Nonesuch Silver Prints 1963 Early black and white photographs of the Nasca lines, Peru lines, Peru

1963 Nasca (Nazca) geoglyphs, Peru desert. The desert surface is covered by a layer of dark stones lying on top of fine yellow sediment left by an ancient alluvial deposit. The markings were made by simply moving the stones to one side as on a giant scraper board. In places the surface is so fragile that even footsteps show.

This clearing is 580 metres long and roughly 25kms almost due west of Nasca town. The Ingenio valley can be seen at the top right, and towards the bottom of the picture straight lines lead to more straight lines in the Andean foothills. Even today this is one of the least damaged geoglyphs. Another image also called a pelican is on the left of the clearing. The lace-like markings are part of an alluvial fan. Please note this picture was taken with the camera upside down.

Camera: MPP Microflex Twin Lens Reflex with F3.5 77.5mm Taylor Taylor Hobson lens. Film Kodak Verichrome Pan at F5.6 - 1/300 second with a 3 x orange filter (Actina) to increase the contrast between the stones and the yellow sediment. Developed by hand in Lima using Kodak Microdol at normal dilution.