Pichasca Natural Monument
I recently had the opportunity to take nighttime photographs at the Pichasca Natural Monument located in our valley. This visit required special permission from local authorities, as the park is usually closed after dark to protect its nocturnal wildlife.
With its discoveries of petrified logs and fossilized dinosaur remains, the monument offers a captivating glimpse into Chile’s prehistoric past. To help visitors visualize the ancient inhabitants of this land, a life-sized model of a titanosaurus—one of the species found here—stands prominently within the park. It was this model that inspired me to try my hand at some light painting.
Another highlight of the site is a cave that 10,000 years ago served as a shelter for indigenous people who passed through this valley on their way to the ocean. A statue of a kneeling Indio has been placed inside the cave to illustrate this part of history. In my photographs, I tried to create a visual connection between the figure in the cave and the night sky outside. That was quite tricky because from within the cave only a narrow slice of sky was visible, and when shot from outside, the statue appeared small and distant. Balancing these perspectives—along with the dramatically diverging exposure times—posed a rather complex artistic challenge.
