Every so many years we get the El Nino weather pattern which dumps more then the usual amount of rain into the Badwater Basin of Death Valley. It doesn't happen every seven years, I just needed a title and I'm sure the last seven ears has created a lot more photographers then any other 7 year period. Catching the moon and the water was enough to keep me happy since you'll only have maybe 2 more chances to do this in 2010, who knows how long we'll have to wait for the next El Nino.
*The moon's size has not been altered in this image. If anyone thinks I should make it bigger, I loved to hear your opinion and no I won't thrown in the rings of Saturn into the shot, well maybe
Steve,
A beautiful and unusual photograph. Well done.
It looks to me more like where West Valley Road crosses the drainage than Badwater. Those polygon shapes must form faster than I thought.
About the size of the moon. If this is a wide-angle shot, the moon appears much smaller here than it really was when you took the shot, in which case enlarging it the correct amount isn't really "fudging." Is it?
Charlie
Pretty scene, Steve. Please don't change the size of the moon. I'm so tired of people doing something that takes zero imagination and all of two seconds, and labeling it "art." I was at Badwater two mornings before this and watched a beautiful moonset that was unphotographable without digital intervention so I just stood and watched. And as you were photographing this I was in the Alabama Hills photographing the same moon setting behind Mt. Whitney (my current blog post). As this images demonstrates, the moon makes a fabulous accent for a scene and doesn't need to be enhanced. Thanks for sharing.
Sorry Gary, what has been done can not be changed, I was really just asking for the purpose of this joke. Pretty important to stick with ethics nowadays. Thanks Gary, I'll drop by your blog.
Charlie, I don't replace skies so I don't fudge the moon. If we shoot a wide angle scene we don't fix try to reverse the focal length back to 50mm(on a 35mm sensor) the way our eye saw it do we? I guess there is fudging that you can get away with and there is the obvious but it really just depends on who is holding the mouse. If they think it's ethical or don't care about it being somewhat of a real moment in time opposed to what was imagined, it just contibrutes to the whole problem of why digital photography isn't taken seriously.
If you look at the photo long enough the Don't worry be happy face will pop up here soon.
Your rework is just perfect every aspect of the planets and their relationship to Badwater is so precise dang talk about right place right time . Oh back to seriousness #1 is beautiful love the POV here and the light on the peaks is just wonderful nicely seen
Steve,
It is amazing your real world picture, I meant the reworked one. that is how I see our real world. It is amazing place to live. thanks for your creativity!
Bob
What a cool shot! Love the water in Bad Water! The reflections are cool.
You definately have taken your photo to another level with your superbs capture of the moon and Saturn, infact I am heading to Walmart now to see if I can find your photo in their fine arts section...
Steve... am on my way to DV as I write this from an overnight in the airport in Indianapolis. Looks like there are some unique conditions in the park, and am hoping to catch a glimpse of Saturn just like you did
If you can tone down the red in the moon in #2, the shot would look a lot more natural and will just be perfect! Oh, the first one is not too bad either. You even got a reflection of the moon in the water -- nicely done.
Jim, it's there and earns a profit of 3 cents per unit sold.
David, have fun out there in DV there is a lot of water out there so you picked the perfect year. Just keep in mind that water might not be there next time.
