Badlands II

Gallery: LandscapePosted January 21, 2014104 views6 comments

This is a bit more illustrative of what a badlands looks and feels like. Relentless sun throughout the day with little life other than scrubs and cacti growing in the washout areas.

The 41,170-acre Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness is a remote desolate area of steeply eroded badlands which offers some of the most unusual scenery found in the Four Corners region. Time and natural elements have etched a fantasy world of strange rock formations and fossils. It is an ever-changing environment that offers the visitor a remote wilderness experience. Translated from the Navajo language, Bisti means “a large area of shale hills” and is commonly pronounced (Bis-tie). De-Na-Zin (Deh-nah-zin) takes its name from the Navajo words for “cranes.” Petroglyphs of cranes have been found south of the wilderness area.

Sony a 700
Zeiss 16-80 zoom @ 16mm
ISO 100
f 11
1/250 sec
Siver efex 2 conversion b&w
LR 5.2 raw
Ps5 slight crop and corrections

No place for old men

C&C welcomed

Comments

6 comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on January 21, 2014 at 11:22 AM

Ha, Rick, this reminds me of the tv westerns I used to watch as a kid. And, you've done a fine job of illustrating what it looks and feels like. Nice conversion and handling of the light, as well as depth in your comp.

Registered on May 7, 2007, 670 Posts, 19650 Comments

Comment posted by Rick Turner on January 21, 2014 at 12:09 PM

Morris,
As a western movie nut that is what I think of when I hear badlands. Outlaws hiding in washouts trying to escape the lawman.

Registered on February 18, 2012, 534 Posts, 2755 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Jones on January 21, 2014 at 1:42 PM

The thumbnail IMMEDIATELY made me say "Hi-Yo Silver, Away!" I think there is something about your B&W conversion, as well as the landscape, that brings back memories of the Lone Ranger and Roy Rogers -- the two characters whose TV shows had so much to do with forming my character in the 1950s. (Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxIuIxqo2So)

Once I got past the nostalgia, I recognized that these badlands are much more rugged than the California and Arizona area where the old westerns were made. Your composition makes that apparent, and your conversion drives the point home even more. Thanks for the narration, too.

P.S. Ha! - I see I'm not the only one who was struck by the similarity of this image to old western movies! (I'll be offline for a while; got to watch one of my Lone Ranger DVDs now.)

Registered on April 18, 2007, 953 Posts, 6435 Comments

Comment posted by Rick Turner on January 21, 2014 at 5:51 PM

Wayne,

You and Morris have cracked me up. For us medicare babies those were indeed the good old days and now that I have netflix I watch the Randolph Scott and Richard Dix oldies along with John Wayne to my hearts content.

Going thru monument Valley last March I could feel the presence of the Duke.

Registered on February 18, 2012, 534 Posts, 2755 Comments

Comment posted by gary phillips on January 21, 2014 at 9:12 PM

Nice shot Rick, makes me want see what's around the corner. I hear tell of people getting lost here. Probably would not be too hard. Very solid and good job on the conversion.

Registered on October 24, 2013, 185 Posts, 4136 Comments

Comment posted by Nancy Lea Sandy on January 22, 2014 at 10:11 AM

This does have the look and feel of the old b&w westerns and that gives it both story and mood. Nice job with the conversion

Registered on January 24, 2011, 576 Posts, 6942 Comments