A few from the Desert

I spent about a week in the desert visiting places such as Escalante, Coyote Buttes, Zion and Valley of Fire. I had overcast light most of the time and so ended up doing a lot more black and white than I normally do. Here are a few of the images from my trip that I was somewhat happy with. Let me know what you think. http://morninglight.us/gallery/2013-spring-sw/

Fantastic series of images. Love the night stuff, but each one is just as nice. If I had to pick a favorite, it might be Ephemeral Elephant.

I'm with Peter on the favorite of the group, but they are all very strong! And, the night shots particularly. The one you posted here is actually the only one I don't care for. The lighter vignette doesn't appeal to me here, but that really is just personal preference. The comp is just as strong as the others. Your talent shines no matter where you go, Erik.

The three that strike me most, and they're all good, are Stars and Spires, Sandstone Convergence, and Color of the Morning (must be the colors at SCB).
With Sandstone convergence, the texture of the wall stands out very well. One thought may be to crop and/or lighten the left side as I am drawn to the darkness. You certainly covered a lot of ground on your trip.

Looks like you had a productive trip! My faves are Stars and Spires & Color of the Morning.

Very nice selection of shots Erik, thanks for sharing and giving us inspiration. I particularly like the b&w shots Planet Desert and Determined, both really resonated with me.

All are super, but, Silent Arch does it for me...love the tones and comp.
Joe Rogers

Great stuff, Erik - these are all top notch and I can see why there are so many different favorites.

What a cool set, Erik! All nice, but for me, 'Planet Desert' is the pick of the litter.
Oh, i just read the other comments. I also like E Elephante, but i think it needs some slight tweaking in contrast etc--the cyan to violet gradient in the sky is a bit too weird for me.

Thanks guys for the comments. Stan, I really appreciate your input on that arch shot! I'll see what I can do to fix those issues.

Hi Erik, for some reason I'm getting a feeling you stepped out a bit here; stepped into a more artistic mode with these shots. Being inspired by your work for years, I have my own perspective of what your work means to me. What sets you apart from most landscapers I follow, you excel making images that appear very real, with less artistic interpretation, and overall appear less manipulated in the PP..much like Jack Brauer. I typically don't see too much reverse vignetting, black and whites, funky filters effects, Guassian blurring for the dreamy effect, crazy colors...and I respect that "no BS style" you convey with your work. Some of us are so desperate to make a keeper we go to extreme lengths to ensure it happens. I’ll admit, I think there is a place for that Artisic vision for all of us, so keep these kinds of shots coming.

From my perspective, most of these shots are a breath of fresh air when comparing to my perceived vision of your style. First, your processing is spot on in all of them except Ephemeral Elephant. Regardless if I like all of them or not, your processing seems more involved than normal, but overall I think the processing sings to your vision, or what you want to convey to your audience. Ephemeral Elepahant is composed perfect but is just too dark for my eyes. The stars look perfect (no trails) but it’s the forground comp that is freaky cool. I'm wondering if the faster shutter speed to freeze the stars made your cool forground too dark for me. I'm just guessing, but it appears you possibly went with a single frame, split exposures and tried to pull the shadows out of your forground then possibly handblended the two exposures. This one may have been a better as a composite, which I know is very controversial these days.

Planet Desert is absolutely stunning. I love the whimsical feel, and the B&W is the right call. Color of Morning is beautiful as well. Stars and Spires is such a freaking great idea that I may have to give that one a go some day. The Milky Way looks perfect. Man of Rock is another fantastic shot. I love the little animal tracks in the sand leading up to the moody rock formation, another great B&W.

My favorite by far is Silent Arch. So much mood, and perfect comp. I'm already dreaming of this comp during the Monsoon season. Imagine a big lighting bolt in that scene! B&W is most definitely the way to go here and I totally understand your vision and it clicks well with my eyes and mind.

I love these SW shots and I hope you keep exploring these areas, thanks for sharing.

Kane

Erik, all are excellent, but I'm with Joe in liking Silent Arch the most. Well done!

Erik,

Excellent work. It's impossible for me to choose a favorite among these. I have to say I don't usually like B&W shots at all but the way you have presented the 4 in this series is very dramatic. The detailed contrast that you've pulled out is amazing. I would be very interested if you would share your specs and technique on the 2 night star shots.

Thanks for all the comments folks! Kane, I especially appreciate your very thoughtful comments. It is interesting how differently we look at things. For me, this was one of my least productive trips to the desert and most of what I posted was the result of me trying to cope with overcast/blah skies and light. That forced me to concentrate on composition and to think in BW, which is not something I normally do. I have to say that the "Silent Arch" composition has been done before and I copied it without realizing it. Laurent Martres has shot that same composition before. As for the Ephemeral Elephant photo, you are exactly right. I should have done a double exposure and simply didn't think of it as I rarely blend any images. I'll keep working on it as I get a chance. Again, thank you everyone for all of your great comments.

Erik, I always love your work and this is no exception. Really fantastic series of shots. I don't think picking an absolute favorite is possible for me. Some of the ones which have more impact for me though are the Ephemeral Elephant, Silent Arch and Man of Rock. Very inspiring work!