Lost Inca Outpost Zoom In @ National Geographic Magazine

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

Lost Inca Outpost

<< Back to Feature Page

View exclusive photographs and get the facts behind the frame.

Click to ZOOM IN >>

Mountain High
Photograph by Gordon Wiltsie

As a full moon gleams over the fog-wrapped 12,746-foot (3,885-meter) summit of Cerro Victoria, a camper shares the mountaintop plateau with remnants of another civilization and another time. The Inca—or perhaps an even earlier culture—built a ceremonial platform here, as close to the heavens as they could reach.

Camera: Nikon F100
Film Type: Ektachrome 200
Lens: 20mm
Speed and F-Stop: 1/30 @ f/4

Weather Conditions: Pleasant
Time of Day: Night
Lighting Techniques: Flashes and available light
Special Equipment or Comments: I placed the camera on a tripod for a 30-second exposure with multiple low-level electronic flashes and natural light from the moon, stars, and candles. I tripped the shutter with one flash for an initial exposure then ran around behind the tent and lit the sides of the tent using another flash unit.