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Jehovah's Awful Throne
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Jehovah's Awful Throne

by John Williams

Gallery: LandscapePosted August 28, 2010595 views21 comments
Hoodoos in the Bisti Wilderness, New Mexico, USA

And for those of you not into the whole brevity thing:

In response to some of the threads I've read in the forums, the last few times I've been out photographing (pitifully few this summer) I've tried to challenge myself to look for photos outside of the golden hours of dawn and sunset. As a general rule I've been less than impressed with the results, with the exception of heavy cloud cover. This is an example, taken about two hours prior to sunset. The dense, yet broken, clouds were causing some unique lighting conditions. The sun shining from behind these hoodoos was striking to my eye, and I've tried to capture the effect.

Although I spent most of my time photographing them, there is a lot more to the Bisti Badlands than the Broken Eggs. I hope to return to explore and photograph some of the other amazing formations and colors.

Nikon D80
Nikon 12.0-24.0 mm f/4.0 at 12 mm
Hand Blend of 1/60, 1/180, and 1/500 sec at f/16 and ISO 100
(The sun was originally against the right edge, so I took extra shots to the right and warped it slightly left.)

Comments

21 comments
Comment posted by Arnab Banerjee on August 28, 2010 at 12:27 PM
I like it John. Outside golden hour, your artistry and technique needs to be spot on to create a memorable shot - most dont even try and stick to the proven formula and create the repetitive imagery that we see everywhere. This is refreshingly new - the mood and the comp is very delicate here
Registered on January 3, 2007, 313 Posts, 2270 Comments
Comment posted by Bruce King on August 28, 2010 at 1:26 PM
Impressive John. I think this is my favorite of yours from Bisti so far, because of the primordial mood it conveys. I know it's almost a cliche' but I think that best descirbes it. Nice composition, details are eye popping and as usual your processing skills are enviable. This is cool stuff. I gotta get down there. :toast:
Registered on January 14, 2010, 276 Posts, 2212 Comments
Comment posted by Barry Vangrov on August 28, 2010 at 1:37 PM
Beautiful image, John and very well processed. I love the sky, especially how the clouds look almost B&W to contrast the blue portion of the sky. Then you have the almost B&W hoodoos contrasting with the rust colored ones in the foreground. A lot of subtle things going on here.
Registered on September 1, 2009, 148 Posts, 749 Comments
Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on August 28, 2010 at 1:38 PM
Fine work, John. Almost surreal in a subdued way. I especially appreciate the detail in the shadows and the dramatic sky.
Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments
Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on August 28, 2010 at 2:19 PM
This turned out great, John. The hints of color and the varied and interesting textures makes for a dynamic frame.
Registered on November 1, 2003, 364 Posts, 22328 Comments
Comment posted by Joe Becker on August 28, 2010 at 2:50 PM
John - I applaud you for purposefully trying to work outside the golden hours, seems like a great way to expand your photography skills. This is an excellent result. Well done.
Registered on November 1, 2003, 76 Posts, 182 Comments
Comment posted by Paolo De Faveri on August 28, 2010 at 3:05 PM
Another beauty from this area, I must say I like it even more than the previous. That one features a gorgeous sunrise and it's great of course, but I much better like the more subtle colours of this one, and the composition is spot on.

Great, great, great!

:wavey:
Paolo
Registered on August 29, 2007, 318 Posts, 1651 Comments
Comment posted by Wade Hardy on August 28, 2010 at 4:59 PM
This is not my favorite of your BB pics, but still an excellent shot. I find the lighting very interesting in this shot and the colors work extremely well together.
Registered on May 2, 2006, 121 Posts, 1824 Comments
Comment posted by Rick Lundh on August 28, 2010 at 5:38 PM
I like this comp too John. Those clouds really compliment the colors of the scene. I see about 3 dust speck right above the right two hoodoos...
Registered on April 28, 2004, 774 Posts, 4351 Comments
Comment posted by Morris McClung on August 28, 2010 at 8:45 PM
Outstanding comp and excellent handling of the light in the sky. If it was me, I think I might try to brighten the background hoodoos a little more to balance with the foreground ones. They are getting a little lost between the brighter sky and foreground, but this might be what you needed to do to reign in the sky. Still a great shot!
Registered on May 7, 2007, 670 Posts, 19650 Comments
Comment posted by Dan Baumbach on August 28, 2010 at 9:13 PM
This is wonderful. I love the soft light on the rock formations and the sky is fabulous. I'm very impressed with these results.

-Dan.
Registered on November 1, 2003, 473 Posts, 7980 Comments
Comment posted by Ricardo La Piettra on August 28, 2010 at 9:25 PM
Tack sharp, superb level of detail on the formations. Great light and the square presentation works very well. Great photo
Registered on July 22, 2009, 62 Posts, 730 Comments
Comment posted by Dean Sauskojus on August 29, 2010 at 3:52 AM
I think the warm colors on the foreground rocks and the sky keep me in this image. Very nice arrangement. Nothing wrong with this at all.
Registered on September 29, 2009, 137 Posts, 2659 Comments
Comment posted by David Edwards on August 29, 2010 at 5:11 AM
Great image, John. I like the warm orange color on the fg rocks... just enough to contrast the overall cool blue in the rest of the image. Exceptional processing and a fabulous result.
Registered on December 6, 2008, 142 Posts, 2623 Comments
Comment posted by Ron Pederson on August 29, 2010 at 7:07 AM
Very nice work, John. Really like the mood and colors.
Registered on August 12, 2010, 29 Posts, 108 Comments
Comment posted by Lon Overacker on August 29, 2010 at 3:59 PM
John,

This is a marvelous composition with beautiful, soft lighting and a great combination of elements. With a sky like that you could be shooting all day long and this certainly is a great result. I have no nits or suggestions; just a wonderful near far comp and everything working well together. Great work.

Lon
Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments
Comment posted by Scott Smorra on August 30, 2010 at 1:04 AM
Very nice shot John. I feel you have successfully created a strong image outside of the golden hours. Glad to see you are challenging yourself. I really like the comp/framing with the foreground rocks and background hoodoos. The moody sky really takes this one to a higher level.
Registered on November 2, 2009, 161 Posts, 2143 Comments
Comment posted by Stan Rose on August 30, 2010 at 4:12 PM
Looks good, John! I might brighten the sky very slightly. Congrats on your Sept prize winner :toast:
Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments
Comment posted by Lucy VanSwearingen on August 30, 2010 at 4:17 PM
This scene has such a great moodiness to it. And I love the rocks....especially since I am a geologist But, you certainly do not have to be a geologist to love the weathering that Mother Nature has worked on this formation.
Registered on May 23, 2009, 800 Posts, 2042 Comments
Comment posted by John Williams on August 30, 2010 at 4:48 PM
Thanks for the feedback folks, and for the congrats on the photography contest!
Registered on September 6, 2007, 221 Posts, 5985 Comments
Comment posted by Cory O'Neill on August 30, 2010 at 11:10 PM
I am glad you spent time outside of the golden hour, John...wonderful work here! And excellent post work. :toast:
Registered on October 4, 2008, 28 Posts, 273 Comments