Photographed with a Pentax 645NII and FA 75mm f/2.8 lens on Provia 100F pushed to ISO 400

Incidents of Travel in YucatanWhile on a winter vacation in the Yucatan in January of 2002 I read a fascinating book titledIncidents of Travel in Yucatan, by the explorer and archeologistJohn L. Stephens. First published in 1843, this book details his explorations and discoveries in the Maya region of the Yucatan Peninsula between 1839 and 1842. His descriptions of the Mayan ruins helped stimulate interest in the archeological exploration and preservation of these sites. The book is illustrated by drawings byFrederick Catherwood.

As my wife and I visited some of these ruins, includingUxmalandOxkintoc, and as I was doing very casual photography, I couldn't help but imagine Stephens at these sites, taking hisDaguerreotype views, as he called them. This was one of the first, if notthefirst expedition on which photographs were taken, though regrettably the book does not reproduce any, and they...