Sun & Planets I

One week ago, I came a cross this sun-and-planets scene which was a great surprise for me as I was wondering in the desert alone around Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. I wish I was able to scan my other shots which I took with my Ebony 4x5 which I like it much over my D3.

It is the first time for me to see stones in such interesting shapes, their look was a big mystery for me. I had to get the help from my friend Michael Welland who wrote back to me with many info but here is some of his letter for those who are interested in them:

"These are what are known as concretions. Water that flows through a sandstone underground carries iron and other minerals dissolved in it. If there is a chemical change in the sandstone (perhaps a small piece of organic material) this changes the chemistry in the rock and causes the iron to precipitate around it, forming the concretion. Because the iron minerals are harder than the surrounding rock, when the sandstone is at the surface they weather out of the rock and remain intact. So each ball consists of sandstone grains glued together with iron minerals - the layering in some of the concretions is the original layering of the sandstone.

Such things are found all over the world, some well-known ones being from the famous Navajo Sandstone of the southwest of the US. There they are often referred to as "Moqui balls" or "Moqui marbles".

Please let me know your opinion.

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Nikon D3, 24-70