Petra by CandleLight Enrico Pescantini

This is the comment of the Jury:

Enrico Pescantini’s image ‘Petra by candlelight’ (Jordan) also caught our judge’s eye. Adam described it as ‘a monumental composition taken at night, demonstrating the skill of a photographer able to capture a spectacle of light, at a location that showcases human skill more than 2,000 years ago, while also showing us the stars.’

Adam Stanford of Aerial-Cam, and Simon Butler from Hidden History Travel & Archaeology, who sponsored the competition, with the photos at CA Live! 2019

“Petra by Candlelight” has been shot with Sony A7R and lens Tokina Firin f2, 30″, F/3.2, ISO 800.

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Accommodation options are a lot, from any budget. Personally I suggest you Lacosta Hotel: quite cheap (around 70 euros a night), very modern, new and clean, and with a very nice staff. Only downside they don’t have a private parking, but plenty of public one outside. Since you are there, one of the best restaurant I’ve tried in Jordan is 10 minutes away from there, a local restaurant with amazing Jordan dishes, a nice outside courtyard and great prices, Syrian Palace Restaurant.

Now, the best snorkeling spot is in South Beach, located south of Aqaba, and easily reached with 15 minutes of driving. You just get there, park your car along the road, and get to the beach. Super super easy.

Once you are in the Red Sea, the snorkeling experience is amazing, both for the variety of fishes and for the underwater landscape, also called Japanese Gardens

So, honestly, how was it? Well, it is good but not actually the best I have tried. It was definitely better at Seychelles (see here)

The worst part honestly is the plastic and pollution both in the beach and in the water. The beach is very dirty (I mean, for European standards) and also in the sea there is plastic and stuff. Quite a disappointment.

For these photos I have tested a new underwater equipment: I have switched from GoPro Hero 6 Black to combination of camera and underwater case.

After tons of research, I have tested the Sony a6000 with the kit lens 16-50mm, combined with a Meikon SeaFrogs underwater case. The choice of the Sony was for the APS sensor, while the Meikon is a very good quality case for a very cheap price. Ideal for snorkeling!

In my opinion, the quality of the photos is sensibly better than the GoPro Hero 6 Black, while the downside is that underwater you get shaky photos for anything shots less than 1/300 shutter speed. So fewer shots than the GoPro went right, but the few ones that did are of a very good quality.

Next test will be of my main camera, Sony A7R, with another Meikon case. It’s time to go big!

Sony a6000 Meikon SeaFrogs underwater case

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Actually, when I was there at the beginning of November 2018 (3 weeks ago) I saw a huge movie set (locked out by police) that locals told me to be of the latest Star Wars movie. That is also the reason why we couldn’t do the hot air balloons over the desert, an activity that was suspended during the shootings.

Wadi Rum is located 1 hour from Petra, and you can easily drive to the Visitor Center, where most of the activities starts. But if you want to spend the night there, there is this amazing and magical place called Wadi Rum Night Luxury Camp, where special inflated balloon tents let you sleep under a transparent roof.

The inflated bubbles are very comfortable and cozy, and the view, well, it is simply breathtaking. You have an outside patio – relax area, an entrance with a double door (to avoid the lost of pressure of the bubble), a main bubble with a comfy huge bed and a small bubble with the bathroom (toilet and shower). Personally, the ideal combination of comfort and immersion in the nature.

There around 10 bubbles in the front, and other regular tent-rooms close to the mountain behind.

The shot above was taken from the small peak next to the camp, where you can easily climb up and enjoy the view of the whole camp and the desert around.

And if you thought the view to be amazing during the day, well, wait until dark to see the miracle happening.

Almost zero light pollution (but if I have to say not as dark sky as Namibia) make this place perfect for star gazing, especially after 10pm, where ALL the lights of the camp are turned off.

You can easily walk and explore the surrounding area, both at day and night, to watch the stars in the absolute silence of the desert.

And here the night timelapse I took during that beautiful night!

As always, as everywhere, I pay for all my trips, so no sponsored content here.

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