I was excited to hear this morning that Flickr introduced geotagging functionality (especially since geotagging is something I have recently become interested in) and was eager to begin locating and tagging some of my pictures. My first choice was one of my most recent and personal favorites ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äú Good Morning Machu Picchu. Not only is this the quintessential shot of the archeological site but it is one of the few photographs of mine where the location is actually recognizable and hasn?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t been abstracted away. I was able to locate Cuzco easily enough on the map, however, labels and landmarks of the surrounding area were few and far between. I dug out my Lonely Planet and between the guidebook maps and satellite imagery I was able to follow the river from Urubamba up towards the general area of Machu Picchu. I got lost in the many mountain valleys and was about to give up on pinpointing the location when I faintly saw the switchback-scared mountainside of Machu Picchu staring back at me. On the one hand I was relived to have found the exact location but on the other hand I was slightly disturbed at how we managed to scar the landscape in such a way that a bus route can be seen from a satellite. Machu Picchu is a fine example of building in harmony with the surrounding environment, yet this road seemed to be a glaring example of how modern society is completely out of sync. We can send satellites into orbit to take pictures of our landscape and landmarks, but we can?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t build a road that preserves the design integrity of an ancient site. Although I marvel at the ability to locate Machu Pichu on a satellite map, I just wish there was an easier and less obtrusive way to see the site, both from the ground and from above. The Incas designed their cities in the shapes of animals to be seen from above, but something tells me that this isn’t exactly what they had in mind. Machu Picchu was designed in the shape of a condor but now all that can be seen from above is a zig zagged bus route.
The strange thing is that you wouldn’t have seen the intrusion without modern technology. Worse, without transport it would have been unlikely that you would have visited this site. Technology has advantages and drawbacks. You could say technology is neutral, since it can be applied in bad and good ways, but that is not completely true. If technology is available, it will probably be used. Human nature dictates that we often use it not in the most advantaguous way. Anyhow I am glad that you apply that kind of technology that most often is called photography.
Johan
A short while ago a headline came out about how an Italian man discovered some Roman ruins near his home while looking at Google Earth - he saw irregularities in the ground that looked man-made, notified an archeologist, and they excavated and found these ruins that had previously been untouched. The Great Wall of China I suppose is the most famous example of a man-man structure that is visible from space, but now we have Flickr Geotagging and Google Earth, virtually anything and everything is visible from space. I find it incredibly addictive to zoom in and see shapes from above, and certainly the beauty of the Inca terraces is that they look like they belong there - but I suppose they have the advantage of having aged and weathered, which seems to do virtually any man-made structure justice.
Flying over Iran last year, I saw Tabriz from 35000 feet - the lights of the city were spread out in the night like an organism of some kind, a Mandelbrot diagram, or an alien from a James Cameron movie. It tells me that man-made structures can be beautiful, and sympathetic to the environment, but they need to evolve over time. The road to Machu Picchu is undeniably ugly - for me it is an example of poor management, the rush to make places accessible to people without considering the environmental impact, without the sense, or at least the impression, of a natural evolution. Similar examples are legion - there is a road leading to a car park right in the middle of Tiger Leaping Gorge in China, literally next to the rock the tiger apparently leapt to, just so chain-smoking Chinese can stumble out of the bus, take a picture, and get back to Lijiang in time for tea!
Hi Amy,
I’d like to use one of your photos from flickr (ivy growing on a stone wall) for the background of a Powerpoint slide. Purely non-commercial purposes… My church is doing a 2 month series on personal/spiritual growth… Could I have your permission to use it? I won’t use it without your permission.
Jeremy
@johanbl: Thanks for you comment. I agree that technology can be applied to do both good and evil and that the problem isn’t so much with technology but with human nature and our current set of values. I guess I just wished that our culture valued the environment, and living in harmony with it, a bit more.
@Nathan: That’s a really interesting story about the discovery of the Roman Ruins and the view of Tabriz sounds amazing! I agree with you that man made structures can be beautiful when seen from above I just wish the roads to get there didn’t have to be so obvious. I find it facinating that we can now see the earth from above, and in such great detail, and perhaps this new perspective will help society reconsider the environmental impact our creations have.
@jeremy: You are welcome to use the ivy picture and thanks very much for asking! Good luck with the presentation.
Hi Amy, I’ve been looking at your pictures of Peru, which are incredible! I am doing the Inca Trail myself this year - the trip of a lifetime for me - and am compiling pictures of the sights.
Would it be possible to have copies of some of your pictures for my album? This would be for single use only, and for the private viewing of myself and family - absolutely no circulating/copying. I would be happy to pay a nominal fee if this would help.
Look forward to hearing from you.
Regards, Helen (UK)
Hi Helen,
Thanks for checking out my Peru pictures - I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful time hiking the Inca Trail.
Please send me the names or links to the images you are interested in and what size you would like them in and I will be able to prepare a quote back to you. My email address is: amy[at]amyallcock.com.