The Battlefield

Gallery: LandscapePosted May 15, 20111,022 views25 comments

Strewn with debris, the chaos of the battlefield. Rock and water. Water grinds it down, turning rock against itself. Swirling, seething, eddying, surging.

This river does not reach the sea but, tired, the water seeps into the sand, gathering into some deep aquifer not to emerge to see the light of day for millennia.

These are four images from a longer series made now over the last few years along a stretch of the Ewaso Ng’iro river in north-central Kenya in a place called Sabuk. A place of mystery. A little further downstream is a place where the young warriors, freshly circumcised, are taken for some ceremony before they are banished from their home villages for a decade. You leave as a boy and come back, aware and mature, as a man.

I hope you enjoy them. Thoughts welcome. All made with one camera, one lens: Mamiya 7ii, 43mm, delta 100 b&w film. No filters here.

Comments

25 comments

Comment posted by Stuart Williams on May 15, 2011 at 2:49 PM

This is but a brief pause in the perpetual battle between rock and water. As with most battlefields, there’s little elegance here. Scarred, deformed, the rock lies quiet for this moment, waiting for the next onslaught.

Registered on December 7, 2007, 247 Posts, 4792 Comments

Comment posted by Stuart Williams on May 15, 2011 at 2:51 PM

More scars

Registered on December 7, 2007, 247 Posts, 4792 Comments

Comment posted by Stuart Williams on May 15, 2011 at 2:54 PM

And more

Registered on December 7, 2007, 247 Posts, 4792 Comments

Comment posted by Eva McDermott on May 15, 2011 at 3:11 PM

This series is magnificent Stuart! Each one is better than the last with their silvery tones and twisted forms. The second reminded me of tortured souls at first glance for some reason. I am sure, each has it own story. Amazing work!

Registered on January 4, 2009, 1015 Posts, 13229 Comments

Comment posted by James Fougère on May 15, 2011 at 3:13 PM

Erosion over time has created quite the scene in this place. Nice captures

Registered on October 25, 2010, 41 Posts, 831 Comments

Comment posted by Cory Freeman on May 15, 2011 at 3:51 PM

awesome images Stuart! I'm thinking if you add a bit more midtone contrast this might look even better; say by duplicating the bg layer and applying some sharpening with usm of 20,50,0 and adjust oppacity to taste? just a thought. really liking your work.

Registered on December 16, 2003, 107 Posts, 1341 Comments

Comment posted by Sarah Marino on May 15, 2011 at 4:11 PM

Stuart - this looks like an incredible place to visit and photograph. I am also really enjoying the silvery tones of all the images, but agree with Cory about the mid-tone contrast. Brightening the lighter parts of the water could also add some depth. Otherwise, I really like the processing and composition. The patterns in the second image are incredible, as well!

Registered on November 10, 2008, 23 Posts, 393 Comments

Comment posted by Jared Atencio on May 15, 2011 at 6:18 PM

These are all fantastic Stuart! They seem to convey a dark and twisted feeling, which is kind of an intersting juxtaposition to the lower-contrast processing and the soft light. I think maybe the 1st and 3rd could use a touch more contrast as other's have mentioned, but I like the 2nd and 4th as is. I also appreciate the info about the location of the images, so thanks for sharing that as well!

Registered on June 23, 2009, 21 Posts, 422 Comments

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on May 15, 2011 at 6:39 PM

These are really gorgeous, Stuart. I especially like number 2, but they're all well done.

I think your battlefield analogy is interesting. I will admit that the beauty to come out of the rock-water interaction doesn't necessarily make me think in terms of war though and thinking of these images in terms of "scars" doesn't seem to do justice to their interesting character. Just my thoughts, though. They're your images and I can easily appreciate and like them regardless of the metaphorical context.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 364 Posts, 22328 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Rhodus on May 15, 2011 at 9:23 PM

Wonderful series of images Stuart. I see through your images that this location is loaded with character.

Registered on November 16, 2003, 157 Posts, 3326 Comments

Comment posted by Scott Miller on May 16, 2011 at 2:03 AM

great series! thanks for sharing.

Registered on May 9, 2011, 23 Posts, 322 Comments

Comment posted by Stuart Williams on May 16, 2011 at 2:36 AM

thanks for comments.

- cory, sarah & jared - I shall experiment further with mid-tone contrast - thanks for suggestion.

- tony - i wrote the blurb for the second image (for which i think it is appropriate) and then decided on the spur of the moment to throw the others in (things are busy at present and i haven't the time really to add things one by one ...!) so you're right, the analogy doesn't work across all the images but i think it works best for the second (and it seems that eva agrees!)

thanks again.

Registered on December 7, 2007, 247 Posts, 4792 Comments

Comment posted by Floris van Breugel on May 16, 2011 at 2:48 AM

Wonderful, Stuart. You really have a way with producing such wonderful smooth yet rich tones in your black and whites. I like the combination of the silky water and the smooth worn rocks.

In the future, if you could stick to one image per post we'd appreciate that - otherwise it makes it harder for folks to comment specifically and in depth on your image. You are, however, welcome to provide a link to a blog post or webpage that shows more images (or save them for future posts!). Anyways, fascinating scenes!

Registered on December 19, 2008, 306 Posts, 4840 Comments

Comment posted by Andreas Resch on May 16, 2011 at 5:59 AM

Amazing - what a place. All shots are wonderful and a pleasure to look at, Stuart.

Registered on November 14, 2007, 322 Posts, 6101 Comments

Comment posted by Stuart Williams on May 16, 2011 at 7:23 AM

Oooops - sorry about that Floris. time constraints and the series nature of this stuff. no worries - sharn't do it again! [But given that many people work on projects or series, it might be worth considering a different gallery for cohesive projects/series?]

Registered on December 7, 2007, 247 Posts, 4792 Comments

Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on May 16, 2011 at 8:30 AM

What a great series. Love your use of the gnarled twisted forms.

Registered on September 27, 2006, 636 Posts, 10682 Comments

Comment posted by Matt Anderson on May 16, 2011 at 9:42 AM

Stuart, I'm GLAD you broke the rules, and posted the series. Some people don't realize that many images are produced to be viewed as a SERIES and not a single entity.

I think they all are amazing, but the second one has a ghoulish damned souls aurora that is quite unsettling. I love it!
Great SERIES of images, and thank you for posting them all.

Registered on September 6, 2007, 346 Posts, 2696 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Chambers on May 16, 2011 at 10:08 AM

A beautiful series Stuart. I do disagree about the elegance though - I find these to be very elegant, and they work so nicely in B&W.

Registered on April 10, 2005, 753 Posts, 21216 Comments

Comment posted by Zack Clothier on May 16, 2011 at 11:46 AM

I really like the first and second post. The processing is great. Nicely done Stuart!

Registered on January 28, 2010, 343 Posts, 2257 Comments

Comment posted by Jesse Estes on May 16, 2011 at 12:20 PM

What a sweet little scene you found here. Excellent work!

Registered on April 13, 2011, 20 Posts, 174 Comments

Comment posted by Dietrich Gloger on May 16, 2011 at 12:28 PM

Very strong series Stuart. The second one is my favourite. This is as "HR Giger" as it gets, a fantastic shot.

Registered on January 26, 2007, 360 Posts, 9876 Comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on May 16, 2011 at 1:09 PM

I like this much more than the previous one i commented on--great diaganol comp, nice dynamics--great shot!

Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on May 16, 2011 at 1:12 PM

Oh--just noticed the others (i agree with FLoris, btw the Photo Art Gallery permits series, but a link is best

) I really like #2, and 3, 4 are great too but id tighten them up a bit by cropping the top of both.

Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on May 17, 2011 at 11:00 AM

These are awesome! A wonderful series, Stuart. I really enjoy looking at these. Beautiful work.

interesting, looks like we were commenting on each others image at the same time.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments

Comment posted by Vance Gese on May 17, 2011 at 10:52 PM

Fantastic portfolio of images, Stuart. The tones are superb, and the shapes and forms of the rocks are really amazing. The second and third images are really stunning in my book.

Registered on November 13, 2008, 298 Posts, 6629 Comments