is the last pharaoh to be honored with a given statue. This one has obviously been damaged. Even so, enough details survive to impress us with the work of the ancient Egyptian sculptor.
For more prints from Egypt, please check out my Egypt Gallery.
16
Aug
2009
Luxor Temple Ruins
Luxor Ruins
Our first afternoon in Luxor, we wandered along the Corniche – the riverside walkway along the Nile (apparently used in Egypt but borrowed from the French). Our guide was pointing out things we could do, amongst which was the temple ruins at Luxor. We managed to come by just as the late afternoon sun was casting a warm glow over them. They look quite atmospheric, but they are not amongst the best ruins to visit. We were told we’d pretty much seen what there was to see but could visit. I’m not sure any of our group did visit, but I know this was as close as I got. I was satisfied with these wonderful shots of these ruins.
Luxor Temple
This is another perspective on the ruins – here you can see a distinctive New Kingdom temple with an obelisk. The temple ruins at Luxor was once the site of ancient Thebes and were dedicated to what was know as the Thebian Triad – the three gods popular in Thebes – Amun, Mut, and Chons. The temple was founded around 1400 BC. This shot catches a vibrant blue and gold sky with just a hint of the warm passing light casting on the stones.
For more temple ruins and prints from Egypt, please check out my Egypt Gallery.
