Turkmen Badlands + repost!

Gallery: LandscapePosted June 2, 2014841 views25 comments

One of the simple reasons that I am posting this is because it is a place that I was privileged to visit last month (May 2014) and it is a place to which very, very few people will ever get.

It is within the proposed Sumbar National Park in Turkmenistan close to the Turkmen-Iranian border. These are the strange foothills of the Kopetdag Mountains before they disappear in the Karakum Desert.

Please have a look at the L A R G E R version! See also R E - P O S T with bigger contrast below ...

Thanks
Stuart

Hasselblad 500c/m, 150mm lens, Ilford Delta 100 b&w film, tripod.

Comments

25 comments

Comment posted by John&Patty Benway on June 2, 2014 at 8:57 AM

Very nice Stuart, I like this very much, really holds my attention, so much to see and explore. Beautifully seen and presented.
John

Registered on May 12, 2006, 626 Posts, 8700 Comments

Comment posted by Harley Goldman on June 2, 2014 at 9:12 AM

I like this a lot, Stuart. Nice lines, sense of texture in the hills and fascinating shapes.

Registered on November 19, 2003, 586 Posts, 11271 Comments

Comment posted by Paul Breitkreuz on June 2, 2014 at 9:30 AM

Excellent depth to this one, Stuart. The perspective and your well placed composition makes this one work very well.

Registered on February 25, 2006, 525 Posts, 8448 Comments

Comment posted by gary phillips on June 2, 2014 at 10:33 AM

Wow, Stuart, this looks like a fascinating place to explore. I like the perspective from this high point . The details are wonderful and makes me want to explore this area further. Hopefully some more intimate comps coming. I really appreciate your insightful comments on my images and your gallery is a real treasure.

Registered on October 24, 2013, 185 Posts, 4136 Comments

Comment posted by Navin Sarma on June 2, 2014 at 10:42 AM

sweet! an amazing view, no nits from me.

Registered on July 17, 2011, 233 Posts, 1373 Comments

Comment posted by Rick Turner on June 2, 2014 at 11:09 AM

Very well done. The larger version is sweet and the story helpful.. Thanks

Registered on February 18, 2012, 534 Posts, 2755 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on June 2, 2014 at 11:51 AM

Stuart, This is very impressive to look at and I'm glad you posted it for us to see.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

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

Comment posted by Harry Lichtman on June 2, 2014 at 12:10 PM

Beautiful rendition of this topography. The lack of scale adds to the abstract quality for me. Seems a relatively high key image in terms of processing. I'm wondering if you tried pulling the blacks and brights in on the histogram to add contrast? Might create additional punch to the folds. Does remind me of places in the American southwest. A visual maze, in a good way

Registered on September 17, 2010, 304 Posts, 3507 Comments

Comment posted by Stuart Williams on June 2, 2014 at 12:35 PM

thanks all.

@ harry - I am still experimenting with the tones in this and having fiddled around with another exposure (made a few minutes earlier than this one), i am not particularly happy with this. it is relatively true to the scene ... if i come up with something i am happy with, i shall post it!

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

Comment posted by Bill Chambers on June 2, 2014 at 12:47 PM

This is so intriguing Stuart. So much for the ye to explore and yet, it's not too busy at all. Well done!

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

Comment posted by Youssef Ismail on June 2, 2014 at 3:41 PM

Fascinating features. B&W was a great choice.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 474 Posts, 5555 Comments

Comment posted by Preston Birdwell on June 2, 2014 at 4:30 PM

Stuart,

I like the high-key tonal scale. Yeah, you could increase the contrast, but I wonder if the sense of light would be lost?

I'd be interested in seeing a repost with slightly more contrast, just to compare.

Sure looks like lonesome country!

--P

Registered on November 1, 2003, 471 Posts, 5188 Comments

Comment posted by Eva McDermott on June 2, 2014 at 7:05 PM

Amazing landscape Stuart. Love the detail in the larger view. I wonder if a little adjustment to the blacks (via exposure, film development, or PS) would accentuate the lines etched in the landscape making it even more abstract. Still enjoy the view as is since it is so different. Was travel safe there?

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

Comment posted by Vance Gese on June 3, 2014 at 1:09 AM

This is gorgeous, Stuart. While I could see playing with the contrast / dark regions and lines as a few have suggested, I really like the luminous quality that this image imbues; almost a glow that envelopes the entire image. Exquisite art in my opinion.

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

Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on June 3, 2014 at 3:56 AM

Loving the labyrinthine patterns and textures here. I wouldn't have though a high key treatment be the first interpretation I would have tried but it works well and probably makes it stand out from what everyone else is doing these days.

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

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on June 3, 2014 at 12:17 PM

The shapes and textures are awesome. Great job of emphasizing them in your b/w treatment.

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

Comment posted by Andrew Waddington on June 3, 2014 at 12:19 PM

Great image, not often we see something from Turkmenistan. I wonder if you managed to get a long enough visit, I remember when I tried to access Turkmenistan I could only get about a 5 day visa.

Registered on February 11, 2014, 44 Posts, 183 Comments

Comment posted by Joseph Campisi on June 3, 2014 at 3:05 PM

Love the high key treatment Stuart, and those furrows and patterns really catch my eye! I could even see a crop of just the bottom 2/3rds for a great abstract. Nice work!

Registered on November 24, 2008, 304 Posts, 3211 Comments

Comment posted by Stuart Williams on June 4, 2014 at 12:33 AM

thanks, folks. here's the re-post, more deeply etched, darks darker ...!! thoughts?

@ preston - lonely? not a soul in sight - just wolf tracks and a few partridges.

@ eva - safe? couldn't be safer. i was there for 'work' - assessing the protected area that they were trying to establish - and was in the hands of good and competent people.

@ joseph - I have a couple of other exposure that emphasise some of the more abstract qualities of the landscape as well.

thanks again to all.

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

Comment posted by Pat Sampson on June 4, 2014 at 8:34 AM

Stuart,

I like both images very much but prefer the first. The second seems more conventional and realistic to me while the first has an abstract quality I prefer. I also think Preston is right and that the first better better depicts the light.

pat

Registered on May 19, 2007, 953 Posts, 15989 Comments

Comment posted by Stuart Williams on June 4, 2014 at 10:34 AM

Thanks pat - yep, i tend to agree with you!

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

Comment posted by R.Bill Moser on June 4, 2014 at 4:18 PM

This is a wonderful black and white image. Excellent work

Great lines and textures...and an amazing view.

Registered on January 29, 2010, 285 Posts, 4281 Comments

Comment posted by Kane Engelbert on June 4, 2014 at 7:35 PM

That repost is stunning!

Registered on June 14, 2009, 63 Posts, 291 Comments

Comment posted by Dietrich Gloger on June 6, 2014 at 11:28 AM

The depth conveyed here is absolutely amazing. The composition flows so well from near to far. I like the original, lighter presentation. The sense of distance comes across better, I think.

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

Comment posted by John Williams on June 7, 2014 at 1:27 AM

Finally! I've been looking forward to your next post! This satisfies nicely. That's a special photo, of what sounds like a special place. What a web of lines you captured. My preference is for the original; it has a delicateness that the repost doesn't.

Registered on September 6, 2007, 221 Posts, 5985 Comments