I just finished processing my images from a trip to the badlands of Utah just east of Capitol Reef National park in a place known as Caineville. The town has one hotel and nothing else.
The next closest town is Hanksville, population less than 300. We are talking out in the middle of nowhere. There is a spot that is aptly named MARS just off the road where the desert looks and feels much like MARS. The wind was blowing between 20 and 30 MPH the entire trip which made for miserable conditions to photograph in. This is the first image that I will be sharing with you from that trip. To say that the landscape is bizarre, barren, and otherworldly is an understatement. I don’t think this area is high on landscape photographers’ radar yet but I feel like it will be soon. Most of my images from this area were made using my DJI Mavic Pro 2 drone. This image was taken near an altitude of about 600 feet with the lens pointing ALMOST straight down. Every flight on this trip came with the warning that I should land immediately due to the high winds. I ignored those warnings and came away with the shots that I had hoped to get on this trip and my drone intact!
The patterns of the eroded landscape are mesmerizing, incredible, bizarre, and even beautiful. While I realize these types of images may not be for everyone, I wanted to get your feedback on this and other images I will be sharing from this location. Thanks for taking a look.
Specific Feedback Requested
Any and all input is helpful. Thank you
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
DJI Mavic Pro 2
Hasselblad lens
ISO 100
F/5.6
1/800 sec
10.26 mm
600 feet or so
The abstract feel is very appealing, at least for me, David. Love the textures and soft muted colors. Also like the way the “veins” come in at an angle, great composition. Very nicely seen and captured.
I like this a lot. Have got to get to South Dakota one of these days. Have been to Capitol Reef though and boy that was fabulous.
Anyway…the highlights/whites seem a bit high to me so I’d experiment with pulling those down a bit. Doing so might bring up more texture in those areas. The ripples/rivulets in the sand in the gray areas are amazing. Glad your drone survived!
Wow, spectacular! This is a super abstract. The textures, colors, lines - everything - is gorgeous. I see maybe one tiny nit, and that would be to darken the URC to better match the other corners.
Super image David. I thought it was Death Valley at first but when I found I wished that I hadn’t passed this place up last fall. Of course the world looks different from up above so who knows if this could be matched below. It’s the artistic quality of this image that I like the most. Just a real solid image. Any suggestions for improvements would be very minor in my opinion.
WOW! Amazing patterns and color – greenish-golds and bluish-grays are so amazing for a desert shot. And gorgeous sharpness and detail for shooting in the wind! Bonnie’s suggestion is the only nit I can find – this is clearly an 11/10 for me!
This is a fabulous abstract David. When I first saw the thumbnail, I thought it was a close up of a rock face. I am also enjoying the pastel colors and variety of textures.
Spectacular! I really enjoy this aerial, David. It’s one of those images you could really get lost in. At first, it seemed like veins in a leaf. Then, it almost seemed metallic, in nature. The abstraction and vague quality contribute to making it a mysterious image, which begs for closer inspection.
I was inclined to think the highlights or whites were a bit strong and perhaps you could reduce them a bit, but I feel as though the current state of the image could work well, if that’s the vibe you’re going for. Well done!
Thank you @Kris_Smith , @Ola_Jovall , @Igor_Doncov , @Jimmy_Arcade , @linda_mellor , @Eva_McDermott , @Diane_Miller , @Bonnie_Lampley for your comments and suggestions. Kristen and Jimmy, Thanks for the suggestions to tone down the highlights a smidge. I agree that it might bring out been more texture in the highlights.
Bonnie and Diane, Good of you to note that the URC was brighter than the rest of the image. I already brought that section down about .4 of a stop but need to go a little bit further.
Igor, this does remind one of Death Valley for sure. You are right that from above you get a much different perspective than at ground level. I do have a shot or two that is from ground level that I will share and you’ll be able to see what this wild landscape looks like from the ground.
Ola, luckily the new drones make flying really easy. I am not an experienced drone pilot. These are so easy to fly that anyone can be up and flying in just a couple of hours. Even in 20-30 MPH winds they are very stable and have a gimble that reduces movement from the drone making most images very sharp. This model has a Hasselblad lens as well which doesn’t hurt.
Jimmy and Eve, I immediately thought of leaf veins when I was flying the drone and saw this. Glad I was not alone.
Thanks everyone.
Good to hear that you use equipment from a Swedish company! It is like it has come the full circle, the first cameras developed and produced by Viktor Hasselblad where aviation cameras for the Swedish Air Force 1941-1945.
Love it. The tones, textures and composition are all first rate. I love that there’s no sense of scale. I figured itb was a drone shot, but could also be just a section of the ground.
This is exceptional, David. The kind of image I could look at over and over and always find something new. The colour palette, the tone, the textures, the dynamic flow of line, all conspire to make a stunning abstract. Beautifully seen and executed.
I’m late coming in here David, but just have to say this is an outstanding image. It’s an abstract that has a very “organic” feeling to it. Really amazing work, this is an image to be very proud of.
That’s spectacular @David_Haynes . I’ve never really considered getting into drone photography, but that makes me wonder why not. I’m curious, do you scout beforehand (for example with Google Earth), or do you just go somewhere cool and toss the drone up? Also, what resolution is the drone’s camera?
Thanks for your comments John. Google earth is my go to scouting tool and is simply amazing to use. I knew exactly where I wanted to go on this trip almost exclusively because of Google earth. I even print screened some of the scouting I did from Google earth that are almost as detailed as my drone shots. It’s an incredibly resourceful tool that I also use for my regular photography.
Here is a little bit of information on the drone and the camera. DJI Mavic Pro 2. You can Google it for even more information.
