Can hardly stand to stay indoors anymore. Saturday I loaded the boys into the truck and headed out. I specifically headed to Parowan Gap to try some different techniques for photographing rock art. I’m convinced there is a better way to photograph rock art than I have been doing for the past 8 years. I just haven’t found it yet.
The sky was mostly cloudy with patches of sunlight peaking through the clouds. As we were driving away, I looked in the rear-view mirror and saw this. I pulled over immediately and grabbed the shot. I love it. My favorite shot from the outing.
So every time I go here, I am secretly location scouting for portraits. Although it isn’t very far from Cedar City, a photoshoot out there involving other people will be longer than my typical 1.5 – 2 hour photo session. I will need to find the right subject(s) to take out there. To be perfectly honest, this is the type of stuff I long to shoot. People in settings like this.
So back to the purpose I originally went out there for, rock art. I tried various things. I took a bunch of bracketed shots to see what rock art would look like in HDR. My results failed miserably. Turns out the purpose of HDR is to blend a wide range of exposures. I knew that, but it wasn’t until I tried turning a fairly tight shot of rock art to HDR that I realized it was just the wrong application for HDR. There just isn’t a wide enough range of tones to make it work. Now, if I were shooting much wider and including more sky with the rocks, then HDR might be the trick. Anyway, I scrapped the HDR idea.
Instead I shot some wide angle like this.
Zoomed in on just the rock art itself.
And zoomed in really tight on specific details.
Not sure which I like best. I guess they each have their place. I’m not sure what I’m after really. Ultimately, I want to have a really nice collection of rock art images and hang them on my wall. Which would you rather see hanging on a wall?
Terral Fox - March 30, 2010 - 1:46 pm
Personally I like the first one because you not only see the rock art itself but the context that it is in. If you’re more interested in art then the others might be fine but I feel like context is a huge part of any type of art. It is what gives it meaning. Have you thought of doing a triptych?
p.s. Have you ever been to Lions Mouth? There is some interesting rock art there.
MANDIIMAE - March 30, 2010 - 3:50 pm
I really like number three. Especially in black and white. I think what I like best though is the juxtaposition of the dark, moody mountains to the bright & clear sunlight.
I can totally relate to what you said about scouting locations and always thinking of a person in the landscape, not just a landscape alone. Though you’re landscape shots are ahhhmazing!
Katie - March 30, 2010 - 5:12 pm
I like the first one (with the shrubs), because I like shrubs and I like the rocks themselves. They make a beautiful canvas for the art!
Emilie - April 1, 2010 - 9:55 am
I’ve seen a lot of photos of The Gap but never any with such good color. It’s like being there. Thanks for sharing.
John Lisonbee - May 27, 2010 - 6:51 pm
Shooting black and white out there is a good idea. As you well know I feel the same way about this magical location. I can spend hours out there just watching and waiting for time to pass by. Thanks for sharing your shots and let me know if you ever just want to go out there and shoot with a friend.
Sharon Kiser - August 30, 2010 - 2:26 pm
Parker, Love the pictures. Keep them coming. Parowan Gap is such a special place. I’m so pleased we have such great access to it. It draws us back over and over. (My husband and I are the couple from Washington with the truck camper and jeep who were parked at the summer solstice cairn.)
I frame some of my shots of Rock Art too. As for your question, I’d choose the first photo you showed with the sky in the background. I’m thinking it would look nice with several smaller tight shots of individual rock art images around it.
I didn’t see any pictures of the stone silhouette of Tobats, the Indian God. It makes for great art too. It’s pretty easy to recognize any time, but you have to get the light right for the best images. It’s near the cave, above and to the left.
Thanks for posting your images of Parowan