Sunrise across Ivanpah

[Lrg]

wow amazing picture!

 

[abraxas]

wow amazing picture!

Thank you.

 

[meotter]

not that this is the critique forum, but why did you choose to keep the dark foreground rather then crop upwards so that it's colorful from the get go?

 

[abraxas]

not that this is the critique forum, but why did you choose to keep the dark foreground rather then crop upwards so that it's colorful from the get go?

I liked the shadow when I shot it. I think if I do another go around with it for print sales though, I'll probably lighten it up just a little bit and see if I can bring just a little detail up.

It was shot to illustrate a summary mining history page.

Here's the finished product;

http://mojavedesert.net/people/prospectors-and-miners.html

I like to put a bigas watermark on my net shots to mess with bandwidth thieves.

 

[ketan]

Beautiful photo... the bottom 20% is almost dark but does not hurt...

 

[DPW2007]

Wish I was that good at photography! Awe struck by that photo, magnificent contrasting colours and washes of yellow, green and blue.

 

[meotter]

Wish I was that good at photography! Awe struck by that photo, magnificent contrasting colours and washes of yellow, green and blue.

not to detract from abraxis photo or ability, but i'd say that as much as 80% (arbitrary number i made up) of an amazing shot can be attributed to being at the right place at the right time with some device that captures images.

it's undeniable that it's easy to take amazing shots when the scenery is just kicking you in the head to take it's picture... however, amazing photographers can make breath taking shots out of nothing at all.

so don't get down on yourself, just be more aware of your surroundings and carry a camera with you to capture it when you see it

 

[abraxas]

I wanted to get away from this a few days before replying. My apology if my non-response has seemed rude or inconsiderate.

Beautiful photo... the bottom 20% is almost dark but does not hurt...

Thank you.

Wish I was that good at photography! Awe struck by that photo, magnificent contrasting colours and washes of yellow, green and blue.

Thank you very much.

not to detract from abraxis photo or ability, but i'd say that as much as 80% (arbitrary number i made up) of an amazing shot can be attributed to being at the right place at the right time with some device that captures images.

it's undeniable that it's easy to take amazing shots when the scenery is just kicking you in the head to take it's picture... however, amazing photographers can make breath taking shots out of nothing at all.

so don't get down on yourself, just be more aware of your surroundings and carry a camera with you to capture it when you see it

Meotter, you're oversimplifying, and creating arbitrary statistics to backup an erroneous point is a fool's game. There's a lot more thought and planning that went into this shot than merely slamming on the brakes and stumbling out of the car at the right moment.

 

[Renae]

Beautiful photo!

 

[abraxas]

Thanks Renae!

 

[NoK]

Your out of control, that picture is STUNNING! Great job man.

 

[abraxas]

Your out of control, that picture is STUNNING! Great job man.

thanks, I needed that.

 

[nossie]

There's a lot more thought and planning that went into this shot than merely slamming on the brakes and stumbling out of the car at the right moment.

100/100
Enlighten the apes on how it was done please. Kit is a good place to start; camera, lens, tripod, settings, time of day but most of all why you did it this way? Did you have a little gizmo to tell you the angle of the sun etc? What questions did you ask yourself and why did you chose your answers so.
Did you know an hour of PS was gonna be needed?

If you're gonna keep posting those fabulous shots get used to me tugging on you to teach me- That's another hour to your work load :thumbup:

Ray.
P.S. The green version has a cyan sky, totally faked.

 

[abraxas]

100/100
Enlighten the apes on how it was done please. Kit is a good place to start; camera, lens, tripod, settings, time of day but most of all why you did it this way? Did you have a little gizmo to tell you the angle of the sun etc? What questions did you ask yourself and why did you chose your answers so.
Did you know an hour of PS was gonna be needed?

If you're gonna keep posting those fabulous shots get used to me tugging on you to teach me- That's another hour to your work load :thumbup:

Ray.
P.S. The green version has a cyan sky, totally faked.

This was shot Feb. 2006. It's more about the location and time than the technical aspects though. It's nearly 200 miles from where I live so it was combined with a return trip from Death Valley. To the left of the shot about 1-2 miles away is the ghost town site of Ivanpah a mining town built on the sweat and blood and gold produced by the Vanderbuilt mine several miles up in the Piute Mountains behind Ivanpah.

The Vanderbuilt mine was discovered in the 1870s by a Paiute Indian named Bob Black. Bob was cheated, ridiculed and chased away from his discovery by white men who tricked him. Long story short, Bob became a serial killer luring prospectors into the Funeral Mountains near Death Valley with promises of rich deposits of gold- He'd rob them and murder them and leave their carcasses in shallow graves where the coyotes would tear and scavange thier bodies. Bob was killed by his brother-inlaw, a white man who was known for being a dangerous and nefarious character who had killed at least 7 men, (they didn't count Indians in those days), all in self-defense. He killed Bob- in self-defense of course.

Several miles behind me is Crescent Springs. A waterhole where in the 1890s another white man hating Paiute Indian started his 15 year killing spree. He hated white folks with a passion- and for the way he was treated it was probably justified. He was blamed for 34 murders although only 17 can actually be attributed to him. A little overboard maybe, I figure he could of made his point with only 4-5, maybe 6 killings tops. They never caught him and he just disappeared into the mountain cliffs near the Colorado River. Until one day...

Immediatley behind me is a railroad bedding (causing the long dark shadow). One of the subjects I'm interested in is railroad development across the Mojave Desert. I have many shots of and views from this railway across the desert. It runs about 1/4 mile away from my house on the other end. Footnote: This weekend I'm taking an archaeology class where the rail runs through the San Andreas earthquake fault where the Pacific continental plate grinds against the North American plate. There's a prehistoric Indian occupation site where we'll be camping. So anyhow,...

Near where I'm standing taking the shot is the border to the Mojave Desert National Preserve. Photographing the preserve is another project I've been working on through the last 12 or so years. The mountain, Clark Mountain is also in the preserve and while the Mountain Pass mine was operating, was the largest producer of rare earths in the world.

To the left of the mountain, just barely seen in the photo is Kokoweef. The caverns there are said to twist and turn and drop down into an underground river that flows to the Pacific Ocean. The source of the water (what this type of groundwater is called escapes me at the moment) is said to be from the inland seas that formed the Great Basin Desert millions of years ago. Of course with all this paleo-water percolating through the limestones, those who have said they have been in the deep caverns claim that the underground river is laden with gold. Funny story about that. Also in the same range, in a very concealed and hidden location are the only dinosaur fossil footprints in the state of California. I've seen them, a paleontology group took me there

The stateline between Nevada and California is about one mile to the right. For the glitterotti-types who see Vegas as the only thing of value in the wide-ass Mojave Desert, the Interstate 15 freeway to Las Vegas can barely be seen as a trace cutting along the bajada (the gentle slope at the base of the mountain).

The scene is also a good example of geological strata, a creosote bush habitat (on the bajada), playa (dry lake) and corresponding white bursage habitat with the fairly narrow ecotone between the two. High up and not seen in the mountains is a pinyon pine woodland and behind the mountains surrounding the valley is the largest Joshua tree forest in the world. Lots of rats, lizards and snakes live out there among other varmints and critters. A red-tailed hawk sat at the top of the powerpole behind me and watched me all while I went through the session.

The Nipton hotel (behind me and to the left about 1/2 mile away) has quite a history dating back to the 1930s concerning oldtime silent film actress Clara Bow (the "It" Girl) -- drunken orgies, bi-polar manic depression and then living in shame on her nearby Walking Box Ranch. Anyway, this can also be considered a shot of the view from the porch.

That's the location in a nut shell even though there's quite a bit more (geo-formation of the Colorado River, the Old Spanish Trail and transportation corridor development etc.) It was chosen with all of the above in mind. I shot maybe a dozen or so photos in the immediate vicinity that morning. I walked from the hotel to the location during sunset and into the evening checking out possible shots. It took another hour for me to get back after deciding what and where and when (first sunlight) because I took a walk in the starlight.

When I'm out in the desert I usually know when and where the sun will rise and set, the current moon phase and times of moon rise and set. I have a reasonably good grasp of the topography from experience and study. Maybe it all helps, maybe it don't, but that's what I was thinking.

Technical stuff is:
nikon d70
f5.6
1/125 sec.
iso 200
& a circular polarization filter.

 

[Kristie]

What an amazing photo!! Beautiful!