Chokehold

Gallery: LandscapePosted December 23, 201713,370 views7 comments

On Sunday, I went back out to Death Valley to get out of the smoke and ash of the Santa Barbara fire and to be able to be outside and breathe clean air. Blue skies and fresh air sure felt like a real treat after being closed up in the house for days.

It was nice to get back to Santa Barbara and have decent air and see the fire is all but put out. The firefighters are real heroes to battle the blazes under brutal conditions. The fire (Thomas Fire) is now the biggest fire in recorded California history. It was a bad one.

D810, 70-200mm

Comments

7 comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on December 23, 2017 at 11:06 AM

An intriguing aerial view of this lone tree, Harley. While the image is quite stark, there's a nice warmth from the light and the colors in the tree and the land. The curved shadow of the tree's trunk really grabbed my attention, then I finally noticed that the actual trunk is also curved... frown

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

Comment posted by Paul Breitkreuz on December 23, 2017 at 11:25 AM

Harley, a neat find here under excellent broken lighting too. The namesake of Chokehold is based upon the strangle wrap at the base here? or am I missing that point?
Not always easy to find good desert comps at times, but the starkness can have it's benefits as we see here. Very nice.

btw: glad to see the fire has died way down since we last talked. I too would have hit the road as I cannot take smoke at all. And, to add to the accolades toward those firefighters they're truly heroes.

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

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on December 23, 2017 at 2:56 PM

Harley,

This little guys was just waiting to be photographed! Great composition with the long shadows and the light on this manicured little dried bush. I like the texture and detail up top as that reveals part of the story of the wind in the desert; blowing sand revealing the heavier rocks beneath.

Sad and horrific about all the fires. Seems this was perhaps the worst ever for California this year. Makes me wonder if the record rains last year created extra fuel this summer and fall..... Can't win for losing.

Lon

Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments

Comment posted by Harry Lichtman on December 23, 2017 at 3:46 PM

Wonderful side lighting shows off the textures of the terrain beautifully. I think this one might demand a BW conversion given the subject and lighting, but the warm tones are nice too. Could go many ways. I just can't imagine the scale and extent of damage to property these fires have caused. Stay safe.

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

Comment posted by Preston Birdwell on December 24, 2017 at 12:50 PM

I have to say it: If you have seen The latest Guardians of the Galaxy** movie, the little tree reminds me of 'little' Groot.

I love the details and the warm late-day light. The sunlit tree is excellent.

**The Guardians of the Galaxy movies are a lot of fun, btw, if you haven't seen them.
--P

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

Comment posted by Igor Doncov on December 24, 2017 at 1:46 PM

That bush is quite a character. I think it's the stalk that starts the imagination going. I like the small rocks scattered about in the background. I'm not sure about the shadows but I think the image would be weaker without them.

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

Comment posted by gary phillips on December 25, 2017 at 3:58 PM

Love these lone little guys. I’m glad that the fire is finally in it’s death throes. My sister had her bags packed in Napa earlier in the year as so many houses were lost. Lovely image.

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