Photographer's Note
This will probably be the last of my Salt Lake City/Railroad photos for a while. These are more posts from the old Lucin Cutoff, the rail line that went directly across the Great Salt Lake, and now replaced by a causeway of rock and gravel--a boring dirt road. For more information on this railway, please see my previous few images.
The Great Salt Lake is only 35 feet deep at its greatest depth, and flats like these abound all around it. When rainfall is heavy, these flats fill with a few centimetres of water. The makeup of the mud you see does contain lots of salt, but the flat salt flats, where the Bonneville Raceway is, for example, are almost smooth because they contain so much salt and other minerals. Were you to eat this dirt, an action against which I would advise(!), it would taste very salty, though.
Nearly all rainfall in the Great Basin region, which comprises western Utah and eastern Nevada, ends up in this lake with no outlet. Of course, it only rains from 6-15 inches each year, so it is a real desert! There has been a drought for the past seven years with only about 6-9 inches of rain per year. We have the highest snow pack in state history this year, though, so it looks like our drought might be over. You can see some of this snow pack in the very ski-able mountains in the distance--the Wasatch mountains.
bantonbuju, torben, ravish, avigur_11, RandomCameraGuy, singuanti, wilkinsonsg, nwoehnl, cmartos, robiuk, ash_parikh, Jeppe, CliffW έχουν(ει) επιλέξει αυτή τη σημείωση ως χρήσιμη
Critiques | Translate
torben
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 926 W: 307 N: 563]](http://i1.trekearth.com/misc/g-g-g.gif){kind=small}
(3100) 2005-04-23 15:16
This is pure Ansel Adams style and I can't fault it anywhere (although I'm not such a big Ansel Adams fan).
Composition, balance, contrast between smooth and rough, plain and mountains, the contrast and tonal range, it's all excellently handled.
Looking back it almost looks like I'm building up to a "but", but there is not "but", I just like it.
bantonbuju
(51815) 2005-04-23 15:41
hi david, by chance i have been posting a desert series for some time, but this one is awesome - it conveys the hit of the place in a perfect way; nothing to add, this pic is just tremendous;
bw, jerzy
khmelins
(960) 2005-04-23 16:02
the textures are amazingly sharp here. i guess torben said it all. a very good one, thanks for posting
anton
davido
(1982) 2005-04-23 16:02
A beautiful landscape and POV !!
I love the sky and its clouds.
Those posts are really coming from nowhere!
Is this a fossil what we can see in the foreground?
Regards, David
rbcy1974
(20758) 2005-04-23 16:09
Hi David,
I agree with Torben this is a great landscape in the classical spirit of Ansel Adams but also has some kind of daliesque surrealist tone on it given by the dead trees.
Really excellent shot
Daniel
sarju
(5324) 2005-04-23 16:28
Hi David
Nice series of pictures ... I was just going through some of previous critiques ... and honesly I don't know the style that everybody else is talking about ... the thing I know is that I liked this photo ... period
cheers
Sarju
PS: I like the way you took just a part of the sky ... it gives the touch of it but does'nt expose it wholly .. cheers
Ina
(2687) 2005-04-23 16:30
This is great... Lovely black and white photo where the compositiona and the cracks in the earth makes it all... I like it...TFS...Ina...
ravish
![Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Silver Note Writer [C: 85 W: 26 N: 38]](http://i1.trekearth.com/misc/g-s-s.gif){kind=small}
(140) 2005-04-23 17:05
hi david,
the composition is as usual,great as ever.
good POV and the posts do look like coming from under the earth.i really love the way you have brought this B&W image as a posting as it deserves to be in B&W only.the sky has come out really well.i feel cropping a bit frm the bottom would not be bad and also i can't make out what may have caused the white light or the streak at the extreme right at the top part of the photo to be present here;in other words,what is that white streak near the mountains on the right?
regards,
ravish.
avigur_11
(22535) 2005-04-23 18:52
Thanks for thiis very interesting note, David. Again, I support your decision for b/w. Treatment of the light is great, especially in the sky. Composition wise, I think that a square format works very well, and I like very much the cracked desert ground in the FG.
It looks to me like a very interesting place, I hope that I'll have a chance to see it soon.
great one, David.
toni_al
(15875) 2005-04-23 19:17
Hi David
Trθs joli rendu B&W, j'aime le contraste entre la zone sθche et aride, avec la neige au sommet des montagnes.
Very nice shot
Amitiιs
Toni
smartins
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor [C: 268 W: 70 N: 395]](http://i1.trekearth.com/misc/g-g-n.gif){kind=small}
(1967) 2005-04-23 19:34
Hi David!
This is another great photo!
I love the composition, the details, the POV and the DOF.
The B&W works really, really good! Well done!
Take care,
Susana
Homerhomer
(4080) 2005-04-23 20:48
I don't know about Adams simply because I am not aware of any images of his that would be comosed in a similar way (that doesn't mean that there aren't any as I haven't studied his work throughly), but I am convinsed that had he taken exactly the same image as you did, he would have been mightly proud of it.
All I can say is bravo, this is splendid, among thousands of landscapes we can see on the internet each month there are very few that truly stand out, and IMO this is one of them. It is truly interesting, shows how difficult the area is and has an almost deathly feeling to it. The composition is fantastic, the light seems quite strong but you have managed the exposure in such a way that it doesn't look harsh and nothing is blown out, black and white conversion is very good and without the artificial feeling that many digital bw images have.
Bravo.
Peter
kensimage
![Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1083 W: 39 N: 1167]](http://i1.trekearth.com/misc/g-s-g.gif){kind=small}
(8563) 2005-04-23 22:56
It's not Adams, it's maybe more like David Muench! In fact it's a great photo that not copying anyone. Very nice composition, David, and a great job with the tones, especially on the distant mountains.
Would a lower angle of the light bring out even more texture in the earth?
cam
(9043) 2005-04-23 23:03
Very good composition.It is very dramatic,more so in B&W.This photo is charge with emotion and do not leave anyone unaffected.Bravo
Charles
RandomCameraGuy
(3071) 2005-04-23 23:10
Just gorgeous David. Your BW conversion work is fantastic here. Great range of tones, the sharpness is spot on, and an interesting choice to have the three posts not as the direct foreground.
Cheers!
af
singuanti
(15250) 2005-04-23 23:22
Hi David. I think the outstanding composition is one of this shots best attributes. The textures in the mud are amazing. The DOF is flawless. I'm glad to hear the drought might be over. Excellent note too. Another superb shot from you David. I hope to see some more fantastic work from you soon!
wilkinsonsg
(8662) 2005-04-24 5:29
The graphic elements on this image are remarkable, the composition is outstanding in it's clarity, the patterns created are so sharp, - what more can I say, it goes in my favourites list :)
nwoehnl
(122) 2005-04-24 5:36
What to say David other than sincerely acknowledging that this is another great one. The crispness of the cracked surface texture in the foreground is amazing, and well accentuated by the sunlight you got. Also a great deep DOF towards the mountain range in the background, topped by excellent clouds. In this one I like that you didn't choose a lower angle, because I think it's vital for the composition to have this narrow gray layer of salt flats between the foreground posts and the horizon line. Great post treatment, and interesting notes, a fine job.
cmartos
(242) 2005-04-24 6:00
Great Salt Lake, a place offering so beautiful photographic opportunities. Your vision here looks quite sad, not a flaw at all indeed. The cracked ground, three abandoned posts and a such negative space around. A wide range of tones too, all this participates to feeling of desolation. And to even increase that mood, the small strip of "fresh white" brings strong proportions opposition. Very well captured and rendered David.
PixelTerror
(0) 2005-04-24 6:08
Hi David,
Nice continuation of your series here, the rising structures among the salar nothingness get even more spectacular, it's possible this effect has also been increased by your B&W choice.
Have a nice sunday,
Jean-Yves
robiuk
(10807) 2005-04-24 10:52
Lovely b/w with good compo & DOF, David.
It looks very dry thanks to harsh sunlight and crackled mud.
Robi
tontonjc
(6623) 2005-04-24 12:01
Waooouuuhhh . splendide . le noir et blanc est au top !! cadrage et paysage sont ΰ couper le souffle ...
BRAVO
Smiles tomorrow
nmess
(2301) 2005-04-24 12:45
The contrast and clarity here are very good and the use of B/W is on the mark. I think I may have attempted a bit lower perspective so that while capturing all that is seen here, a bit more of the dramatic sky would have been included. But still a catch worth framing.
toddadams
(575) 2005-04-25 15:16
Nice take on a classic scene and style. I do agree with the comment about needing just a tad more sky to balance the scene out a bit. And personally I think it would look better with just the slightest bit more contrast, but that's a matter of taste.
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 237 W: 0 N: 172]](http://i1.trekearth.com/misc/g-n-g.gif){kind=small}
Jeppe
(18654) 2005-04-26 16:47
Kind of famous this place - I can remember some world record attempts with the fastes car in the world.
I like the B&W image to give us the graphics of the ground with cracks and the poles (or whats left) as fine main motifs - thanks David for sharing - well done.
CliffW
(2381) 2005-04-30 10:32
These three remnants stand out like they were monuments or giant formations against the dry ground until your look back to the mountain range behind. The detail in these few subjects and the cracked dirt around them is perfect.
oasisone (0) 2005-05-28 17:57
There is just something about deserts that draw photographers and make dramatic images. Very nice! Congrats
Photo Information
-
Copyright: David Sidwell (dsidwell)
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2294 W: 168 N: 1911]](//i1.trekearth.com/misc/g-g-g.gif)
(9783) - Genre: Τοποθεσίες
- Medium: Μαύρο & Ασπρο
- Date Taken: 2005-03-00
- Categories: Αρχιτεκτονική
- Camera: Sony DSC F707, UV+Polarizer
- Έκθεση: f/8
- Έκδοση φωτογραφίας: Πρωτότυπη έκδοση
- Date Submitted: 2005-04-23 15:06
- Αγαπημένα: 2 [view]
Discussions
- Fossil? (To DavidO) (1)
by dsidwell, last updated 2005-04-23 08:06 - Ansel Adams (to Sarju) (1)
by dsidwell, last updated 2005-04-23 08:08
