Gleaming in the still-awakening moments of a fresh day, the distant (fully thirty-one miles from this scene's vantage point) housings of some the planet's premier astronomical instruments stand as ironic sentinels over their brightening surroundings. The inverted-vee-shaped encasement at the leftmost of the plateau is the world's largest solar telescope; thus it alone is congruent with the opportunities afforded by the rising Sun, while in contrast its kindred structures are undoubtedly already dormant until well after the dusk, still many hours off.
Meanwhile, one can rest assured that the non-wandering cacti in the foreground will remain implacably and firmly rooted in their posts and roles as passive, sleepless witnesses to the full twenty-four hour spectrum at hand . . . and for many more to come.
Frankly, this is not one of my most stellar photographic submissions. The oddly flat lighting and relatively large distance between the essential elements in the scene conspired to produce serious challenges to hue, saturation and contrast. Ah well, one does the best they can with the skills and materiel at hand. (I actually spent several hours in the post-processing phase of this offering 'ere finally uploading it: at some point diminishing returns threaten to intrude.)
Nonetheless: while this effort will certainly leave Zone-system adherents and Van Gogh admirers underwhelmed, on a deeply personal level this image brings me great satisfaction.
For I've spent many childhood hours atop yon distant scientific edifice, thanks to the ever kindly, ever persistent nurturing of my abiding interest in astronomy (and all things science) at the hand of my grandfather. Later, during my college years, I spent far more time simply soaking in the beauty and warm memories of this tableau, most usually in the company of dear friends while absorbing astounding sunsets . . . ever blessed by the gifts of the desert.
Kitt Peak and Saguaros at Dawn (Observatory Observers), #2944-7D;
© 2013 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.
(click image for larger version)
Details: April 8, 2013, Canon 7D; f/11 @ 1/200 sec; ±0 EV; ISO 320;
Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM @ 300mm
________
No comments:
Post a Comment