Printing up some new greeting cards for the gallery today and finding a few overlooked shots from last Fall that I kinda like. This one here, a panoramic image from Kanarra Creek slot canyon. I did some experimenting with shooting panos in unlikely, narrow spots on this trip; a few worked out quite nicely.
Aspen covered lava field, southern Utah.
I made a point of shooting a lot of panoramas on my most recent tour.. trying to literally get a new perspective on some old, familiar subjects. Since our eyes see close to 180°, not in small rectangles, I find that it more closely matches the impression you get standing in an expansive scene. I really like the results even in very narrow spots where you might not think of using a pano.. the effect can be almost surrealistic and much more interesting than a standard rectangular shot.. more coming on that.
What could be better than a location where you can spend the whole day in a limited area, easily walk around with your gear anywhere you want to go and not even begin to run out of great subject matter?
This is a new location for me.. and I'm keepin' it secret (well, if someone asks, I'll tell). It was raining so hard on my way here, that I was sure the whole day would be a washout, but it luckily started to lighten up just after I arrived in the late morning. For this scene, I was waiting between rain showers and sticking close to the car, so I pulled out my digital cam and tripod and shot 17 vertical frames, which were later stitched into this panorama. It creates a good overview of the site, whereas most of my other samples are more detail oriented, so this is a good one to start with. The mid ground area, at this distance, might be mistaken for red sand dunes... and it is in a way, but the dunes are actually petrified into solid rock. Unbelievable texture and color...really, really good for climbing around and shooting lots of different compositions, which I did for the remainder of the day after the rain finally quit.
More from the Valley of Fire in Nevada: I spent the late afternoon shooting out in the area of the formations that you can see in the center of this view.. This was well after sunset and I was actually heading out to find a place to stay when I saw this gorgeous twilight sky out of the corner of my eye and just had to pull over and try to shoot a quick panorama. Luckily I left my digital camera on it's tripod across the back seat of the car, rather than put it all away in the pack (I've learned NOT to do that:), so I was able to run out and make 5 vertical shots at 15 seconds each, which I have stitched together here.
Visit the SkyWatch home page each weekend for more great skies from all over the world.
