history and thoughts on the photo

The image above shows the Urubamba river. I'll start by talking a bit about the history of the place. The river is called Urubamba which stands for “plateau of spiders.” The river begins in the Andes then runs through Machu Picchu and then through the sacred valley. The Urubamba river was once considered very sacred/special to the Incas. The river was sacred to the Incas because it represents a mirror/reflection of the milky way. I decided to talk about this photo I took because I found it more beautiful than the archeological site of Machu Picchu. I'm Peruvian so I've had the chance to visit Machu Picchu more than once. Sadly the first time I went to Machu Picchu I got tunnel vision and focused mainly on the structure and lost sight of the beautiful landscape. They say Machu Picchu was built in a way that complements the mountains/environment. I know I'm not the only person that's photographed the Urubamba river but I found it was amusing because I don't recall seeing people photographing the river even though it was beautiful. I found myself more interested in the surrounding area/environment than I did in Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu is a beautiful archeological site don't get me wrong, it's just while up there you get a beautiful view of the area, and over time I've just enjoyed that more. I'm aware I'm in the minority and it probably has to do with the fact I've had the chance to visit this location twice and found myself not as interested in the structure. I'm happy I had that revelation otherwise I wouldn’t have the appreciation of the surrounding area that I do now. I remember taking this picture and being excited and thinking this is so beautiful we were on our way to see the Inca bridge but I lost quite a bit of my interest when I saw this it also had to do with the time it was and the weather, it was a cloudy day and the sun was coming down and kept peeking thru the clouds giving emphasis to the river. In my eyes, it looks like the river was trying to stay hidden which I found even more beautiful. James Thurber once said "beautiful things don't ask for attention" I believe there is no better example of this than mother nature and the beautiful environments she gives us.   

how I took this photo

At the time I was using a Fujifilm xt1 which is a 16-megapixel camera so to compensate I took multiple images with the intent to stick them together in post/Lightroom. The reason I did this is because I wanted to have the ability to print this in a large format if I needed. I started with a colored version of this image which is in the landscape section in my portfolio but over time I've come to enjoy the black and white version a lot more.