Here’s to another week of the Daily Dose of the Southwest.
If you’re like me, life’s throwing a lot of curveballs these days. I’m grateful to have this space as an outlet and you all as a willing audience. Muchas gracias.
But anyway, I wanted to revisit this image from last year in Monument Valley. Accompanied by my friend Chris Henry, I call that most memorable trip “Monument Valley Dust Fest 2024.” Ha.
When we made it out to this spot, Artist’s Point, the buttes form a natural pinchpoint and the wind was absolutely whipping. When I wasn’t actively shooting, I held my camera under my shirt to protect it from getting sand-blasted.
Braving these elements was worth it, however, because the dusty conditions sure did make the wedge-shaped talus slopes and cliff-faces of the monuments stand out in a minimalist sort of way.
And the air was so saturated with particulates, this image naturally took on a grainy look reminiscent of something shot on Kodak Tri-X 400.
Perhaps this effect was ironically helped by my cheap second-hand telephoto lens that was soft-focusing. Sometimes sharpness is overrated.
Photography banter and B.S. aside, I like how, in the lower-right corner, a little sliver of light casts on a cluster of humble homes on the valley floor. The abodes look like specks in the shadow of the towering monuments, showing a bit of the epic scale of Monument Valley that is so often hard to portray in a photograph.
Well, that’s it for today’s ramblings. If you’re still here, thank you.
-Jake
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Nice perspective!