Towers of Silence

Phallic record player.
That's what I'd call it. (exhale cough cough)



Looks .5 eV too light for me.
Neat composition.

I'm on a crappy work monitor so I can't comment on Matt's observation of whether it's too light or not, but it looks great to me, both the comp and star trails. Wonderful image throughout IMO.

EDIT - I'm at home now and viewing this on my monitor, and what a difference! While I wouldn't mind seeing the sky a bit darker, I love the hoodoo lit just as it is. The color difference between night and day of the hoodoo is just amazing. Great shot Ian.

Hi Ian

I've read your blog and I'm shocked about the campfire ability to light the canyon walls! amazing location that I did not visit when I was there photographing

Best regards

Wonderful image Ian! looks even better than it did on the LCD.

Creative shot on this Ian, I know this area very well, and really hard to believe a camp fire 1/4 mile away did this, especially that bright. Kudos for creativity!

Campfire light?, very cool. This is masterful Ian, no nits.

Beautiful! Light, color, comp... everything. Love the shot!

This is beautiful! The warm light in the foreground creates makes this image for me

Great shot, Ian. Looks like the urban version of a radio antenna. I'm also really surprised by the campfire story behind this one.

Very cool, Ian. The light cast by the campfire seems much warmer and pleasing than that of an LED or incandescent.

Awesome image here Ian...top notch.

WoW... Awesome shot Ian. Perfect

Beautiful Night shot! Man your good at those.

very cool Ian..love the glow and the start trail. I was very confused before reading the story and thought of it as a weird blend from 2 exposures. The fire being distant created a very natural glow on the rocks

Superb! I love the quality of that campfire light.

I feel the hoodoo in the lower right is rather bright and distracts from the superb composition. I would darken it a bt.

Incredible image! Awesome composition as always, Ian. Truly a 'dreamscape'!

Ian,

This is fabulous star trail image. Love the comp as well with the hoodoo reaching for the sky...

Perhaps a little more info on the techs since some folks are asking? My first thought is a composite, or at least a delayed blend? But I suppose it's also possible that the light present on the formations is accumulated during a long exposure? Curious minds want to know. :-)

Lon

Thanks Lon - info about the shot is on my photoblog (I included a link) -- the story was too long to tell here!

This is freaking awesome Ian! I love it.

The makrs on the rocks lead me to the top and then my eyes start jumping from the tower to the center of the star trails and back again. It took me a big effort to try to see if there was something else in the photo worth of attention I guess not.
Very strong focal points and the light is awesome. A strong photo master Ian.

Nicely done! I'm normally not a fan of light painting, as it can look blotchy and only illuminate the foreground, leaving the background dark. But the campfire worked perfectly here, evenly illuminating the whole scene. When I first saw this, I figured this was lit by a rising (quarter or smaller) moon in the east.

Beautiful! Clean and perfectly exposed. Love the light here and your composition. Lovely photo.

Stunning and dreamy, Ian!

Nice, great comp and creative. I wouldnt have guessed how you achieved the lighting

Absolutely beautiful. Capture and processing are perfect. I wouldn't change a thing. Without a doubt the most unique image I've ever seen from here.

I certainly agree with the others regarding the superb light and the stars.
However, the composition itself is what really strikes me as magnificent, too.
A very unique take on an oft photographed place!
I also agree with burning down the hoodoo on the right slightly as my eye tends to wander there.
Do you mind sharing what f stop and ISO you used here?

So are you going to demand Joseph travels with you always and start fires for you? Too coool.
Amazing how light travels and even the smallest light waves affect your surroundings.
Great shot

thanks John! I was at ISO 200, f/5.6. Personally, I like the small lit hoodoo on the right, as it points into the scene and creates an opposing diagonal to the main hoodoo and the cliffs on the left, but that's just me I guess!

Very cool. Well done.

- Dan.

Simply wonderful and an inspiration!
I can see how a campfire can cast that glow for an hour-long exposure. I wonder how a few minutes of a rising moon would work to cast a colored-glow, with the majority of the exposure before moonrise.

This is so surreal we are going to have to start calling you "the Dali LLama!" What a spectacular comp! Do you even remember what it is like to shoot from inside the box?

Awesomeness!

That is just feakin' sick!!! It's a big thing to make this statement, but I think this is the best night/startrail shot I've ever seen! If not, it's definately in the top few. It's creative, different, and really well done. That light is something very special.

Chris

Very cool!

Excellent, Ian! I like the way the red rocks compliment the blue night sky. That hoodoo is so majestic. Super shot! I read your blog... what a great story. I guess the harder you work the luckier you get. Congrats!

Beautiful shot and some great ideas on your blog.

Hi Ian... what to say, I just find this really cool, great, awesome

Best night image I've seen to date from here. This spot really seems to beg for the otherworldly type of treatment, as it's so remote and unusual to begin with!

Ian, Another excellent image. Very awesome & inspiring. In my mind a perfect image. Thanks for posting!