There Be Dragons

Gallery: LandscapePosted March 29, 2015336 views16 comments

Sony A77
Sony SAL 16-50 f2.8 @ 35mm, CPL
ISO 200, 1/125 @ f8

Dragons are said to inhabit the north wall of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Perhaps the tales are true. Left the small strip of scrub forest on the top to provide some sense of scale as to how massive this wall is. The mineral veins are so interesting and provide limitless abstract possibilities. I would have liked to explore longer but it was pretty cold and really windy. Hoping for no mulligans on this one.>=))>

Comments

16 comments

Comment posted by Tom Falley on March 30, 2015 at 12:04 AM

Bill

Great dikes! There is a wall like this on the metamorphic flanks of Denali.

Cheers Tom

Registered on November 21, 2014, 189 Posts, 454 Comments

Comment posted by Balan Vinod on March 30, 2015 at 1:09 AM

Bill..I like the way you have included the top of the wall..its gives an idea of the scale of things...love the abstracts ..well seen

Balan Vinod

Registered on March 20, 2006, 889 Posts, 2312 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Reed on March 30, 2015 at 8:02 AM

Wow. Great find. Looks massive.

Registered on September 19, 2009, 198 Posts, 1074 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on March 30, 2015 at 8:58 AM

Bill, I like your vision here, finding those long skinny dragons. I'm started out having mixed feelings about the trees, but the longer I look, the more important I think they are. In particular, they do a fine job of setting the scale.

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

Comment posted by Roel Wijtmans on March 30, 2015 at 10:39 AM

I remember being at this place 10 years ago an being completely intrigued by exactly these patterns! You did a great job capturing this stunning phenomenon. It works perfect like this, but I could also see a very fine abstract without the trees.

Registered on September 30, 2012, 116 Posts, 2257 Comments

Comment posted by Gary McGhee on March 30, 2015 at 10:50 AM

The patterns are indeed intriguing, without the slither of greenery at the top you would never have guessed the scale here. Nicely captured Bill.

Gary.

Registered on April 15, 2010, 142 Posts, 2416 Comments

Comment posted by Doug Koepsel on March 30, 2015 at 11:32 AM

My first thought was to crop the trees and make the images more of an abstract. The second thought was that they give a sense of scale. I could see it either way depending upon what you want for the viewer.

Registered on April 1, 2010, 196 Posts, 1592 Comments

Comment posted by Igor Doncov on March 30, 2015 at 12:24 PM

The large version is really critical here. The fine detail and texture comes to life in the bigger version. And that's what really made a difference for me. The trees are more identifiable and add a lot to the image. To me it's a weaker image without them. Don't know if making the tree line a teeny big larger would improve, but they really do provide a sense of scale that blows you away when you realize what you are seeing.

Registered on November 22, 2014, 189 Posts, 2733 Comments

Comment posted by Alberto Patiño on March 30, 2015 at 1:31 PM

Bill, I think that the small sliver of trees at the top is the key here - it gives a great sense of scale

Registered on December 2, 2014, 278 Posts, 1736 Comments

Comment posted by Sandro Bisotti on March 31, 2015 at 3:57 PM

Good! I really like the unusual volumes proportion of this strange but effective image.
very good work!
All the best,
sandro

Registered on February 8, 2015, 30 Posts, 265 Comments

Comment posted by gary phillips on April 1, 2015 at 12:40 AM

Outstanding, Bill. Love the addition of trees, which IMO takes this image to a whole new level. Incredible scale and fascinating veins Really nice..

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

Comment posted by Jim Hansen on April 1, 2015 at 3:46 PM

Many years ago I used to live and work in the Gunnison and Montrose area, and made many visits to this place. That is a pretty awesome chasm to stare down into! I like the amazing patterns and lines you have captured in this image. I agree with some of the others that it would be great with or without the trees, but as has been mentioned, including the trees would be the only way to properly convey the massiveness of this wall. And this has been very nicely conveyed!

Registered on May 5, 2011, 161 Posts, 908 Comments

Comment posted by Kory Lidstrom on April 1, 2015 at 6:01 PM

I like the abstract a lot, but I think the inclusion of the ridgeline actually detracts from the image. I'm not sure that scale is really needed or helpful here, because it's an abstract.

Registered on November 19, 2008, 49 Posts, 1035 Comments

Comment posted by Wade Hardy on April 1, 2015 at 8:05 PM

Awesome. I'm glad you included the trees at the top. Great thing is, a small crop off the top yields a completely new image. Nice work!

Registered on May 2, 2006, 121 Posts, 1824 Comments

Comment posted by Dietrich Gloger on April 2, 2015 at 1:47 AM

This is impressive! The small strip of forest at the top is essential for the impact.

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

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on April 2, 2015 at 10:45 PM

I too noticed the perspective provided by the trees after enjoying the shapes in the rocks. Actually maybe wish there was a bit more just to drive the perspective point home a little better.

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