Medusa's Scream

Gallery: LandscapePosted April 15, 2012135 views9 comments

I had been shooting star trails (which I still need to process) and wanted to get something different before calling it a night. When you're out in the desert at night, hearing nothing but the howls of coyotes, the mind can wander a bit. I saw these impressions in the rock and can say I actually got a bit spooked, but thought it was cool at the same time.

I hope you can see what I did. Comments and critiques are most welcome!

Pentax K-5
Pentax 16-50mm @24
ISO 400
f5.6
2 minutes
shadows illuminated by reflected light from opposite rocks

Comments

9 comments

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on April 15, 2012 at 10:31 PM

I see a big snake head here, Jean. Just waiting for that tongue to dart out. Really impressed with the amount of light you have in the underside of the rocks. Makes a very nice contrast with the sky.

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

Comment posted by Eva McDermott on April 15, 2012 at 11:15 PM

I see the coyote howling Jean. I visited the SW desert two times. Once in 1983 and again with my family in 2008. The coyotes howling surely un-nevered me both times but surely a place not to miss. I like the lack of star trails here and the glow on the arch.

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

Comment posted by Jean Day on April 15, 2012 at 11:23 PM

Thanks for the kind comments Tony and Eva. I had hoped you might see the screaming face in the rock above the snake head...hence the Medusa reference. Could be just me, but I always see spooky things in the rocks at night!

Registered on April 10, 2011, 36 Posts, 306 Comments

Comment posted by John Launstein on April 16, 2012 at 2:26 AM

Hi Jean - I saw it right away and thought, whoa...definitely would have gotten my attention, too! That is freaky...almost looks like the work of a sculptor! Great title. More importantly, it's a really nice image. I like your comp and the colours are great. I like the grad in the URC. I am seeing a bit of a glow/halo around the top of the lower outcropping (the lower jaw of Tony's snake). I'm unsure if that's a result of heavy sharpening or something else, but it did catch my eye...mostly because I was trying to avert my gaze from Medusa's face.

Registered on April 5, 2011, 223 Posts, 1193 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on April 16, 2012 at 12:47 PM

This is an interesting view, Jean, and I like that. The blue and gold always work well together, and the stars look great here.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

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

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on April 16, 2012 at 2:15 PM

Neat point of view and an amazing amount of light on the underside of the arch. I like this a lot. One minor nit is that I find the brightness from the moon in the urc a bit too much, I'd be tempted to apply a gentle graduated darkening to hold it back, but not make it go away.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Vance Gese on April 16, 2012 at 3:00 PM

Really like the sculptural form of the rock set against the starry sky. A unique perspective that works quite well.