Why and How Photographing Death Valley in California in Black and White
Do you like Westerns and the atmosphere of the Southwestern United States? If the answer is yes, then you will love Monument Valley.
The buttes and mesas that line the valley are forever associated with the films recounting the conquest of the west.
It is beautiful, impressive, grandiose. But photographing the landscapes of Monument Valley is not so easy because photographs quickly fall into the postcard register.
In this article, I propose a different photographic approach: the one of black and white.
Every year in the fall, I spend at least two days at Monument Valley. It is like a pilgrimage. I think this is where my passion for the United States was born.
On every trip, I ride on the stony tracks covered with orange dust. I take about sixty pictures. I spend some time with a Navajo family with whom I have made friends. We always talk about the same subjects: the passing of time, the difficult education for the children in the reservation, the next pow-wow which looks even better than last year. I walk on the dusty trails to recharge myself. Then I leave and continue west.
Each pilgrimage follows the same rhythm. Monument Valley is the praise of the slow pace of time, the slow rhythm of nature. The landscapes are gradually eroding. Every year I can see a big rock coming off a butte. As the father of the Navajo family would say: "That is the way time goes”. There is nothing we can do. He is a fatalist. I understand his way of being.
This place is truly inspiring. However, I had never been able to create a collection of interesting art photos before. I have accumulated hundreds of photos that are stored very wisely on the servers. They will never be developed.
That is very strange, because everything is there. I just have to look and take pictures.
The problem is that every time I tried, I was replicating what others had done. Every time I fell into the postcard picture.
However, this year I took a big resolution. I decided to create a true collection of fine art photos of Monument Valley. I pondered for hours and hours to find an angle.
I took the place of a pioneer coming from the east and heading west to make his fortune. I decided to forget all the journeys I had already made in this region. I imagined it was the first time. I tried to think like a pioneer who was travelling through this area without water, a desert. I acted as if I was making a new start.
The Choice of Black and White
Everything has been said and photographed at Monument Valley. Yet everything remains to be done.
If you want to give an original way of this desert region where the dominant color is orange, black and white is ideal.
It may seem paradoxical, but if you make color photographs, you will quickly fall into the postcard photograph that you bring back from your holidays. Your photographs will be beautiful. Everyone will be captivated by the exceptional lights and colors of the region. But there will be nothing truly original and personal.
Monument Valley is made up of mineral landscapes. The whole valley is covered with massive sandstone and shale.
To capture textures and details, black and white is perfectly suited.
Many photographers take pictures from afar trying to capture the general atmosphere of the valley. I can perfectly understand this way of proceeding. Only one road leads to Monument. When we arrive, the car park is located on an overhang overlooking the valley. It is breathtaking. The landscapes are grandiose. Immediately, the memories of the westerns and epics of the American pioneers come back to mind.
If you want to photograph Monument Valley's landscapes with far away shots, this will only be possible at certain points of view.
Another way is to add a strong foreground that will add an extra dimension to your composition. The meadows of Monument Valley are littered with dead trees or juniper trees, each one more implausible than the other.
For an exceedingly long time, I refused to photograph dead trees. I love life and energy. I found that a dead tree evoked death and gave a morbid dimension to photographs.
It was during a photo workshop devoted to the bugle of the deer that the click occurred. During a discussion with Eric Bornet, a trainee, he explained to me that a dead tree or a dead branch could be used as a photographic element to enhance the reading of a photo. He gave me the example of the leopard lying on a branch. The discussion lasted an hour. Finally, he was right. His argument was unstoppable. I agreed with him.
It is since this famous training course that I understood the importance and the interest of a dead or emaciated tree in an art photo. This was perhaps the reason why I did not develop any Monument Valley photos. The absence of this famous foreground prevented me from expressing myself totally.
If you are photographing Monument Valley landscapes, feel free to use a tree in the foreground. It is a real asset.
The Choice of Focal Lengths
All photographic lenses are usable at Monument Valley. The range is from 14mm to 200mm. The shorter your focal length, the closer you will have to get to the mesas or mounds. The longer the focal length, the further away you can get.
Be careful if you want to get close. You are on a Navajo reservation. Monument Valley is sacred land. You cannot walk where you want to walk. The Navajo name the place Tse Bii' Ndzisgaii, meaning "Valley of the Rocks". Ideally, you should pay a Navajo guide to take you to places where you cannot go yourself. It is really worth the few dozen dollars you will give him.
Framing and Formats
Anything is possible at Monument Valley. It all depends on what you want to convey and express. Personally, I adopt the 3:1 and 3:2 format because they allow me to create very airy photos evoking the great outdoors and the freedom to move around.
But the square or 16:9 format is also well suited. Your imagination is the power. Above all, take your time to choose your scenes and photographic points of view.
Symbolism
How else to show Monument Valley than with a postcard photo? That is the challenge you are going to have to face because everything has already been done.
Personally, I chose the great outdoors, the journey of a pioneer who was seeing the region for the first time. A dead tree in the foreground of an open stage shows that life goes on despite all the misfortunes that can happen to us. It is inexorable. Time goes on despite everything. That is what I learned from the Navajo. Something can get in the way of our lives. Yet we must keep moving forward. That is why, in some of the pictures, I've placed a tree directly in front of a mound.
I have photographed junipers with a few leaves even though they are skeletal and seem to be on the verge of drying out. For me, these trees just evoke adaptation to life's circumstances. It hardly ever rains in this area. Yet they are hardy and have leaves.
If you know how to look at Monument Valley and go beyond landscape photography, you will see and photograph real life. You will understand why you should always move forward, progress, learn and never stop while enjoying yourself.
The Black and White Photo Gallery of the Landscapes of Monument Valley, Arizona
Click on a thumbnail to enlarge the image.
Landscape in black and white of Monument Valley in Arizona in United States. Amar Guillen, photographer.
Do you know what the following films have in common: Stagecoach, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, Once Upon a Time in the West, Back to the Future Part III, Space Odyssey, Easy Rider, Thelma & Louise, Forest Gump?
At least one, if not several scenes were shot in Monument Valley. It is a natural site located between the states of Arizona and Utah in the United States.
For me, Monument Valley is inseparable from the films made by John Ford when he directed John Wayne.
Monument Valley is the ultimate symbol of the American West. I am sure that it reminds you of cowboys, Native American Indians, or even Forest Gump contemplating the huge buttes.
Only one road, Route 163, leads to this mineral natural site, which is a huge eroded plateau made of buttes.
When you arrive on the small dusty and rocky path that goes down into the valley, you immediately imagine the wagons that colonists rode to colonize the American West in the 19th century.
Movie sets and Indian attacks immediately come to mind. Each time I visit, I see dozens of scenes from all the mythical films that inspired me to come to live in the United States.
However, Monument Valley is not just a series of postcard landscapes. This site is in the middle of the Navajo reserve. Each butte has a name that evokes a characteristic shape representing an animal. You can see "The Great Indian Chief", "The Weeping Eye", "The Three Sisters", "The Cowboy Boot", and "The Totem Pole".
If you take the time to talk with the Navajo people who live in the valley, they will tell you the stories of their ancestors and how they came to this reserve.
For me, Monument Valley is a perfect reflection of the beauty and vastness of the mineral landscapes of the American West. The atmosphere is calm and serene. It is an ideal place to sit and contemplate the mysteries of life. Close your eyes and let yourself be immersed in the beauty of the landscapes.
Thus, I chose to photograph Monument Valley in black and white.
I believed that it was the only way to create symbolically strong photos. I absolutely wanted to avoid postcard photography.
I used wide frames to evoke the vastness of the expanses of the west. Life, death, and solitude are evoked through the trees that survive in this rather hostile desert environment because the temperatures are cold in winter and extremely hot in summer.
I chose pure compositions that illuminate the glorious sky and clouds.
I chose different formats such as 3:1 panoramic and 3:2 to better capture the expanses that stretch as far as the eye can see.
This collection of art photos is ideal if you are looking for a breath of fresh air. These infinite spaces will encourage you to dream. You will escape into a nature that man cannot tame. He tried well but he quickly gave up.
The tones are soft, and the details are fine.
My hope for you is that you will one day get to visit Monument Valley, one of the most mythical places in the United States.
My goal is to help others by giving them the best I have.
I chose artistic photography and my passion for the wonders of nature.
I create fine art photographs to help people to escape and to reconnect with nature.
I organize photo workshops to help photographers to create even more interesting photos.
I write articles in the blog to share my skills and help other photographers to explore new creative ways.
Join Me on Social Networks
Amar Guillen is a photographer artist.
His adventure with photography began in 1987 when he prepared and obtained his degree in computer engineering. He began to feel at that time, a real fascination for the sumptuous landscapes which surround him and the fauna which populates them. The need to express emotions in images is already being felt.
Since 2003, the year in which he became a professional nature photographer, Amar expresses in images and emotions the infinite mysteries that conceal nature, developing a personal, artistic and contemplative photographic language.
He devotes himself entirely and professionally to artistic photography. His research crystallizes around the underwater space, the animal universe and the terrestrial landscapes.
His quest is to highlight the preciousness of nature and to sublimate it.
My goal is to help others by giving them the best I have.
I chose artistic photography and my passion for the wonders of nature.
I create fine art photographs to help people to escape and to reconnect with nature.
I organize photo workshops to help photographers to create even more interesting photos.
I write articles in the blog to share my skills and help other photographers to explore new creative ways.
Join Me on Social Networks
Amar Guillen is a photographer artist.
His adventure with photography began in 1987 when he prepared and obtained his degree in computer engineering. He began to feel at that time, a real fascination for the sumptuous landscapes which surround him and the fauna which populates them. The need to express emotions in images is already being felt.
Since 2003, the year in which he became a professional nature photographer, Amar expresses in images and emotions the infinite mysteries that conceal nature, developing a personal, artistic and contemplative photographic language.
He devotes himself entirely and professionally to artistic photography. His research crystallizes around the underwater space, the animal universe and the terrestrial landscapes.
His quest is to highlight the preciousness of nature and to sublimate it.
You may be wondering what an art photograph truly is.
You certainly take beautiful pictures with your camera or your smart phone.
I am sure the quality of your photographs is excellent. When you print them, you may tell yourself that your photographs will not be envied when compared to photographs that are sold for hundreds or thousands of dollars.
You are right. The quality of your photographic prints is certainly excellent.
However, an art photograph is not just a photograph. It is much more than that.
This is what I am going to explain to you. You will understand why an art photograph can be expensive to buy.
A fine art phot framed from the collection "Forgotten Paradises".
Taking a photo may have become a natural gesture for you. Your camera or smart phone set to automatic mode is capable of technical abilities greater than anyone could have imagined at the beginning of the 2000s, with the dawn of the digital age.
For many people, photography has become a purely functional gesture. It has lost its aesthetic value.
An artist photographer creates artistic photographs. Personally, as a nature photographer artist, I use photography as a means of expression. Artistic photography is a means of writing, telling a story or speaking.
For me, photography is a way to express my emotions, to translate my feelings or to convey messages.
Creating a fine art photo enables a person to forget the descriptive or figurative aspect of a scene.
To create an artistic photo is to abandon oneself to abstraction. This is what I achieve with my conceptual photographs.
For example, creating an art photo is to use a landscape or an animal to translate an emotion or a feeling. The scene is perfectly identifiable, but the title or the caption is explicit enough to explain the artistry of the author.
An art photograph is the representation of a magnified reality: the reality of the photographer artist.
He or she has a personality that is unique. He or she has a past full of unique experiences. It is a life that belongs to no one else.
It is this personality that is shown in the photographic artworks.
A Fine Art Photo Shows a Personal Universe
When you take a snapshot with your smart phone, you freeze a moment. It is a fleeting scene you will want to remember forever. You may also want to share it with your loved ones or on social networks.
You must behave as a photographic journalist who uses a photograph to support a story or a written article. You take a descriptive photo, which is what I call illustrative photography. It is one area of photography that is the opposite of artistic photography.
As an artistic photographer, when I create a photographic artwork or a collection of fine art photographs, I am not interested in the scenes themselves. I do not want to testify. Depicting reality does not interest me.
This reality will simply serve as a support to reveal my personal universe. For example, when I photograph a waterfall, I do not see a river flowing, but I see time passing. When I photograph a majestic and imposing tree, I see a witness of time passing. I can multiply the examples ad infinitum. I advise you to go and discover my "Around the Mind" collections.
An art photograph is above all a transcription in the form of an image of a personal universe: the universe of the photographer artist.
A Fine Art Photo Is the Result of a Photographic and Artistic Process
When you buy a fine art photograph, you acquire a photographic work that is an interpretation of reality by the photographic artist. This interpretation is the result of an extremely lengthy personal and introspective work known as the search for the photographic and artistic approach.
It can be broken down into two very distinct stages:
The photographic vision. It reflects the way the artist sees reality, for example, the use of tight shots or wide shots, or the use of scenes with multiplanes or scenes with a very present background.
The photographic signature. It is the way to show the vision, for example, the use of black and white or color. It is the use of panoramic or square format.
The definition of a photographic and artistic approach requires years of work. It is the result of intense reflection. The photographer artist must be sincere and passionate, giving everything
I often say that a printed art photo reveals the soul of a photographer artist. If you can read between the lines and decipher the coded messages, you will be able to lay it bare and understand it.
Creating a Fine Art Photo is About Making Choices
I am a freedom buff. All my life, I have refused to be shackled. I have always followed unforeseen paths. I have often followed my instincts. My choices have always been guided by the desire to be independent and not be bound by an individual or a system.
Artistic photography has been a real eye-opener for me. The camera is only an accessory in my hands. However, the settings and the technical possibilities are nearly infinite. Fixed lenses or zooms allow you to capture a scene in countless ways.
I often try to go against the grain of other photographers’ work. Whether I make conscious or unconscious choices, the ones I make are unique.
I believe that a photographic artist is not always aware of what he or she is really doing. Choices are often subjective. The photographic elements that I choose to build my scenes sometimes obey rules that are difficult to understand.
However, this mystery is one of the strengths of art photography. It allows people to express themselves freely without having to respect rules dictated by certain people. First and foremost, I am an artist. I say what I want to say. Some of my photographic creations may not please some people, but they will please others.
It is for them that I continue my artwork. I create to please them.
Fine art photography is centered on the principle making time in creating works for those who share similar values and ethics, ultimately to bring pleasure to the eye of the beholder.
When you are interested in certain art photographs or certain artists, it is because their photographic approach resonates with your unconscious. This is the strength of art photography.
The Tools to Create a Fine Art Photo
As a nature photographer artist, I need a multitude of tools to create.
The first tool I use is light. It is the light that will highlight the forms, lines, and masses of my photographs.
The second tool I use is composition. For me, to compose an art photograph well is to choose to harmoniously place the photographic elements in certain positions within in a scene.
The third tool at my disposal is framing. It is certainly the most difficult one to master. It is during this stage that I choose the photographic elements that will allow me to express myself.
The fourth tool is the point of view I choose for my scene. Sometimes, moving just 1 meter (1 yard) apart will totally change the nature of my message. The vanishing lines and the perspectives will be entirely different.
The fifth tool I use is the computer. It is the one that allows me to develop an art photo and print it. It is an essential tool because the software I am going to use allows me to strengthen my photographic approach.
As you can see, creating an art photo is a process that takes time, patience, and a great amount of self-sacrifice. Often, the result does not live up to my expectations and hopes. If I am not satisfied with the photo when it is printed, I must return to the field and begin shooting again.
A Fine Art Photo is Also a Legal Definition
You have understood that an art photo is the translation of an artistic and photographic approach to show a personal and unique universe.
Legally, an art photograph must:
Be taken by the artist.
Printed by him or his control.
Signed.
Numbered as a complete and combined list of limited copies, formats, and media.
This legal framework makes it possible to set guidelines and rules that guarantee that the acquisition of a photographic work is an investment. With time, it will increase in value.
Personally, I am much more demanding. I have adopted the rule that all my art photos are limited to 8 copies each.
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Lovers of Art Photography
During all these years, I have learned that an art photography lover never looks for the technical truth. He is always interested in the result and in the meaning of the print he has before his eyes.
I often compare an art lover to a person who loves music. She likes to listen to certain melodies and yet she cannot read a scale with musical notes that are aligned.
Lovers of art photography are interested in revealing the creative act of the photographer artist.
I hope that this article has given you a good understanding of the nature and essence of an art photo.
It is not just a print or a poster you buy in a store on a major boulevard.
An art photo is a universe. It is the photographic translation of an artistic vision.
It is also part of a legal framework that increases in value as time passes.
An art photograph is much more than a testimony or an illustration. It is a split second that invites you to reflect on what you are doing with your life.
My goal is to help others by giving them the best I have.
I chose artistic photography and my passion for the wonders of nature.
I create fine art photographs to help people to escape and to reconnect with nature.
I organize photo workshops to help photographers to create even more interesting photos.
I write articles in the blog to share my skills and help other photographers to explore new creative ways.
Join Me on Social Networks
Amar Guillen is a photographer artist.
His adventure with photography began in 1987 when he prepared and obtained his degree in computer engineering. He began to feel at that time, a real fascination for the sumptuous landscapes which surround him and the fauna which populates them. The need to express emotions in images is already being felt.
Since 2003, the year in which he became a professional nature photographer, Amar expresses in images and emotions the infinite mysteries that conceal nature, developing a personal, artistic and contemplative photographic language.
He devotes himself entirely and professionally to artistic photography. His research crystallizes around the underwater space, the animal universe and the terrestrial landscapes.
His quest is to highlight the preciousness of nature and to sublimate it.
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