Fortunately, I've been able to take three short trips to Death Valley in the past couple months. On the latest trip, I set out to find me some cracked mud. Spent the unusually hot February day scouting out a few spots between Badwater and Furnace Creek and found this area had some pretty cool lifting and patterns. As the day progressed, I nearly gave up on my plan because it looked like the sky over the dunes would be excellent. Ultimately, my laziness and not wanting to tread the dunes in 95 degree weather kicked in and I decided to stick with the plan. Not as otherworldly as Badwater and other features of the park, but I haven't seen many photos of this area and I liked the idea of shooting something different. While it did look like the sky may have been impressive at the dunes, at least I captured it in the distance.
Shot with Sony a7r and Canon 17mm TS-E, consisting of two exposures. Thanks for looking!
Well laziness turned out to be your benefit here. This is a really cool shot and an area we dont see very many from. Nice light and nice natural processing.
Well laziness turned out to be your benefit here. This is a really cool shot and an area we dont see very many from. Nice light and nice natural processing.
Jim
Thank you Jim, appreciate the positive feedback
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lionking wrote:
Lovely capture Andrew!
TS-E does save some time stacking...
Andrey
Thanks Andrey! I just love the versatility of the 17 TS-E
Andrew;
I've become quite fond of mud tiles too - well done on these - really like the intricate pattern. Simple pattern - but really pleasing to the eye.
Todd
Scott Kroeker wrote:
How are you liking that combo? I have the A7R and really am considering the 17TSE. I have the MetaBones IV adapter already.
This is a gorgeous image.
Thanks Scott! I highly recommend the a7r / 17TS-E combo. The lens on its own is incredible and having it matched with the live view and focus assist on the sony... it's just sweet. Aside from cost, I can't think of anything negative about the pairing.
Very well done! I like the detailed texture of the FG with leading lines of the two cracks that pull the eye into the scene. As Jim mentioned, the PP looks realistic and natural.
Really nice light. I'm wondering, why the tilt shift lens (as you can see, I know little about uses for the tilt shift lenses other than straightening architecture)? How would this shot be different if it were taken with a standard lens at 17mm?
One of the best images I've ever seen from Death Valley. You've captured this most eloquently and the composition and light work so well together in this image. Also very nice to see corner to corner sharpness on this which I feel is important. This is one of those images that is likely to go more or less 'unseen' because it doesn't represent what most consider to be a 'nice pretty picture'. You Sir have vision that most don't or won't see and that is what makes this image unique and to my eyes stand out from all the dross that we see nowadays.
This is an exquisite image that marks all the boxes for the right reasons and I'm so glad that you shared it here!
Thanks for all the feedback so far! Wow, appreciate the kind words Nigel
woutgeo wrote:
Really nice light. I'm wondering, why the tilt shift lens (as you can see, I know little about uses for the tilt shift lenses other than straightening architecture)? How would this shot be different if it were taken with a standard lens at 17mm?
I don't remember my setup exactly, but I believe I was either tilted or shifted down slightly. You should take a couple minutes to read about tilt shift and landscape photography, it's a really great tool! Also, even if I'm not using the tilt shift tools, I still prefer to shoot with the 17 TS-E as I find it to be quite sharp.
Yes, this is effective use of the TS-E for dramatic and sharp view of the ground pattern from near-to-far distance.
I too find the 17mm TS-E a standout lens - nothing really touches the clarity it produces excluding perhaps Loxia 21mm or somesuch Elite-WA with A7r(2).
Im a sucker for these and this rocks. Love that fg. Looks like a bit of blown out sky left side which hopefully you can pull back a bit but yea...awesome shot.
