Stanley Cheong  

Eight Corners Village (Bajiao Village) by Stanley Cheong

May 2025 - Eight Corners Village (Bajiao Village)

About the Image(s)

Eight Corners Village (Bajiao Village) is one of China’s famous“Danxia landform”scenic areas, located in Hunan Province.

The name Eight Corners Village comes from its mountaintop, which features eight distinct ridges. Standing at 818 meters above sea level, the summit offers breathtaking panoramic views of the surrounding peaks. When shrouded in mist, the landscape resembles a fairy-tale wonderland, making it a paradise for photographers.

Eight Corners Village is renowned for its spectacular Danxia peaks, sheer cliffs, and unique crimson-red rock formations, making it an ideal destination for travelers who love geological wonders and outdoor hiking.

On that day of the shooting, I started at 4 a.m. from the ground to the top of the mountain, after nearly two hours, I climbed more than 1,800 stone steps, to capture such a fairyland-like scene, although It's a bit hard, it feels very worthwhile.

This Photo merged by 4 images with overlapping fields of view that are taken consecutively (panoramas).

Shoot data :
Camara : Nikon D4s
Lens : Nikkor AFS 24-70mm F2.8 VR @70mm
Aperture : F11
Shutter speed : 1/125s
White balance : Auto

4 comments posted

Piers Blackett   Piers Blackett
Very nice piece of art with some flow from left to right and a full tonal spectrum including the deep black in the hill on the right. However, you could consider this hill as being too incongruous, and therefore backing off on the black slightly.   Posted: 05/03/2025 14:45:00
Stanley Cheong   Stanley Cheong
Piers, thank you very much for your comment, the hill on the right is darker because it is closest to the camara, not covered by too many clouds.   Posted: 05/04/2025 12:48:37
Jim Wulpi   Jim Wulpi
Stanley, This is an image after my own heart. I have a background in Geology and these types of landforms are fascinating to me. I did a quick google-infused learning about this area and saw that the rocks/mountains are actually very colorful due to the variety of sedimentary rock layers coupled with great forces within the earth forcing layers into contorted shapes, followed by weathering and erosion over millions of years. I included a generic color image of the same area.
I like the moodiness of the BW image. The fog is the primary reason why this works so well. My only suggestion would be to brighten the mass in the lower right corner in order to lend more scale and depth to the scene. As presented, that dark mass is lifeless and does not add anything to the story of the aged mountains.
I would also like to see the original color version.
Well done. (Also, I'm jealous of you and being able to get to this area.)   Posted: 05/04/2025 16:08:56
Comment Image
Karen Botvin   Karen Botvin
Stanley, I think this is a great image and another lesson in China's diversity. The right dark corner does not bother me, but since others have mentioned it, perhaps darken the lower left just a bit to provide more balance. Just a thought!   Posted: 05/08/2025 11:42:39

 

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