Desert view

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-- Robert Kuciak (newage@ica.net), August 26, 1998

Answers

What feeling were you trying to project with this picture? Altough nicely exposed, it seems "empty". Is the subject the slope on the right, the puddle in the foreground, or the sky?

-- Paul Lenson (lenson@pci.on.ca), August 26, 1998.

Kinda flat, and also possibly tilted down left? It elicits feelings of being lost in a very boring desert. The snippet reflection of the hill in the water is distracting, and I feel like I want to see more of the puddle. ESP

-- Eric Peltier (espelt@winternet.com), August 26, 1998.

well, ya know, it's not exactly "sunrise over...new mexico", but the colors are wonderfully representative of a feeling of desolation, which, i presume, was the "feeling he was trying to express". and the choice of focal lengths (one of the most underrated decisions in photography, imho) is perfect. in all, an image of quite above average quality.

-- wayne harrison (wayno@netmcr.com), August 26, 1998.

I think I'll update my opinion.
I meant the "snippet of reflection" was distracting, but I'm not sure now. I also think, the more I look at the photo, the horizon doesn't tilt, it's just a very wide angle lens? I do like the exposure and colors. I love the colors in the desert. Southern Utah especially. ESP

-- Eric Peltier (espelt@winternet.com), August 26, 1998.

I like this picture very much for it depiction of desolation in the long desert valley. The subject is the vastness of the desert and does not require a particular object to fix your gaze. The triangular geometry seems strong to me and the colors are also in strong opposition. The use of the wide angle lens and placing the puddle/pond in the foreground gives a sense of great depth. Very nicely down. I'd be pleased to show it if were mine.

-- Philippe Olivier (mpolivier@packet.net), August 26, 1998.


I've given it more thought. Desert implies many things: heat,sand, desolation, and lack of water. IMO this image is about the salt puddle. The horizon is almost in the middle. This picture is about 50% sky and 50% foreground puddle (lots of water). To generate some depth the camera would need to be lower. A close shot of a bit of cactus, sand or rock in the foreground would help. As it is, I see little depth. I looks to me as if the shot were taken from a car window.

-- Paul Lenson (lenson@pci.on.ca), August 26, 1998.

There is a good feel about the picture and is peaceful. It has beautiful colors and I love the color of the reflection in water. As is, it is lonely and is missing an element. It would look great with a caption on a postcard or some other commercial project. If I shot the picture, I would have cropped a little more of the foreground and would see more of the sky. I would have also tilted it a little more to get the horizon straight. Good luck.

-- Bahman Farzad (bahman_farzad@mindspring.com), August 26, 1998.

Very strange composition. Half a mountain to the right, half a puddle too the left.Ever so slightly disturbing tilt. Nevertheless, there is something to this picture that makes it memorable.

-- (andreas@physio.unr.edu), August 27, 1998.

For what it's worth, that puddle that everyone is refering to is Badwater in Death Valley. Lowest point in the Northern Hemisphere, I believe. I like the colors in the foto, but i think it would be better if it were cropped at the top so that the diagonal of the mountain on the right was at the top of the picture. I'd also crop it at the bottom closer to the water. Lastly, the horizon is tilted to the left.

-- richard mittleman (gon2foto@gte.net), August 27, 1998.

Yes, it does seem to be very reminiscent of Badwater. It looks like Robert was trying to stay on the trail but if he had panned to the left there might have been some pictorial elements of interest (Panamint Range and Telescope Peak >11000 feet). As it is, only the right part of the range shows. The photo does a good job of portraying emptiness though. Maybe, this is only a suggestion as I wasn't there, he should have taken the photo from a lower perspective and shot upward more (horizon 2/3 of the way from the top) or shot downward more (horizon 1/3 of the way from the top) to invoke the rule of thirds.

-- Warren Kato (wkato@aol.com), August 27, 1998.


In addition to the problems mentioned above, I think this photo lacks a center of interest. It has or had several things going for it, such as the colors and feeling of desolation, but I feel the photographer failed to capitalize on its potential or to convey what it was that prompted him to take the photo.

-- Lester LaForce (102140.1200@compuserve.com), August 27, 1998.

Crop the "puddle" right out. Then crop the top a little. The resulting picture has more feeling of "emptiness" then the current one.

-- Paul Lenson (lenson@pci.on.ca), August 27, 1998.

There is a good photo in here, but Robert did not see it. This scene cries out for a near/far relationship. Walking closer to the water and enlarging the vee formed by the mountain on the left and its reflection would have been a far more interesting composition. As it stands, there is far too much dead space in this photograph. Getting there earlier in the day or staying later would have helped add color to the clouds in the background t

-- Darron Spohn (sspohn@concentric.net), September 01, 1998.

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