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Dive Sites - Atlantis Print

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We only wanted to build a small temple in a niche in the rocks - but once you start thinking about it...
Looking at the temple you can still recognise how the idea kept growing. At the start of construction the only issue was working out the simplest way to build 5m pillars. We decided to make concrete tubes, hoping that algae growth would camouflage the ugly finish. This will eventually happen, but in the meanwhile the tubes are still recognisable as such. Nevertheless, this hardly lessens the temple's attraction as a dive site. We simulated a 'large temple partially buried by an avalanche of rocks' situation. Only the front 10m are in good condition while the back part merges into the slope of scree that was created by the avalanche. Single boulders broke through the roof and rolled to the front side of the temple.

Camera position: Inside the temple, at an angle behind the Pharaoh.
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Have fun exploring the scuba park which at this point was still dry.


The approximately 300m² temple lies at the end of a canyon.
A much larger than life sized pharaoh sits in front of the construction.
Diving in the 5m high hall of pillars is a fascinating experience.

The light shining through the holes in the ceiling always makes for fascinating effects...
...whose unreal beauty is magical.
While filling we captured this atmosphere through careful lighting.

The pillars cover the terraced slope.
They were made with concrete tubes...
...and reach a height of 5m

We used over 1km of beams...
...to board up the roof...
...and concrete the surface.

We engraved ancient glyphs into the boards that covered the front of the roof...
...that came out as reliefs after the boarding was removed.
The unusual construction site attracted thousands of visitors.

The pharaoh was molded as a hollow mould in a sand bed.
Depending of how you look at this photo, it creates an impressive optical illusion.
The mold is filled with special concrete.

An exciting moment: The pharaoh rises from his mold.
He would have been 6m tall upright. Therefore he was created in two parts.
The pharaoh is surrounded by several other statues.

The dead Pharaoh's 'brain bearers', for whom we made a memorial here, came out especially well.
Judging by the length of the arms, someone stood model here who had carried a few stones too many...
The two bears didn't come out with much detail and were relegated to the corner.

But the whole construction does have its effect. Temples look best at night.
When the interplay between light and shadow changes the proportions...
...the statues become three-dimensional players in the scene.

These light effects are also experienced by the divers who meet the pharaoh...
...or drift through the beams of light and shadow in the temple hall.
We enjoyed these photo nights until the water inundated the temple...