Crop Circles, a photo from Montana, West

Photographer's Note

Taken from 30,000 feet through an airplane window.

The circles result from using an irrigation system similar to this one which walks around a central point watering a circle of land. Each circle is 800 meters in diameter. (See leonard's notes below).

Contrast masking, and curve adjustments were made to remove the significant haze from the original.

dawekato, igor_wo, Vagabond, ngythanh, caliane, benkrut, perryhooter, rtome, MLINES, noborders oznaczył to zdjęcie jeko użyteczne

Critiques | Translate

richtersl (3546) 2003-09-24 8:01

This photo could also qualify as modern art. I find myself mesmerized by the geometry of your photo. A high school math teacher would have a field day with your photo! Very nice composition and an interesting story to boot!

[2]

Nina (5099) 2003-09-24 8:01

Interesting pattern picture Peter. I would crop the top top concentrate the eye on the circles only.

femkevdh (2633) 2003-09-24 8:06

fantastic photo! very surreal. Looks like art indeed.
Must be busy UFO's.. ;-)

olli (2091) 2003-09-24 8:13

Great abstract shot it looks like patchwork quilt to me... Very interesting geometric shapes and beautiful tones. Could be a shot by Yann Arthus-Bertrand (www.yannarthusbertrand.com). Very well done one of my favorites.

[2]

kourosh (2346) 2003-09-24 8:24

peter the subject of your photo is very interesting but perhaps haze removal has degraded your image because it looks quite artificial.

avigur_11 (22553) 2003-09-24 8:26

Amazing photo!
Each circle has a dark area witch give the feeling taht all the circles are turning!
Great photo!

cdewet (0) 2003-09-24 8:27

Peter, this is very, very good. These things are massive, from 30 000' it looks totally different from 500'. I shot some earlier this year from a microlight plane, but only a single circle. The geomerty and shades of the same colour in the foilage of the whatever they are cultivating is lovely an subtle. Bravo as our French friends would say.

greg (2835) 2003-09-24 8:51

Ah! I've seen these a few times in satellite images - I always wondered what they were - thanks!

mortijo (12828) 2003-09-24 9:43

All has been said, but I am still in awe. It is true that the colours work a bit unnatural, but that can't spoil it for me. Toutes mes félicitations.

htremblay (1666) 2003-09-24 10:09

Photo trčs belle et trčs réussie. Bravo, j'aime beaucoup.
Very beautiful and very successful photo. Bravo, I like very much.

leonard (19) 2003-09-24 10:35

This is a great capture of the interesting patterns of center-pivot irrigation systems.

Just some information: the photo of the irrigation system in the link is not a center-pivot system. In South Dakota, those are called "portable" irrigation systems. Center pivots are generally larger than the portable irrigation systems and can't be moved from field to field.

Each irrigation circle in this photo is inscribed into a quarter section - 160 acres. Farmland in the US is laid out in sections (640 acres, or 1 mile X 1 mile), so the squares which hold the circles are 1/2 mile long on each side. A center-pivot system is 1/4 mile, or around 400 meters, long.

[4]

gepall (1838) 2003-09-24 10:47

Very original photo and very good capture

martin (1242) 2003-09-24 12:04

A superb image. Studying the shapes and colours has a mesmerising effect.

ninadev (5377) 2003-09-24 12:58

Incredible shot! those patterns and colors are amazing, almost looks like a quilt or a secret message to people of outer space. The fact that the lines between the fields have a light diagonal increases the perspective.
Never seen such a thing, thanks for sharing with us.

Phoebe (133) 2003-09-25 12:41

Hola Geo gracies pel teu comentari sobre la meva foto.

Trovo que aquesta foto es boněssima, es impresionanti els colors son magnifics,sencillament increible!!!!

kikin (334) 2003-09-26 16:23

I love the hape and colors, It looks like oil-painted pie charts. Beautiful!

tworivers (573) 2003-11-09 1:23

wonderful image. as an alfalfa farmer from wyoming with a few of these on the farm it is great to see them from the air. beautiful geometric pattern made by the circles and partial circles, then the lines and squares. all the different colors add a lot of interest. very nice image.

Eagle78 (1933) 2004-01-28 13:58

Great colored patern you managed to get here Peter! I really love, in spite of some colors look a bit strange. Anyway a great unusual capture.

clodreno (0) 2004-01-29 8:37

Incredible picture, a little bit like Yann Arhus Bertrand.. Very beautiful.

vbourrut (32482) 2004-02-25 15:38

Superbe vue aérienne, c'est assez impressionant !

dawekato (2269) 2004-05-08 15:05

What an amazing picture! It hardly looks real. At first I thought you created it in PS. WEll done!

langaloo (489) 2004-08-17 12:59

Nature's beauty with a human touch. I am a painter, and I don't think there is an other color than green that has so many different hues, tones, values, cold, warm, etc...

Vagabond (5848) 2004-11-01 13:15

Very good picture with a nice pattern, well captured and saturated colours. Congratulations ..

ngythanh (8458) 2004-11-09 11:49

I have planned to take such photo but always failed. Thank you for sharing.

quillerpl (333) 2005-01-06 10:42

Amazing photo, very unusual almost seems imposible to exist in real. Great job.

jrzufferey (7305) 2005-01-09 5:39

J'aime beaucoup ton image, ce patchwork de couleurs et de cultures si j'ose le dire. Amicalement/jr

kaychambers (1198) 2005-01-27 21:10

Hi Peter

Nicely presented image. Great POV and good note.

Well done,

regards,

Vic, Singapore.

summersun (4978) 2005-04-15 12:28

interesting geometric picture. funny how those circles are actually irrigation systems...
nice green and brown tones.
Vanessa

caliane (610) 2005-06-08 23:32

I've never seen such things.. amazing landscape.. these round colored shapes on the ground seem unreal! you did a great job Peter! congratulations! surely it will go to my favorites list!

Marlis (2298) 2005-11-13 9:22

hello Peter,
this looks familiar to someone from the Prairies. Wherever there is enough water and money irrigation improves the yields and increases the number of crops that can be grown.
Great shot, too bad the PP is degrading it a bit.Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for sharing.
Marialuisa

djslim (570) 2005-11-25 14:59

Something you would never see from the groung. Nicely shot considering you were shooting out an airplane window 30,000 feet up!

pmthanh (676) 2005-11-26 14:34