Spent a long weekend in NE Arizona hoping to take advantage of the monsoonal patterns. Well, clouds, rain and flash floods are a large part of those patterns, and sometimes they work well with a photographer, while other times...zilch. And I was zilch.
But, as I was driving near Tuba City, AZ my free Garmin Desert Southwest GPS map (highly recommended!) showed me a feature called Balanced Rock out in the absolute middle of nowhere. Of course, I had to check it out! And sure enough, a few miles along some lonely dirt roads brought me to this place, where I spent the night and shot it in the morning. It's about 8' tall with a 5' circumference (+/-).
Any suggestions or thoughts quite welcome!
Canon 5DII w/Rokinon 14mm lens
1/15 sec. @ f5.6 ISO 100
Posted by Peter Coskun on July 21, 2013 at 9:23 PM
Well how about that? Something you probably would have never expected to come across ends up on the GPS maps. I certainly never knew about this thing, and it looks pretty interesting. Very strange patterns give it a sci fi feel. Good on you getting out to someplace that I'm sure not many people know of. I like the b/w processing, but am curious to see a color version as well.
Holy smokes! Juast amazing as is and I love the Black and White treatment. A even crop of about 25% in all directions would make this one Iconic IMO. There's a lot to look at in that kick ass balancing Globe. A crop would bring that out. Fantastic sky which makes this version work so well.
In fact the more I look at it, is it possible to get up close to the globe and shoot the entire thing against the sky?
Tee it up. Looks like a tough par 5 to me. I love everything about the image. Excellent!
Posted by Howard Cihak on July 22, 2013 at 2:59 AM
John, I really like the scene. I must respectfully disagree with Kane; I'd hate to lose any part of that dramatic cloudscape. May I suggest you try darkening that sky just a touch in Levels and lightening the boulder just a touch in Levels? You might find it makes a dramatic scene even more so, amigo.
Posted by Doug Koepsel on July 22, 2013 at 10:45 AM
So the Anasazi did play golf I'd agree with Howard about the ball and sky brightness adjustments. The dark rock on the right does grab some attention from the ball. Very interesting.
Fine art, Amigo! Love the conversion. I like your comp here, but I'm sure you probably have a ton more from here with the golf ball bigger and closer. Outstanding work, John!
Sometimes the off route things turn out to be the best part of the trip.
First, I have to say, this is really cool John. Love the tone in this and the texture of the rock is sweet. I understand Kane's desire to see more detail in the globe, but I also agree with Howard about liking the rest of the image too much to loose it, so IMO, I would keep the frame as is and just print it really large to see the details.
This really does look like a golf ball on a tee. Now you just need to find a large rock shaped like a 5 iron and hang them next to one another on your wall.
I am wondering why you chose to process this as a B&W? I am trying to learn a little more about B&W processing. I know what my reasons are a lot of the time for doing a B&W, but find myself wondering yours?
Posted by Monika Chace on July 22, 2013 at 6:26 PM
John, very cool feature to save a weekend! I kind of go back & forth with the crop. In some ways, I think that a little off the top & bottom might create more feeling of vastness surrounding the rock. The detail of the rock comes out just fine in the larger image, I think. Did you play with a lower POV to isolate the ball more?
That is ridiculous John! I wouldn't want to spend to long there for fear of an alien emerging! It looks like you made the most of what you had to work with, the sky adds a lot.
Odd to say the least. Looks alien and about to crack open. I like the textures on the ball and the clouds compliment the whole image. Nice find and great B&W image.
That's one of the craziest looking balanced rocks I've seen, John. I think you photographed it quite well. I'm glad you had a cooperative sky that morning, too!
Nuts! I love it. Id crop a bit off the bottom and lhs, so the center of the subject is at the true 1/3 spot. This shot is all about balance and as it stands the balance is not yet 'perfect'
Discussion
13 repliesBut, as I was driving near Tuba City, AZ my free Garmin Desert Southwest GPS map (highly recommended!) showed me a feature called Balanced Rock out in the absolute middle of nowhere. Of course, I had to check it out! And sure enough, a few miles along some lonely dirt roads brought me to this place, where I spent the night and shot it in the morning. It's about 8' tall with a 5' circumference (+/-).
Any suggestions or thoughts quite welcome!
Canon 5DII w/Rokinon 14mm lens
1/15 sec. @ f5.6 ISO 100
In fact the more I look at it, is it possible to get up close to the globe and shoot the entire thing against the sky?
Sometimes the off route things turn out to be the best part of the trip.
This really does look like a golf ball on a tee. Now you just need to find a large rock shaped like a 5 iron and hang them next to one another on your wall.
I am wondering why you chose to process this as a B&W? I am trying to learn a little more about B&W processing. I know what my reasons are a lot of the time for doing a B&W, but find myself wondering yours?
Shane