Devil's Garden II Photo

Photographer’s Note

another shot from Devil's Garden, a collection of surreal rock formations along the Hole in the Rock Road that goes from the town of Escalante in Southern Utah towards Lake Powel (first post from this place is here).

unfortunately, we were in the Garden just for the harsh midday sun, and the place felt like a frying pan, so after a very short hike we run back to the refuge of the air-conditioned car. I hope to get back to the Garden some time in the near future, to see sunrise or sunset there, it must be unreal.

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RAW, ISO 200, 36mm focal length, spot metering.

feather, jwmunro, Cretense, gunbud, daddo, belido has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

danyy (68778) 2009-07-03 6:51

Bonjour Kristine,
des lumières parfaites, un ensoleillement bien orienté pour dégager ces couleurs ocres qui de plus se marient bien en contraste avec le bleu du ciel.
Un ciel d'ailleurs d'un bleu profond où les nuages ressortent bien.
Une composition simple mais pleine de charme.
Regards.
Daniel.

aadilj (17950) 2009-07-03 6:58

Hi Kristine. this is fabulous and very well composed with fine clarity and lovely hues. Nice balance and sight indeed.

smarcell (14309) 2009-07-03 8:06

3 colors, very strong, very saturated, and a direct sunlight, and the polarized sky.
The best way to show nature in the west USA.
Regards Stefano

serp2000 (9501) 2009-07-03 8:57

Privet, Kristine,
Impressive sharpness of the cloud! Excellent colours!
I like this composition! TFS!
My congrats on The Independence Day!
Warm regards from Ural,
Serghei

jmcl (13809) 2009-07-03 10:07

HI Kristine,

The superimposition of that wonderfully polarized sky with the softer tone of the stone is beautiful .. great detail and textures from the clouds to the stones .. very nice. take care, John

rlrad (1187) 2009-07-03 11:05

Hi Kristine,

Great pov - I like how the rock is imitating the cloud. Or is it vice-versa???

Have a good weekend!
Reed

bracasha75 (22117) 2009-07-03 12:45

Hi Kristine
Just amaizing.....it,s all i cane say
Thanks for sharing
Bratislav

feather (49860) 2009-07-03 13:46

It may be because the rocks are red/gold anyway, but I really don't mind this harsh light here. However, what makes this image is those clouds we can reach out and touch, and your masterful (should that be mistressful?)use of your polariser. I notice you almost always use spot metering. From where do you take your reading? presumably the brighest part of the scene? Do you have to work a lot on the dark parts of an image later?
Excellent shot
Kath

molla (6883) 2009-07-03 13:59

those rocks looks mean, like they wanna jump straight on me. and fluff fluff clouds behind speaks the same languish about somethings going to happen..
well see.
Anders

Bartleby (4882) 2009-07-03 15:05

Hi Kristine,
well in spite of the harsh light, you managed to get beautiful colors out of this one thanks to a good use of the polarizer. This dark blue in the sky is a treat, as well as those cloud formations. The low-angle POV emphasizes the out-of-this-world feeling. Definitely works for me.

Cheers,

Philippe

gneufeld (15169) 2009-07-03 17:57

Hi Kristine,
Wonderful color contrasts here in excellent light. Seems like I am looking for more colorful sandstone shapes to the left of the frame - but I know you wanted to feature the stunning sky - me too! Well done and TFs. Gerald

delkoo (34296) 2009-07-04 1:39

hi kristine
A simple shot of a simple subject,but so effective.It`s an excellent exposure with fantastic colors and contrast,with a skillful use of light.

didier

jwmunro (6577) 2009-07-04 15:30

Hello Kristine -

I just mentioned to John Mclaird (jcml) that we need to work with the conditions handed to us. When traveling it is almost always you are never there at the right time so work with what you got. You have done a very good job at getting a very presentable image at midday. Of course, the clouds and sky helped an awful lot in that image capture. Catching this area at sunset/sunrise or later in the afternoon is preferable, but again you did a very good job with what you had at hand. Bravo!

Thank you for sharing.

John

Cretense (56136) 2009-07-05 5:35

Hi Kristine!

Spectacular place one of the most impressive landscapes on planet Earth, excellent nature photography! Beautiful natural "sculpture", great compsosition and framing, amazing textures! Perfect light managment and brilliant colours! Congratulations!

Hercules

Bruno40 (6440) 2009-07-05 8:55

excellent polarized sky.
You work very well on dry air places.
Nice colors and all
cheers
Jorge

Greg1949 (8507) 2009-07-07 4:16

Wowo Kristine, this is the sharpest and clearest of the bunch so far, great capture. It is like you can feel the texture of the rock in this shot and the the polarizer takes the sky to deep blue, really great work here.

Greg

Waylim (10789) 2009-07-07 17:53

Kirstine,
Such a superb view and POV from the Devil Garden, which I will be in a September, I love very animated cloud, so 3D. the rock looks like it can be a dragon blowing out some steam. Beautiful color and love the dark blue of the sky, which make the cloud really pop out at the viewers, so are the golden rock againt the white of the clouds. Great details and texture and a perfect POV from down low up against the sky. My complements and admiration.
Way

gunbud (27879) 2009-07-10 16:27

Hi Kristine,
Fantastic colors here with the golden rocks reaching to the complimentary blue sky.
Love the rich texture of this unique rock formation and the razor sharp details. Those big high pressure clouds really make the image pop.
Regards, Tom

pauloog (6505) 2009-07-11 2:28

Hello Kristine,
The bizarre shapes of the Western deserts and their might cloudy skies well captured together. A pleasure to look at.
Regards,
Paul

Angshu (33645) 2009-07-12 21:18

Hello Kristine
From the thumbnail, the structure at the very top, looks like a cow's head...or is it my imagination? To compose such interesting rock formations would be a challenge IMHO, which as almost always, you've done well. The clouds are great, almost 3D, with the sky, deep blue thanks to the polariser! Fine shot!
Best regards
Angshu

daddo (11363) 2009-09-16 23:25

Hi Kristine. All these looming shapes, clouds included, really look devilish. It must have been uncomfortably hot, but the midday sun has given you dramatic light. i can see a face on one cloud shape above the bottom rock on the left- big nose, odd hairdo,beard.Regards.Klaudio.

belido (16493) 2009-11-06 12:20

Hi Kristine,

somehow I see your signature in here :) Impressive composition. You did a great job on the colors/contrasts and found the right contrasting element to share the image with the sky. It looks so vivid and real. Nicely thought and done!
Regards,
Carlos

jmdias (19267) 2009-12-02 15:21

kristine

amazing amount of colors and shapes. very nice framing, sharpness and light. A very beautiful place and a perfect photo to show it. well done

hugs

jorge

Photo Information

Copyright: Kristine KM (avene) (11008)
Genre: Places
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2009-05-28
Categories: Nature
Camera: Nikon D 200, Nikkor 18-200 3.5-5.6G IF-ED AF-S DX VR, Nikon CircPolar II 72mm
Exposure: f/8, 1/320 seconds
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2009-07-03 6:42