Extremes
Tuesday, January 5, 2010 at 7:54AM 
It has been said, if you wish to succeed, you must be willing to fail. This is true in every aspect of your life. You can not succeed without taking risks. You can not learn without trying things that may not work.
Some of the most moving work I have seen utilizes very bold contrast. Brett Weston was a master of this and I have seen others who are proficient at this as well. When done well it makes for a very strong photo. I have been looking at work that has very bold contrasts and have tried to utilize this in some of my work. However, to do it well is not as simple as it may seem.
So, here I am, in Death Valley, 500 miles from home. It is the last night there, a morning shoot then pack up and head for home. It has been solid overcast all day but the forecast for tomorrow is for clear skies. Most of the shooting so far has been in familiar places. Earlier in the day we had gone to Zabriskie Point and I was impressed by the view of the badlands there. I could visualize some very dramatic bold contrasts there as the sun first reached the badlands. So the last shoot in Death Valley was to be at Zabriskie Point.
We were among the first to arrive there and I went to a spot chosen the previous day as being the most likely to have sun first. I set up and tried 3 lenses before settling on the 210 first but then after that first shot, moving to the 480. The photo above was that first one using the 210. The one below was using the 480 from the top of the point.
I have printed a couple of these and the jury is out on whether I like them at all or not. Technically they are fine, detail where detail is needed, sharp focus, DOF as intended when shot. But artistically, the jury is still out. Some strike me right away one way or the other, some take a while to sink in. These are some of the later. However, I have found that those that take time to warm up to tend to be among my favorites for longer than those that are instantly liked.
