Seventy million years ago the northwestern corner of New Mexico, south of what is now the fossil fuel mecca of Farmington was the delta of a river which flowed eastward into an inland sea that covered most of what is now the Enchanted State. Somewhere in geologic time an ancient volcano deposited a layer of ash, some of which was transported by the river. By the time the riverine deposits had formed their delta and were established in place, a 1400′ layer of sandstone, mudstone, shale and coal was well-ensconced. It lay undisturbed for some twenty-five million solar orbits until the Colorado Plateau began its majestic rise. A mere six thousand years before the present, in the lee of the last ice age, water from melting glaciers eroded the sandstone overburden to expose the ashen layers beneath; and so it was that the landscape we call Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness came into being: 45,000 acres of some of the most tantalizing badlands on the planet.
A focal length of 70mm, barely into short-telephotoland, gave me the angle-of-view I wanted to isolate the two sandstone/mudstone mounds against the sky in a surrounding of gray ashen volcanic mudstone. An aperture of f/22 provided depth-of-field; and a shutter speed of 1/4th second at ISO 100 gave me and overall medium exposure.
Life is challenged by the growing conditions at Bisti, but where life is shy, the beauty of the land shines through. This is another of your public lands. Care for it well. Generations yet unborn will express their gratitude.
If not for the blue skies and the red hills in the background, this would look like the end of the world. Does it still smell like ashes? There is no music here, not even a requiem. Even with all the darkness and all the eyes peering out, it does not look evil. It seems to be resting, knowing it will change again when the Earth’s evolution writes another chapter in its geologic history.
Hi Nancy T. It’s always great to have you with me for an Image discussion. Your observations become such wonderful stories and, indeed, there is no sense of evil here at all. It is all about the great turmoil that our Earth has experienced and continues to experience as it goes about its journey through the Universe. Serenity and chaos are merely normal aspects of that journey, and in both there is great beauty to be found. The smell of ashes was long gone, but the sense of fire was very present, and in that feeling of burning there was a very real aura of something being birthed. Stay well, Dear One. Take good care.
What wonderful image containing such a pallet of color tonality, shape, form and texture that give contrast, balance and flow to the image. Then to add to this deserted land Mother Nature steps in to show how tenacious she is by putting very sparse, but present, growth for contrast. I’m afraid most would walk by and say, nothing of interest to take up my time. Their loss. Thank you for showing what can be done.
Hey Chuck. It’s great to hear from you! I hope you and Lois are safe and well. Your description of the interaction of the elements and principles of design at work here makes these old black hills come to life. And then you mention the living flora that Mother Nature has added to the mix as a way of offering contrast, the real diversity of sparseness becomes evident, not in numbers, but in the range that the Universe has conjured and of which we are a part. You are so right about the tendency to overlook. When I first approached this landscape I was convinced that the austerity had nothing to offer that could be taken for Beauty, but the longer I looked and wandered, the more intriguing it all became, like a fairyland where the fairies are all grotesque goblins, whose very charm lies in their grotesqueness.
Walk in Beauty, my Friend; and stay safe.
Thank you both so very much for joining me for this conversation. You found Beauty where it seemed on the surface that only Spartan austerity resided. When I was here I found the title of a Leonard Cohen song repeating in my mind: “Who by Fire?” His poignant lyrics were an inspiration. May we always find the Beautiful, even in the elements where seemingly only destruction dwells. Walk in Beauty and stay safe through these challenging times.