Not In Kansas Photo

Photographer’s Note

The clay pits just outside of Calhan, known today as Paint Mines Interpretive Park, were long ago used by the local native tribes as a source of clay for their pottery. As white civilization moved in, the tribes moved on and the park was most recently a hangout for the local teenagers, covered in graffiti and littered with empty beer cans. But some local government agency (unsure if it was city/county/state) intervened to restore the Paint Mines as a site of geological importance. The photographers like it too.

The towers are not rock, but clay, eroded to reveal tri-colored strata. The color variation is truly wild. With some wild rosehips in the foreground and a bright blue sky, it begins to resemble nothing so much as Dorothy's Oz.

The only adjustments made were some auto-levels and light sharpening in PhotoShop.

Nobody has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

cjcampbell (143) 2006-03-21 2:51

I would like to see greater depth of field, but probably not possible with the Coolpix, speaking as one Coolpix fan to another. This is one place where I wish the Coolpix had a manual or at least an aperture preferred mode, but almost none of the Coolpix cameras have this feature. This is a nice idea with good composition and color.

Another way to go would have been less depth of field, which would have made stronger image of the rosehips, but it would be a pity to lose the clay formations.