For Flash of February b&w theme this month. I've been working on this one for awhile (thank you Jane, Ross, Randall, Eric). Finally ready to post. At the Flamingo Reserve and salt flats at about 12,000 feet in the Andes. Taken in December, processed for the past 2 weeks.
Hell thats a lot of time processing! Do you ever eat? Wow, this is supreme - don't know what time of day it is but the light and focus makes it a magazine entrant! fav
I really love your end result! Have you taken away some sky here? Just a tiny bit? I could never agree with that suggestion, but I am in the minority! Anyway, I love this image with all it's texture and depth and strong leading path. I should revisit some of my own images from arid parts of South Africa and try B&W conversions on them!
Don't some pictures do that to you. You keep tweaking and untweaking to get just the look you want. I just recently discovered how to use "Snapshots" so I can save pictures at various points in the process. Shows well the wide openness of the desert and the monotone with out strong blacks.
What a vast and arresting landscape this is! I was amazed when I saw this shot because we spent this past weekend with friends planning a trip to Peru and Bolivia, including the Salt Flats! I hadn't realized you had visited on your recent trip. Was December a good month to go?
@redy4et The Atacama Desert is right next to Bolivia (I think they said we were about 6 km away at various points. It was beautiful then -- their summer so plenty warm. It's the driest desert in the world so with 2" of rain, damp weather is not an issue and I would guess rain would be exciting. We were in Peru a few years ago in March and it was fantastic then -- right after the rainy season so things were really green and our weather was wonderful. How exciting to be going to both countries -- a photographer's dream! Peru is one of my favorite trips/destinations ever -- Cuzco, Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu -- really incredible areas.
@ericdibosco I think this is the same as v4 in the critique group -- that was where I'd shaved a bit of sky off, but not too much. It was interesting working on this -- I think I've learned more from this photo than any of my others and I am pleased with the final result. Though looking at it, I can't believe it took me so many iterations to get it right!
Another beautiful capture. Your attention to details in processing is really paying off. I'm not just saying this to be nice, but I really do believe your pictures are reaching the caliber of some of the greats like Ansel Adams, who seems to be an inspiration in this shot.
@olivetreeann Wow Ann -- you can't imagine how much your comment meant to me. Like so many others, Ansel Adams is my hero, the first photographer I paid attention to and someone whose work I love. So thank you so much!!
Fab leading line and the b&w fits perfectly here. Great composition as well. Saw some of your prior processed images on Flickr and think the end result looks great, lightening the sky worked perfectly - fav also for all your hard work in processing this image
@leonbuys83 Thanks Leon! I always wonder if I should take the previous ones off Flickr! I did work hard on this and really benefited from the critique of fellow photographers. LR5 is such a powerful tool -- glad to be learning it more.
All your hard work paid off... such wonderful textures and light in this shot. Plus, of course, the strong lines of the footpath leading into the rocks. A very compelling composition, especially in b&w.
