Black and White Stalactites (click to enlarge)
This image comes from the Big Room at Carlsbad Caverns. The brighter stalactite formation on the left is named The Chandelier. The Big Room is the one you roam around during the self-guided tour. One could spend hours in the Big Room photographing the various formations.
I like the black and white version of this image much better than the color one. The black and white image places emphasis on all of the pointy stalactites. In the color image, the points kind of get lost within the natural brown and tan colors.
Carlsbad Caverns: N32 10 38.97 W104 26 34.32
Carlsbad Stalagmite (click to enlarge)
I kinda missed on this image at Carlsbad Caverns. It was pretty dark in the caverns and the autofocus on my camera was really struggling. I switched to manual focus and live view and attempted to focus the camera myself. Well, one gets old, one breaks their glasses, it is dark, and one just misses that point of tack sharp focusing… I wonder how the rangers and other tourists would have felt had I pulled out my flashlight and lit up the stalagmite to assist the camera’s autofocus? Maybe next time.
I like the composition of this image, and the stalactites on the ceiling make an interesting background for the foreground stalagmite. I think this would have been a very good image had the stalagmite been in focus.
You are allowed to bring tripods into Carlsbad Caverns, except if you are taking one of the ranger led tours. That tour goes deeper into the cavern and requires the use of handholds and ladders.
One tip is to not take the walking trail into the cavern. There is almost nothing of interest on the way down, and you are just wasting valuable photography time. Take the elevator down and thank me later!
Carlsbad Caverns: N32 10 38.97 W104 26 34.32
Golden West Flour (click to enlarge)
Okay, I just know there is a great photography artwork project based on the silos spread around New Mexico. Even faded, these logos have great color and lots of texture. Unfortunately, I did not stop at very many of them. I guess I will have to add this to my long list of other projects.
While processing this image I could not decide if I should use Photoshops Perspective crop to flatten the logo and make it more rectangular. I think I like it as is, it kind of adds some depth and your mind is actually thinking silo when you know what it is.
Golden West Flour: N34 23 53.85 W103 11 59.19
