Desolate Isolation, a photo from Abu Dhabi, West

Photographer's Note

Spanning three countries - U.A.E., Saudi Arabia and Oman - The Rub Al Khali desert, also known as the Empty Quarter, is one of the largest known sand deserts in the world and is littered with sand dunes that rise upto 200m high.

A four hour drive from Dubai, heading south from Abu Dhabi past the Liwa Oasis, our three day expedition of about 10 four wheel drives headed into the dunes for some camping and dune bashing. Every single one of us most have got our cars stalled, stuck and on the verge of breakdown... my poor Jeep Cherokee taking the brunt of the punishment.

A bit about the shot, one morning after camp a friend and me decided to head opposing directions to try and get 'desert crossing' shots of each other... Post processed a bit in PS - it was extremely dusty so the image had to be cleaned up, then wanted to bring out the arid feel of the desert so heightened a lot of the details in the picture along with shadow and contrast.

omritoppol, ianmcall, raytheron, carper, mogens-j, cxxl, mikee, bharat, judhi, vapours, DrorAngkor, Tracker ha contrassegnato questa nota come utile

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khawaaja (1039) 2004-04-03 9:53

This is a very nice shot of the desert. The colours are spot on and the skyline proportionally correct. Having your friend in the pictures adds the human element so the composition is less 'postcard' and more real.

Have you ever read the book 'Desert Divers' by Sven Linquist. It's a wonderful, idiosyncratic take on the Sahara and travellers. Well worth a read, if like me you find the desert an exhlarating place. Pity Sudan is scrub desert!

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ianmcall (1213) 2004-04-03 10:26

Really good vantage point for showing a large expanse of dunes. NIce light and a good time of day for this shot. I like adding the person for a sense of scale.

omritoppol (826) 2004-04-03 10:26

WOW WOW WOW, just by looking at this shot, I can only think I wish I was there..., the compo is good, very unite and the mass of the send is just right, the colors are also something to mind. I wish you had a more blue sky, but that's not up to you. I would however try and take a picture with the camera more close to the ground, if you have more pictures post them.

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raytheron (589) 2004-04-03 10:44

Excellent! Now you have me wishing that i could be out in the desert as well! Great composition, lovely POV and you chose just the right time of day, too, for this shot. I love the colours of the desert, and you got them perfectly in this image. Thanks for sharing this great photo.

carper (96) 2004-04-03 11:19

Very good one Derrick,

Good combination from an exelent composition an very good colours, great job you did here, well done

mogens-j (56) 2004-04-03 17:45

I allways wanted a sandpit like this when I was a kid ;-). Well composed picture with wonderful patterns and colours. Well done Derrick.

cxxl (2684) 2004-04-03 18:38

Wow... and excellent idea... a real "Trek Earth" shot. I like the inclusion of your friend to really show the scale of the dunes, and the lighting is well captured. I like too the dark exposure of the ripples on the bottom right. Very well done.

bgladman (1153) 2004-04-03 22:43

What an incredible shot! I love the textures of the sand, and the contrast between the shadows and the highlights is superb. I like the sole figure, adds to the isolation as well as providing scale. Well taken, i am very jealous! :)

didcreole (962) 2004-04-04 6:30

Good shot, the man on the picture give us the scale.
It looks like Lawrence of Arabia.

swallace (980) 2004-05-10 12:43

Incredible image here Derrick. The single person amid the barreness of the dunes really shows the loneliness and emptiness of the desert. Great note, great picture, great work.

mikee (2354) 2004-06-20 21:13

Wonderful colors and textures. The distant presence of the man emphasizes the magnitude of this place. I like the repetition of shapes and shadows as well. I wonder if it would look better with a dark blue sky or if it were to be cropped out. Great composition.

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bharat (474) 2004-08-11 0:18

Derrick Good Shot and natural though.

dsidwell (9783) 2004-09-15 20:48

Really fun shot with interesting patterns, exciting light, and an intriguing point of view. Super!

judhi (769) 2004-10-17 18:28 [Comment]

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vapours (8264) 2004-10-17 18:36

Youve captured the lonliness well in this shot. Good PP as well.

jsec (2154) 2005-01-26 22:49 [Comment]

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DrorAngkor (164) 2005-02-26 6:31

Hi Derrick ,

The desert is so beautifull and you have certainly managed to capture its beauty!
Excellent composition and great warm colors!

A mistake a lot of people do and you have managed to avoid:
You walk around on the dunes looking for the perfect composition ... than you take your shot only to find your/your friend's footprints all over the sand - ruining that
"other worldly" / desolation atmosphere ...

In your photo you managed very successfully to avoid that ...

Bravo! Very well done !

Dror.

cyril (2748) 2005-07-18 13:27

Hi Derrick,

Very artistic and beautiful shot.
I like the repetitions of dunes and the way you places the man.
Well seen and done
Cyril

Tracker (1942) 2005-10-25 10:12

Hi Derrick,
Nice picture! Good POV and it's good idea to put the man to co-measure the scale of sand dunes. Excellent the sands colours. It may be good to fill the sky with the blue but anyway the picture is attractive. TFS and regards. Denis.

coco (30439) 2009-06-19 7:15

Hi Derrick.

The light is the key of this succesful photo.

Well done.