rock sculpture

Goblin Valley State Park, Thanksgiving 2011

Goblin valley is a showcase of geologic history and has beautiful (grotesque is also a word used sometimes to describe them :)) stone sculptures that are composed of sediments from ancient seas, shorelines, river channels and playas. It is a wonderful place to photograph, and I had a busy afternoon session working on compositions and later colors. This photograph is a closeup of one of the hoodoos, with the dark swirling clouds in backdrop. I liked both the color version and the converted black and white version (above) but chose the one that had more drama. clouds add depth to any image and especially in a black and white photograph, the stark contrast of deep black sky to bright white clouds is a strong effect !

Here’s a sunset and a late-afternoon versions from previous blog posts, during the same trip.

Tags: Goblin Valley, Goblin Valley State Park, hoodoos, Photography

20 thoughts on “rock sculpture”

Brandon Brasseaux on January 4, 2012 at 11:23 am said:

Wonderful expanse in this one, the depth bringing you right in. Great monochroming to boot.

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- abu zar on January 4, 2012 at 11:33 pm said:
  
  Thanks Brandon. Depth was really one of the ideas explored here. The color was good at this time of the day but I had explored that in a few previous posts and so I wanted to see how monochrome compares.
  
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Malcolm Newell on December 28, 2011 at 4:17 am said:

Spectacular – love the fact that these are called “hoodoos” there couldn’t be a better word to describe them!

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- abu zar on December 28, 2011 at 1:14 pm said:
  
  Glad you liked it(the scene and the nomenclature as well). Thanks for dropping by !
  
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frizztext on December 24, 2011 at 12:13 am said:

grotesque / Kafkaesque face to discover!

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- abu zar on December 28, 2011 at 1:13 pm said:
  
  had to look up kafkaesque :) ..thats an interesting description !
  
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Fergiemoto on December 23, 2011 at 1:07 pm said:

This looks great as a black and white. The sky looks so ominous and very dramatic.

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- abu zar on December 23, 2011 at 11:58 pm said:
  
  was hard to pick, but the contrast in the sky was where the bnw trumped. Glad you found it dramatic too!
  
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munchow on December 22, 2011 at 7:57 pm said:

Quite a stunning sculpture. There is almost something apocalyptic over the picture, the dark tones or the threatening sky maybe. What really makes the picture for me is the wonderful dynamics in the sky. Great work. Merry Christmas to you!

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- abu zar on December 23, 2011 at 6:15 am said:
  
  Thanks Munchow. Wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas as well !
  
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ozarkbill on December 22, 2011 at 7:24 pm said:

Love the hoodoo!

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- abu zar on December 23, 2011 at 6:16 am said:
  
  Thanks ozarkbill
  
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Nandini on December 22, 2011 at 8:15 am said:

Great. This sculpture has some weird looks too. Love it in B&W. :)

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- abu zar on December 22, 2011 at 1:12 pm said:
  
  yes indeed a weird looking goblin. bet it wasnt very happy that i took his photo without asking him :)
  
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dhphotosite on December 22, 2011 at 5:33 am said:

This is super! The B&W really works here although I would be just a little curious to see the color version. I can see how it was difficult to choose!

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- abu zar on December 22, 2011 at 1:11 pm said:
  
  Thanks David. I will post a color version of the same soon for you to compare.
  
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alicia scott photographer on December 22, 2011 at 1:13 am said:

Stunning! I agree that this image really suits black and white – fantastic contrast!

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- abu zar on December 22, 2011 at 1:10 pm said:
  
  Thank you Alicia
  
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sashdc on December 21, 2011 at 11:36 pm said:

Grand setting

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- abu zar on December 22, 2011 at 1:13 pm said:
  
  Thanks for stopping by. You have some great photos that i am still checking out !
  
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