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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Forty-Five: Using clouds to imply meaning > Squall over the Grapevine Mountains, Death Valley National Park, California, 2007
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22-FEB-2007

Squall over the Grapevine Mountains, Death Valley National Park, California, 2007

These billowing storm clouds appear to reaching out towards us. I’ve intensified this effect by using a camera with a 28mm wideangle lens, and structuring the image so that the shapes on the ground echo the shapes of the clouds. The wideangle lens expands the forward thrust of the clouds, while also embracing the circular clumps of sage in the foreground. The colors work well here, particularly the pink range of hills that pull the eye into the center of the image.

Leica D-Lux 3
1/400s f/8.0 at 6.3mm iso100 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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Phil Douglis07-Apr-2007 17:58
Thanks, Tom , for being the first to respond to this image. This image does have a presence, prodding the imagination to "feel" the situation. And so you "feel yourself there." You are right about the incongruity of precipitation over desert land -- Death Valley is one of the driest spots in the US, yet here is the threat of rain.
Tom Talbot07-Apr-2007 08:52
Phil, I love both Tim's and your interpretation of this shot. This rendition allows me to feel myself there, feeling the likely weather impacting the shot. A somewhat rare shot where this cloud drama plays out above desert instead of farmland. I really like the way you've presented this to us.
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