Last week I was out with Craig (ckarr) photographing in Goblin Valley State Park in Utah. It's a very cool place that I had been to once before and had really been itching to get back there. We had some pretty nice clouds to work with, but some heavy clouds to the west snuffed out any real cool colors. But we waited, we didn't rush off, and then there was this really cool afterglow and color that popped up just to the south, but it was enough to add a nice touch to some shots. If you are interested, you can read more about it here in my blog.
Now since the sun had set I tried to maintain that darker feeling to the details, hopefully I got the right balance.
#1 is from a little hill that Craig had found out in the middle of the goblins, it provided a nice overview.
#2 is a more intimate shot that I had pre-scouted, though the moon was a nice surpise that I hadn't expected when scouting it out earlier.
Great set Jim!
Beautiful lighting and colors.
I particularly like the way you balanced the second image.
Very interesting foreground formation. (Goblins)
Fred
Mar 21, 2013 at 01:48 PM
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Those are both very nice Jim! Perfect captures of an eerie location. It was an interesting sky that was moving in too. It had started out kind of uneventful, and except for the cloud buildup in the west would have been really spectacular. The stars were pretty nice too. Most people leave after dark because... you know... those goblins might come alive!
Jim, I really like both shots. #1 is my favorite for the better light, and #2 for the clean composition.
In #1, on the left horizon, and perhaps at the base of the hill on the extreme left edge below the horizon the bright turquoise seems a bit distracting. A most minor nit, or really, not even so much as that. You have done a masterful job of capturing the incredible beauty, expanse and stillness of the desert eve, punctuated with goblins and moons.
I think I need to put Utah on my itinerary this summer (hurray 10 week vacation!). Lovely comp and colors of a unique place. The moon balances out your main goblin in #2 very well
Nice pair, Jim, from a great little spot to visit. We passed through there during the day a few years back, but you timed it right with the great light, and the moon always helps!
cheers Andrew
Fred Miranda wrote:
Great set Jim!
Beautiful lighting and colors.
I particularly like the way you balanced the second image.
Very interesting foreground formation. (Goblins)
Fred
Hey Fred,
Thanks so much for the comments, it's amazing how long we can wait for some sunset colors, and then how fast they can actually go!
ckcarr wrote:
Those are both very nice Jim! Perfect captures of an eerie location. It was an interesting sky that was moving in too. It had started out kind of uneventful, and except for the cloud buildup in the west would have been really spectacular. The stars were pretty nice too. Most people leave after dark because... you know... those goblins might come alive!
Nice blog write up also!
Thanks so much Craig, I am glad that these turned out. Ha ha... yeah, one has to watch out for those goblins. Hopefully next month we can head out there again. Maybe with a slightly larger moon and we can stay up all night shooting stars!
toddlambert wrote:
These are great Jim. Way better conditions than when I was there. It's a really pretty place and your shots do justice.
Thanks Todd. One just never knows how the clouds are going to roll here. I had initially hoped for a sky full of color, but in the end, I was very happy with just this.
