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| Myth and magic in the deserts southwest |
tilting at southwestern windmills
I envy you [Americans] your deserts -- not just because they are deserts -- but because you can afford to keep them deserts.
--David Ben-Gurion
Much like Don Quixote jousting at real or imagined enemies, the sentinels of the desert southwest stand testament to time and place. In a real or imaginary world of sandstone, wind, rain, snow and ice along with searing summer heat, these shapes and forms provide both mental and photographic playgrounds for the mind and body.
In spirit the southwest can mean almost anywhere from California to Colorado. From New Mexico and Arizona through Utah and Nevada. These vast stretches of now shrinking wilderness provide both myth and magic when images are invisioned. Bringing those images from thought to fruition is often fun but never easy. After all, when art is made to look easy, it surly isn't!
The border area of northern Arizona and Utah along the Colorado River has long held special interest for me. Long before these places were known and explored in depth photographers such as Elliot Porter were making stark images of forbidden and beautiful places in this area. As development and technology progressed these places became more readily available to more people and the images began to flow in quantity and quality.
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| Telling the story of the sandstone | Telling the story of the environment |
The top image and the frame just above on the left are the same capture. While we worked the scene as a group the desired light was only present for a very few moments. It allowed for only one setup which was quickly accomplished. With the directional light dictating the composition I choose an angle that provided an almost full side view and the shape gave a -desert dancer ... Don Quixote- feel. This angle also seemed to help ground the reality of the textured sandstone. Next I wanted to tell the story of the setting. Without the dominate light in the foreground a wide angle lens (Canon 14 MM 2.8) gave the sculpture a diffiert look that led to the burst of the sky above.
The field capture in this case was only the beginning. Using the Singh-Ray color Combo filter on the left image gave me the intensity of color I desired and masking a very difficult exposure in the right frame helped to bring the -minds eye- image that I saw in the field to life.
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| A sand fall in the slot canyons | Fresh snowfall on the desert |
The Season set the stage for both of the images above. Soft and subdued light give a reflected pastel color cast. The tumbleweed sets the color counterpoint and the falling sand provides movement and drama. The exposure was 30 seconds. The composition on the right would have been dramatic in itself even without the fresh snow but would have been set up differently had the patterns on the ground not been present. Canon 24 MM Tilt/Shift lens with Singh-Ray 3 stop graduated ND filter to highlight the foreground.
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| A delight in any season. The formation known as The Wave |
Being on the land is reward in itself in this area. Being -in- the landscape is the essence of making a photographic statement about that landscape. In order to photograph this, I feel you must first live it!
For me living the landscape is the attempt to understand what forces of creation and destruction are at work and how they may have left what the viewfinder now studies and sees. It's all about shape, form, color and light usually. It's all about making a statement with these elements. It's also all about the need to eliminate what may detract from that statement as well.
This region has become known to man mostly because man has reshaped the area to suit his needs. Before Glen Canyon dam was built there wasn't a paved road within 50 miles of this wilderness. While the dam changed things, and it is argued for better or worse, it did provide easy access to this area and I don't think it can be argued that the photographic opportunities would be very different without this access.
Doing a workshop in this area is treat! The vast landscape provides uniquely different opportunities for adventure and photography. From panoramic vistas of Lake Powell to slot canyons and the candy land world of the Vermillion Wilderness, this land of the Navajo is a paradise both lost and found.
Sharing this adventure with photographers takes planning and the dangers are many. Care should always be taken when traveling alone. A workshop provides location, saftey and makes the best use of time. A vehicle provides a way to see these many treasures, provided it is intendend for this use, but many times is only the means to the gateway. Hiking and camping is necessary if one wants to -live the landscape-.
Check all the current workshops.
View the DVD series Steve Kossack Photographing the Great American Landscape.
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