Bare bones of the Earth, a photo from Northern Territory, West

Photographer's Note

Looking south from Turners Lookout in the East Macdonnell Ranges, you can see the bare bones of the Earth laid out in front of you. Between here and the horizon is 400 million years of Earth history, displayed as different layers of sedimentary rock. They all belong a geological structure known as the Amadeus Basin, occupying much of central Australia. The purple layer in the middle ground is the Arumbera Sandstone, a distinctive rock layer about 550 million years old. The green bush in the foreground is a native pine tree of the genus Callitris.

Turners Lookout is about 50 km east of Alice Springs, and a 4-wheel drive track leads from the main road near Trephina Gorge to the beginning of the walk at John Hayes Water Hole. From there it is about two or three hours walk up to the lookout. You get great views to the north, west and south.

Scanned from a slide. Polariser used.

ls7902, Matthew-Watt, grantlp oznaczył to zdjęcie jeko użyteczne

Critiques | Translate

ls7902 (7348) 2008-03-07 17:47

Hi Vincent,
Beautiful capture of the rough & dry landscape. Reminds me of photos of the Badland of South Dakota. Your foreground trees & rocks give much live & depth to the composition. Very good scanned work with great colors too. Regards. Latiff.

Matthew-Watt (5934) 2008-03-07 17:47

G'Day Vincent,

The McDonnell Ranges is one part of the outback I have not really seen (from a distance). The landscape is quite the expected 'outback genre' here. It is good to see that deep in some of these gorges and valleys are life sustaining pools and streams of water. I think that there may be some over-sharpening in this photo, but the Aussie desert isn't exactly soft so that probably adds to the granulated appearance. The landscape is certainly desolate, but it is valuable and holds a unique beauty. Thanks for the shot; we need more isolated Australian photos on TE.

Matt

grantlp (2113) 2008-03-07 18:27

Hi Vincent,
Even the harhest of landscapes have it's own beauty, and this images provides a reflection of that beauty in the middle of the Australia continent. The variations in colour tones....including the pale purple,,,,adds nice interest. The greenery in the foreground gives the photo life and provides depth to the shot. Well done.
Cheers Grant

skippy007 (12510) 2008-03-07 19:01

Hi Vincent,
Beautiful shot of our magical captivating outback. Very well captured, the green tree in the foreground gives it life and colour.
Regards
Santo