Navajo Nation Photo

Photographer’s Note

This is in the Navajo Nation in the northwestern part of New Mexico.

I have read many books by Tony Hillerman and always wanted to see this part of the world , where the Navajo policemen Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee lives. From those books I had the impression that the landscape here was really stunning.

But I must say that I was a bit disappointed. Straight road and brown-grey desert on both sides. Not many mesas like these. The most interesting thing was the fact that a major road improvement work here on US 491 was being done by the Swedish company "Skanska"!

Update October 28:

LOS ANGELES, Oct 27, 2008 (AFP) - Acclaimed US writer Tony Hillerman, whose 18 detective novels eloquently introduced Native American and particularly Navajo culture to millions of readers, has died, local media reported.
Hillerman, who lived in the state of New Mexico in the rugged American Southwest where many of his best-sellers took place, was 83 years old.
He died Sunday in Albuquerque of pulmonary failure after several months of declining health, the Albuquerque Journal reported.

JanD, dareco, scroller, ellelloo has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

JanD (15053) 2008-10-27 4:10

Howdy Saxo042!
Amaizng landscape. Wonderful perspective. Good composition.
Very good picture.
Regards!

snunney (35476) 2008-10-27 4:10

Hello Gunnar,
Good composition with a pleasing balance to it. The colours are a bit drab but going on your note that's how it is. You could try tweaking the levels for the sky to get a more intense blue and playing around with the contrast but you may end up with an unnatural image.

Buin (38280) 2008-10-27 4:46

Hallo Gunnar!
Quite different from Rothaargebirge ;-) ... an impressive but a rather "empty" and somehow boring landscape. According to your comment you obviously had a similar impression. Nevertheless, the few colours and especially this contrast between rocks and sky are amazing.
Greetings from very wet Rothaargebirge!
Frank

Gessle (70) 2008-10-27 5:18

A real Sweden lover...:)
Amazing landscape...empty but full of...emptyness.
Strange, like a moon. Interesting note - I would be disappointed too...
good shot!
Anna

nirvana73 (8844) 2008-10-27 12:10

Hello Gunnar
very nice place
great atmopshere
i like colors and shape of the rocks
tfs
regards my friend
Ozhan

holmertz (9985) 2008-10-27 14:27

Hej Gunnar,
A remarkable scenery, quite well-known. I guess Hollywood has used the same few mesas time and time again, giving the impression that this area is packed with those strange natural fenomenons. It must be a disappointment to you to learn that Tony Hillerman just died, meaning there will be no more books about Leaphorn and Chee.
Hälsningar,
Gert

dareco (17104) 2008-10-27 16:38

Very interesting landscape and formations. Good detail and lighting. TFS

hatti52 (12654) 2008-10-27 23:54

Hi gunnar,
very nice composition with good perspective
regards

fanni (8879) 2008-10-28 0:28

Hej Gunnar,
interesting sight which (to me) looks like a landscape of a distant uninhabited planet! ( Anyway, I can see some signs of "human presence" in this area :))
Good composition. Wonderful perspective and very beautiful colours!
best wishes,
Elena

scroller (2883) 2008-10-28 3:35

Gunnar,
Even if it was a dissapointment this is a great shot. The wideness must have given som expressions or?
Hälsningar
/Stefan

emka (22357) 2008-10-28 10:39

Hi Gunnar,
What a coincidence! I haven't read any novel by Hillerman, so I was not dreaming about this particular place. We wa nted to go to Shiprock but somehow I made an error amd we went to Gallup instead.
I liked Navajo (and Hopi) country very much. These Native Americans are not like the red-skins I was reading about in my childhood. And I had no idea what the Indian reserve means. But it was interesting. Disappointed? I found this empty vast areas wonderful, so different from what we have in Europe.

regards

Malgorzata

ellelloo (4959) 2008-10-29 5:14

Hej Gunnar,
Although it is an empty landscape, it is impressive in its own way. A good composition and light, natural colours and excellent depth. TFS.
Hälsningar,
Lasse

skoogmi (39) 2008-10-29 8:35

Hej Gunnar,
Verkligen ett ödsligt landskap. Jag vet inte om kraftledningen förfular bilden eller om den bidrar med något. Färgerna är hursomhelst bra.
Hälsningar
Mikael

jurek1951 (26156) 2008-10-29 14:16

Hi Gunnar,
fantastic mountainscape,
great composition and POV. The colours and textures are really nice. great work,
Georg

MattHz (2) 2008-10-29 17:56

Hi
Beautiful mesa landscape, undisturbed apart from that power line.
M

izmirli (3285) 2008-10-29 23:55

merhaba dear gunnar
excellent landscape and depth.magnificent interesting rocky and colours.well done.
friendly greetings from Istanbul.
gürkan akçakır.

CaesarP (3666) 2009-02-10 15:07

Hello Gunnar,
very nice scenery and nature of this part in USA.
Very nice colors - blue sky and open space.
I personaly like it a lot.
Regards Caesar

windosil (818) 2009-04-04 11:55

A splendid documentary. There's a sense of intense heat in the merciless morning sun, so any human beings would be tucked into the shadows.
I remember as a child greatly enjoying reading every week a cartoon story called The Kanyon Kids set in a place like this. No electricity pylons there in those days!
Best wishes,
Winifred