Jackals and an Owl Among the Ruins of Babylon

Prompt

Isaiah 13: And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah... But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there. The ruins of great Babylon lie desolate under a burning sunset sky: a toppled blue-glazed gateway with fallen brick lions and broken walls half buried in sand. A pair of jackals stand large in the foreground among the rubble, an owl perches on a broken column, and ostriches wander through the empty streets. No people. Glowing orange and gold light, vast silence. Style: a blend of photo-realism and cinema, like a still from a big-budget film. Bright, rich, saturated, luminous colour, clear daylight or glowing golden light even in dramatic scenes, never murky or muddy, crisp detail, real human faces full of emotion, shallow depth of field, subtle film grain. Simple, uncluttered composition: ONE clear scene from this chapter, with the chapter's main character or characters large, close and central in the upper and middle frame, and a simple background. No montage, no collage, no inset vignettes, no crowd of small figures competing for attention. Historically accurate ancient Near Eastern clothing, architecture and landscape. Keep the bottom quarter of the frame simple and uncluttered (ground, water or sky) so a large chapter number can be set over it. Absolutely no text, no letters, no words, no numbers, no logos, no watermark, no border, no frame.