I've been to Petra nine times and not once before have I visited it at night. I've always wanted to photograph the Treasury by the glow of candlelight. Now, ten years after my last visit, I finally had the chance to fulfill that dream.
And let me say that getting this shot wasn't easy. On an average night, Petra sees around 200-300 visitors. The month of April is high season, however, so the night we visited had a whopping 800-900 visitors! People were everywhere!
The staff began clearing everyone out towards the end of the night and we waited until the very last minute for the place to empty out. Fortunately my wife chatted up one of the staff members who gave us an extra two minutes in order to fire off a couple shots of the empty scene. Totally worth it.
Shot details: Sony a7R III, 14mm, f/3.5, 13 sec, ISO 1250
Edited in Lightroom
One of the reasons I posted this photo was because I was curious about the subjective voting criteria of the forum members. This shot is very similar to one taken by Elia Locardi, who most of us can agree is a world-class photographer. While I don't assume that my version is at the same level as Elia's, I'm intrigued by the amount of 2-star votes (i.e. needs work) that this image has received. It makes me call into question the judgement of those who are voting.
I LOVE this photo and rated it four stars. The only reason why is the people on the left bottom side. Not sure how you feel about cloning them out and having never been there I am not sure what is behind them. Is it a booth selling stuff?
I don't see a better crop than what you did and I am sure this would make for a great print but it would be a bit of work to clone that section out.
Also love the clean stars with a sky that still has some blue in it. Complements the orange rock very well.
Hey David, I took a look at Elia's photo and while I like the more saturated look of his and that he includes a bit more of the scene which minimizes the booth, Ido like your sky MUCH more and I really like how the Treasury is more upright and not leaning as much. You should be really happy (I am sure you are) this is a great shot!