House on Fire

[Steve Robinson]

A Native American ruin in southern Utah. The rock formation makes it appear like flames rising from the houses. It would probably be better with the sun higher in the sky and the foreground reflecting more light onto the upper rock. But the sun is pretty low in November. The parking area is reached after several miles of dirt road and then a very nice 1+ mile hike up a dry riverbed.

Pentax K20D, DA* 16-50mm f/2,8, 16mm, 1/8 @ f22, ISO 400 on tripod.

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[Asher Kelman]

This is truly outstanding. I'd also try converting this to B&W since you might be able to assign colors to tones and make an amazing derivative. Have you as yet done any sharpening? Was this done in RAW?

I'd love to know where that is!

Are there still native folk living there? I wonder if this would the the Hope people?

Asher

"Hopi (contraction of Hópitu, 'peaceful ones,' or Hópitu-shínumu, 'peaceful all people': their own name). A body of Indians, speaking a Shoshonean dialect, occupying 6 pueblos on a reservation of 2,472,320 acres in north east Arizona. The name "Moqui," or "Moki," by which they have been popularly known, means 'dead' in their own language, but as a tribal name it is seemingly of alien origin and of undetermined signification—perhaps from the Keresan language (Mósǐcha in Laguna, Mo-ts in Acoma, Mótsǐ in Sia, Cochiti, and San Felipe), whence Espejo's "Mohace" and "Mohoce" (1583) and Oñate's "Mohoqui (1598). Bandelier and Cushing believed the Hopi country, the later province of Tusayan, to be identical with the Totonteac of Fray Marcos de Niza." Source.

 

[Steve Robinson]

Asher's House on Fire

I have a slightly different view in the original color and in B&W. I'm not sure the B&W works here.

 

[Steve Robinson]

The House on Fire is in Mule Canyon on Utah 95 northeast of Blanding. No one is living there now but if there were they would probably be wondering what all those dang photographers were doing in their front yard.

 

[Asher Kelman]

Steve, this is remarkable. There is such a great potential for interesting composition here.
How near is this to you? Tell me you can go back often!

How old are the structures. Is there a name to the location. Did you explore inside? Is this a landmark people generally photograph?

Let's make one big thread of this!


Asher

 

[Nathaniel Alpert]

Hi Steve,

These shots and your Monument Valley thread are really nice. The scenes are so powerful you can't really go wrong. On the other hand, we walk in the footsteps of giants who have captured the drama of these scenes in the past. There is a lot to study in your work and it lends itself to different crops and compositions. We probably can't better the work of the greats, but speaking for myself at least, I think it is fun to see how well we can do, both technically and artistically. We are at the mercy of the moment when we travel through these areas. A brief stop is very limiting. You get the weather and lighting of the moment. So, perhaps it is best concentrate on the technique and hope that one can return someday and make the ultimate capture. In that long-winded spirit, I would point out some lack of sharpness and clarity in these images. Could that be from shooting at f22? In future attempts, I would urge you to shoot some extras at different f-stops. I would also like to see some crops that remove the higher parts of the cliffs and concentrate our attention on the "flames."

-NAT

 

[Steve Robinson]

Thank you for the comments. I always find the need to return several times to a location before I can visualize better comps. I think that a lower angle closer in might work well. In the lower right hand corner of the second set of images you can see the glow of the sunlight reflected off the foreground onto the rock above. This is what makes the Fire really stand out. The sun was too low in the sky in November so I hope to make another trip in the spring when the sun is higher but still not too hot to hike. Hopefully the weather will be more cooperative on my next trip.

Courtesy of climb-utah.com:

"Mule Canyon, Cedar Mesa, Canyon Hiking

The main attraction of Mule Canyon is the Anasazi Indian ruins that can be seen under the cliffs on the north side of the canyon. The Mule Canyon dwellings were built and occupied by the Anasazi about 1200 A.D. The ruins in Mule Canyon are approximately eight hundred years old, and have never been excavated or restored in any way. These ruins are a precious national treasure and should not be mutilated. This is a chance to visit ruins in a wild setting with no supervision, please respect this opportunity."

Mule canyon is about a two day trip from home. I drive to SLC to see family and then it's a easy drive to Blanding.

Maybe some other members might have some images from this area.

 

[Daniel Buck]

woah, very cool find! :-D