cannonball alley

Gallery: LandscapePosted May 18, 2011799 views15 comments

i doubt that the thumbnail will entice folks so if you're reading this - welcome to cannonball alley!

on the way to and from lake turkana in northern kenya, one passes through a lava desert and the landscape is dotted with cinder cones. not only is it one of the hottest places on earth but it is also one of the windiest. capitalizing on this, this spot is about to become one of the world's biggest wind farms.

as one travels through the desert, there are places where the lava seems to have fallen as a shower of cannonballs (but good luck trying to keep this lot off with an umbrella). this is one such place but by no means is it alone. there are many others.

there are many issues trying to make photographs here - not least coming up with a workable composition - but also because one rarely travels through these areas alone so stopping here for any length of time is difficult and camping is, well, uncomfortable! We passed through this area in the late afternoon so at least I had some shadows to work with ...

thanks for looking - please have a look at the L A R G E version as well.

mamiya 7ii, 43mm, delta 100 b&w film, no filters, handheld.

Comments

15 comments

Comment posted by Bill Chambers on May 18, 2011 at 8:46 AM

That's some rough terrain!! Nice textures and shadows, but I think a lower perspective might help this a bit.

Registered on April 10, 2005, 753 Posts, 21216 Comments

Comment posted by Guy Tal on May 18, 2011 at 8:57 AM

The large version is well worth viewing for the detail and tone not easily discernible in the smaller one.

Guy

Registered on November 1, 2003, 566 Posts, 15507 Comments

Comment posted by Stuart Williams on May 18, 2011 at 9:30 AM

bill, you're probably right - there may be a number of different perspectives that one could consider including a lower one. In fact, I have a number of images made from this location and, like my previous post, they do rather well as a coherent group (or series). thanks.

guy - thanks - you're right - looking at the larger image helps!

Registered on December 7, 2007, 247 Posts, 4792 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on May 18, 2011 at 9:39 AM

I agree, you need to look at the large version here. Amazing textures and detail. It does look like a rough place to photograph, and get around. I think you captured it well, Stuart.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments

Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on May 18, 2011 at 10:32 AM

Interesting textures and documentary of the location. Not what I would call a wall-hanger though

Registered on September 27, 2006, 636 Posts, 10682 Comments

Comment posted by Scott Smorra on May 18, 2011 at 10:52 AM

The details in the large version are excellent. I like the composition with the single plant/stick in the LLC.

Registered on November 2, 2009, 161 Posts, 2143 Comments

Comment posted by Stuart Williams on May 18, 2011 at 10:53 AM

Ah, now that's an interesting comment, Kah - is that the ultimate objective of all this - wall hangers? I really don't know ...!

Registered on December 7, 2007, 247 Posts, 4792 Comments

Comment posted by Adam Gibbs on May 18, 2011 at 12:19 PM

The large version is definitely worth looking at, thanks for posting it as the smaller images get a bit lost. Wonderful details Stuart. I can see how camping might be uncomfortable.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 168 Posts, 870 Comments

Comment posted by Vance Gese on May 18, 2011 at 1:25 PM

Incredible textures and light, Stuart. Finding a composition most have been challenging but yours really works; just enough order to engage the viewer. The large image is outstanding.

Registered on November 13, 2008, 298 Posts, 6629 Comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on May 18, 2011 at 4:21 PM

Well i agree and disagree with KK--cause i think the objective IS to get wall hangers, but for crazy folks like me who actually would hang this on their wall

Seriously, a cool shot, i think it probably suffers from some of the problems that my last post (the grass) did--translating 3d to 2d--but this is a cooler subject than mine so ill give you a B+ (yes, we are assigning grades now too

)

Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments

Comment posted by Stuart Williams on May 18, 2011 at 5:01 PM

stan - i agree and disagree with KK too - wall hangers are great (and yes i'm of the kind to hang this kind of stuff on my wall as well!) but i'm far from 100% convinced that's the only goal out there!

B+, eh? thanks. but please please please never go down the grading, scoring line on NPN ... NPN's beauty is that there is NO scoring system and one must write one's thoughts.

Registered on December 7, 2007, 247 Posts, 4792 Comments

Comment posted by Anthony Vincent on May 18, 2011 at 7:01 PM

For some reason I missed commenting on your last few posts.....Truly artistic Stuart. Keep finding these comps
Beautiful work.

Registered on February 5, 2009, 199 Posts, 2775 Comments

Comment posted by Ed Lowe on May 18, 2011 at 7:25 PM

Beautiful tones and textures in this desolate scene, Stuart. I also like the interplay of light and shadow. The details in the large version really jump out at you.

Ed

Registered on February 7, 2004, 414 Posts, 7115 Comments

Comment posted by Eva McDermott on May 18, 2011 at 8:32 PM

The textures and light are wonderful here Stuart. A quality B&W all around and a film capture like this is always special for me. Love it.

Registered on January 4, 2009, 1015 Posts, 13229 Comments

Comment posted by Anil Rao on May 19, 2011 at 2:14 AM

This one seems really nice to my sensibilities. The subject is very interesting and I love the interlay of highlights and shadows that adds a lot of character.

Always a pleasure to study your photographs.

Registered on November 15, 2003, 234 Posts, 4923 Comments