There is a 75-mile-long, north-south trending ridge of uplifted, stratified rock that rises some 18 miles west of Green River, Utah. The strata of this ridge bear a downward cant as they slope from the crest. This anticline is known as the San Rafael Swell. The jagged eastern edge of the Swell is a sandstone feature called the San Rafael Reef. The back side, essentially the western side, of the swell and the reef is a land of massive sandstone walls , rising in places many hundreds of feet nearly vertically into the dry air of Emery County. Time, wind and a little water have carved of these walls blades of rock poised to slice away at light itself
Over the millinnea, oxides and other compounds in the rocks have added their own patinas of warm and pastel color. These are visually appealing in their own right, but with the added softness and blurring of creative processing, they assume the feel and texture of watercolor gone haywire.
A focal length of 345mm from a quarter of a mile away gave me the angle-of-view and compression/magnification I wanted. An aperture of f/22 provided depth-of-field; and a shuttrer speed of 1/5th second at ISO 100 gave me an overall medium exposure. “Negative clarity” in the Adobe RAW Converter, and “negative structure” in the DoX’ Viveza filter softened the sharpness, blurred the detail and created the abstraction I was looking for. I appreciate the work of Western artists, who create in the medium of watercolor, for the wonderful effects they produce with paint and brush.
This is land administered by the Bureau of Land Management which lately seems to have bent over backwards to open the door of its charge as widely as possible to the extractive and fossil fuel industries. This is our common wealth given away so that others can profit from killing the golden goose that lives there.
Wonderful, like an abstract painting
Hi Lynne. Thank you for joining me and for your kind and gracious comment. Making “abstract” images through what is lovingly referred to as “creative” processing is another fun way of creating art through photography. Looking forward to seeing you and John on Sunday. Walk in Beauty.
Don, a powerful, magnificent image. I can only imagine how hard you worked to lock down camera and lens to hold some weighty gear rock steady to shoot from a quarter-mile away. Such a well chosen slice of geology here, especially with the patchwork (almost quilt-like) lines. And, I really like how you help us see the variety of colors. You mentioned western watercolorists: your image reminds me of one of my favorites — Chiura Obata — who painted in Yosemite NP a lot. If you’re not familiar, check out his work. Keep rendering these images of public lands for all who will listen; art helped bring original interest in them, maybe art can help protect them.
Don, I have begun acquainting myself with Pat O’Hara’s work on your suggestion from a few weeks ago. Impressive stuff. Thanks for pointing me to him.
Thanks, Ray. Glad you enjoyed my “stuff”. I enjoyed viewing Chiura Obata‘s paintings and woodblock renderings. A good friend is Japanese. His parents were also incarcerated during WWII. Obata made good use of his time during detention by offering art classes.
Patrick, I am honored to have you join us, and I appreciate your response to Ray’s comments. From what I have read of Obata, he was very humble, even in the power of his amazing talent.
I’m very glad your site is back up and operational. Look forward to talking soon. Walk in Beauty. Stay safe.
Hey Ray. It’s great to hear from you. I always look forward to your observations and comments. If it’s okay, I’m going to respond to both of your posts together. First, I’m so glad you have followed up on my suggestion to check out Pat’s work. I have been honored to consider him as my mentor for a quarter century now. His work is an education in photography.
Self-timer and cable release took the place of weighty objects to keep my tripod from suffering vibrations. Of course, given what I saw as the ultimate outcome, a little vibration would not have mattered. The walls in the Behind-the-Reef country are watercolor canyons.
Chiura Obata is one of my favorites, as well. What an amazing sense of color, tonality and flow he possessed.
Kris Kristofferson wrote and performed a song many years ago he called “To Beat the Devil.” I have always thought of it as a personal anthem; guess I always will.
Hope you are safe and well. Take good care.
I am smiling. Some dear elementary child went wild with the watercolors. She is truly an artist.
Hey Robin. Thanks for joining us and for the smile. First you learn to stay reasonably within the lines, then you learn to disregard the lines altogether and then you realize that you always have the choice to do either. Her artistry is in the “seeing” of the possibilities.
Wow! I love it!
Hi Phyllis. It’s great to hear from you! I really appreciate your kind comment and I hope you are staying safe and well. Take good care.
Beautiful! Thanks for the tech tips, as well.
Hey Donald. It is always a pleasure to hear from you, and wherever you may be I hope you are safe and well, and surrounded by beauty. Thanks for your kind comment. I hope the tips send your in a direction that proves creative and worthwhile. In your new part-time home there is much opportunity to explore them in great depth. Take good care.
From a non-pro, this is gorgeumous!
Hey Bob. Thanks very much for joining me for this conversation. When it comes to art, we’re all on a journey of discovery, part of which is to understand that to which we are attracted. Your kind comment is very appreciated. Walk in Beauty.
Mother nature is quite the artist. Every time I look at this, I see something different. I like how you anchored the image to the ground where plants are growing to show the contrast of time. The side lighting is creating beautiful highlights and textures. This looks like the “Amen Corner” of that part of the world. So many are gathered around telling their stories for any who will listen. Thanks for sharing.
Nancy T., what would our visual world be without the wonderful power of your metaphorical descriptions? Mother Nature is truly the artist, everywhere we turn. Thanks for pointing out the vegetative anchoring; I thought it was an effective way of showing a bit of scale as well. What was quite interesting was the way the colors seemed to blend and deepen through the softening process. The Amen Corner was alive and well in the desert. Take good care Dear One. Talk soon.