The Big Dry Photo | TrekEarth

Photographer’s Note

I happened to live in the hottest and driest continent on Earth.Despite the images of dunes of the Sahara or the Gobi Desert that are implanted in our collective memory,it is Australia that is the least hospitable continent for humans, especially humans who want to continue to live as if they are still in Europe: with swimming pools, lawns,limitless water for irrigation, industry and golf courses. Because of our recklessness in the past, some of our great rivers are dying, the wetlands are disappearing and salination is turning agricultural land into deserts.The drought that has gripped the land for a decade or more has brought the message home to many- that we have been taking this lands bounties for granted and that climate change will affect us most severely.
This photo was taken just outside the pretty town of Yass which I have featured in my previous two photographs.

gracious, phwall, kiwi_explorer, snunney, avene, Scharan, alftrek, Waylim, MayaG, mumek has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

gracious (20017) 2008-07-08 1:45

Hello Klaudio,
You can feel the dryness in this beautiful landscape!
good pov with great depth here with beautiful colour contrast and superb details!
the clouds formation is a real beauty towards this lovely composition
well done
Tony

phwall (5570) 2008-07-08 1:48

Hi Klaudio,
Times I've spent while living overseas day dreaming about Australia have always had this type of image in them, this is the soul of Australia "a wide brown land for me".
Congratulations
Cheers
Peter

kiwi_explorer (12195) 2008-07-08 1:53

Hi Klaudio,
The grass in the foreground creates a nice texture to cover your foreground. Lovely rural scene with interesting cloud formations to background the landscape. Well captured and composed with good resulting image quality. Well done! tfs
Cheers,
Renier

snunney (34942) 2008-07-08 4:12

Hello Klaudio,
A very good capture of this arid looking landscape. I like the low point of view and the contrast between the yellowing grassland and the deep blue sky. Excellent clarity throughout.

baba_flies (8001) 2008-07-08 4:29

Hello Klaudio! Your note is so important and you see it all over the world that people spread out to places where they do not belong ... and they never seem to learn, this I think will not change, but it might change our lives whether we like it or not ... at least in the future or it has already began. Your picture is so much Australia to me, with the dry sand-color grass, and the endless sky above, just broken up by these beautiful clouds. Wonderful, easy to forget what you just wrote ... let's put it aside and leave it to the next generation ... all the problems ... (I don't mean it that way ... but this is how it feels sometimes). Barbara.

Dyerco (9102) 2008-07-08 6:36

Hi Klaudio
This image certainly speaks to the climate change we must all face. TFS.
Phil

Scharan (13951) 2008-07-08 18:23

Olá Klaudio

Bela foto de uma paisagem onde o céu azul chama atenção pelo contraste com a vegetação seca. Um ótimo trabalho amigo.
Parabéns!
GA
Vera

alftrek (2809) 2008-07-08 20:25

Its a sad eventuality of past neglect but I believe many city dwellers who seldom wonder out into the country side may feel indifferent about the current drought conditions affecting Australia. This view seems so familiar when I drove a little further up the Tullamarine Hwy last month near Melbourne airport.

Your photo has captured the very essence of the current drought with lifeless colour of the paddock, in a careful composition. The polarized sky is also very attractive.

Regards
Alfred

SteveH (3919) 2008-07-08 22:34

Hi Klaudio, doesn't feel like the big dry in Melbourne and the moment, more like the big freeze! I dare say though that a short trip out of town would provide more of a sense of dry. I like the inclusion of the trees on the left, although perhaps the grass in the FG could be sharper. cheers, Steve

avene (11018) 2008-07-09 3:41

hello Klaudio,
the photo works very well to illustrate your note, the dry grass in the foreground stretching all the way to the distant mountains. every stem is perfectly sharp and well-defined, the techical qualities certainly enforce the power of the photo.
as to the climate change - I agree that it will affect us, and already IS affecting us. the climate has always been changing, from Ice Ages to warmer periods and back to Ice Ages, but now the density of the population make us feel these climate changes much more than before. a while ago there was an interesting article about the wildfires in California and that the people feel that the fires are getting worse over the years. the author of the article argued that the fires are not exactly worse, but that irresponsible development has allowed construction of homes too close to fire-prone areas, without the necessary safeguards, and as a result the impact of the fires is much more devstating than 20 years before.

regards,
Kristine

jhm (82601) 2008-07-09 4:07

Hello Klaudio,

I am always very glad when I see a countryside of a other country, than I am little bit on travel, with this note can I something learn about your splendid country.
The tree care for contrast, the long grass in foreground for golden colour, the white sheep clouds are a nice addition.
Very well done, TFS.

Best regards,
John.

crckt (7076) 2008-07-09 17:39

Hi Klaudio,
The dried grass is a very nice foreground, I love landscapes that have them. I feel like running there. Very good shot. Thanks for sharing.
Regards,
Shaeri

testmaniac (12158) 2008-07-09 21:59

Zdravo Klaudio, well captured and composed photo and nice colors.
TFS and regards,
Phil

Waylim (10835) 2008-07-09 23:33

Klaudio,
Landscape is beautiful in it's own way in different seasons. Especially in the arid area where it can be quite a big different between the spring and the rest of the time. I like the very muted color of the dry glass, composition is good, The green large tree give nice contrast, perhap I like to see just a little more of it rather than cut in half. Very good nevertheless. Thanks
Way

MayaG (2393) 2008-07-10 0:29

Eh, pa da, mogu da zamislim kakva je unutrasnjost kontinenta, steta za reke, nisam znala da je situacija tako ozbiljna...
Verovatno si koristio polarizator ovde? mnogo mi se svidja kontrast ove predivne plave i zlatne. Oblak je savrsen.
Puno pozdrava iz Grcke :)
Maja

mumek (17468) 2008-07-17 2:54

Good morning Klaudio!
Very well composed and taken scenery from Yass.You captured a nice natural colours. Very lovely view at the dried land.Thanks for very interesting and informative note
best regards
ziggy