Posted by Tim Mulholland on December 19, 2013 at 10:22 AM
When I was pouring over maps and planning my last SW trip, there was an Ancient Puebloan site that caught my attention - Hotel Rock. And, for whatever reason, the old Motel 6 line always seemed to pop into my mind, so I planned on crafting this image.
It's something different. I might make a GIF of it so that the light appears to dance, but I'll leave it at this for now...
Hotel Rock is readily accessible, about fifteen to twenty miles west of Blanding, UT, in the vicinity of the House on Fire ruins. Interestingly, there's a 4WD trail to Hotel Rock which makes for a reasonable hiking path. However, the longer that you walk up the trail, the fewer signs of vehicular traffic that you'll see, as well as more oil spots, scraped rocks and rubber marks. It looks like only the craziest, most adept, tallest 4WDs are making it to Hotel Rock.
Towards the right of this image, near the juniper trees on the flank of Hotel Rock, I stopped to take a few photos looking back at the ruins. When I looked down and scraped my boots, I was pleasantly surprised with all of the potter shards I found. I was likely standing in the old cooking area or possibly a rubbish area. It was a pretty amazing location.
As always, I'm simply in awe of how the Ancient Puebloans survived in these locations. Water isn't readily available, and the rooms in Hotel Rock were tiny and didn't appear too comfortable. I'm always amazed that this area of the US had a larger population about 500 years ago than it does today...
Enjoy,
Tim!
Posted by John Mumaw on December 19, 2013 at 2:50 PM
This is awfully dark, Tim. I can barely see the ruins.
The term 'Anasazi' is back in vogue and politically correct again, so you no longer need to use the 'other' phrase.
Posted by Tim Mulholland on December 19, 2013 at 4:01 PM
John,
I have to agree with you regarding the darkness. I developed the image against a grey background and it looks darker against this white background. I've attached a version of the original which was shot late morning.
And, regarding the correct terminology - Anasazi, Ancient Ones, Ancient Puebloans - it doesn't make any difference; I'll always be wrong as the times are always changing.
On my trip, got chased out of Cortez by a snowstorm - made to Durango by the skin of my teeth...
Tim!
Posted by Kane Engelbert on December 19, 2013 at 10:45 PM
Tim, love the idea. Both images run from one extreme to the other, too dark vs too bright. In the second image, the actual Puebloan architecture appears close (a bit too bright) to properly exposed but the rest appears blown out. I think what we are trying to get to here, critique-wise, is a properly exposed shot.
Lastly, you might consider a big crop with this one; or in the field, a closer zoom. Lets face it, this one is about the stunning architecture. For my eye, there's a lot of foreground trees and middle foreground sandstone walls (especially to the right) that take my eye away from the architecture.
Discussion
3 repliesIt's something different. I might make a GIF of it so that the light appears to dance, but I'll leave it at this for now...
Hotel Rock is readily accessible, about fifteen to twenty miles west of Blanding, UT, in the vicinity of the House on Fire ruins. Interestingly, there's a 4WD trail to Hotel Rock which makes for a reasonable hiking path. However, the longer that you walk up the trail, the fewer signs of vehicular traffic that you'll see, as well as more oil spots, scraped rocks and rubber marks. It looks like only the craziest, most adept, tallest 4WDs are making it to Hotel Rock.
Towards the right of this image, near the juniper trees on the flank of Hotel Rock, I stopped to take a few photos looking back at the ruins. When I looked down and scraped my boots, I was pleasantly surprised with all of the potter shards I found. I was likely standing in the old cooking area or possibly a rubbish area. It was a pretty amazing location.
As always, I'm simply in awe of how the Ancient Puebloans survived in these locations. Water isn't readily available, and the rooms in Hotel Rock were tiny and didn't appear too comfortable. I'm always amazed that this area of the US had a larger population about 500 years ago than it does today...
Enjoy,
Tim!
The term 'Anasazi' is back in vogue and politically correct again, so you no longer need to use the 'other' phrase.
I have to agree with you regarding the darkness. I developed the image against a grey background and it looks darker against this white background. I've attached a version of the original which was shot late morning.
And, regarding the correct terminology - Anasazi, Ancient Ones, Ancient Puebloans - it doesn't make any difference; I'll always be wrong as the times are always changing.
On my trip, got chased out of Cortez by a snowstorm - made to Durango by the skin of my teeth...
Tim!
Lastly, you might consider a big crop with this one; or in the field, a closer zoom. Lets face it, this one is about the stunning architecture. For my eye, there's a lot of foreground trees and middle foreground sandstone walls (especially to the right) that take my eye away from the architecture.