Old friends Scott and Marlene visited the TOP Sanctuary in the Finger Lakes this lovely weekend, and brought with them perfect October weather. They've left; they're out on the Bluff bicycling now.
The Bluff of Keuka Lake in about 1921. It's the center part of the "Y."
We talked all night and all morning, and (as always happens, not just with them) I learned things. Their youngest daughter is nomadic in South America right now with her Chilean boyfriend, and on a meetup with her, I think it was, they visited the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia. Salar is Spanish for salt flats, and Salar de Uyuni is the largest salt flats in the world, visible from space.
They said they were driven out into the middle of the more than 4,000-square-mile immensity, and proceeded to do what most people do once the wonder of the landscape wears off...namely, fool around with photography.
The lack of perspective cues in the landscape make it easy to play around with scale.
Cf. "White Men Can't Jump
The Salar is high in the Andes at an elevation of 12,000 feet.
I'd never heard of these practices (or the place) before, but Marlene says lots of people get into it. Their daughter Abby used her Olympus Stylus 1 to take the photos.
Scott says of the Olympus, "it has turned out to be an excellent travel camera, compact, robust, relatively unobtrusive, and the EVF is handy where the sun so often shines while the 10.7x zoom has allowed her to take some good wildlife photos (something the 2.9x zoom on my Sony RX100 III
"One other reason to visit that area of Bolivia are the photogenic flamingos hanging around, by the thousands, in the shallow, salty lakes of the Alto Plano, up thirteen, fourteen and fifteen thousand feet above sea level."
After it rains, the Salar becomes a giant mirror, as seen in this shot by someone else.
Looks like fun, doesn't it? I need to stop thinking of ideas for things I'd try. I'm not in Bolivia.
Mike
(Thanks to Scott and Marlene)
P.S. Oh, and speaking of old Woody Harrelson vehicles, Scott said that compared to big sites like dpreview, TOP is "like Cheers," to which Marlene added that I'm Sam. Funny. Do we have any readers named Norm, Cliff, or Carla?
"Open Mike" is the whatever's-happening Sunday sometimes-off-topic page of TOP.
Original contents copyright 2015 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.
(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:
Norm Nicholson: "Yes, Sam, I'm a regular and a Norm, and people have told me that I remind them of Norm. But, I don't think I'm as warm and fuzzy as Norm."
Mike replies: Well, I have to say it: NORM!
Closer to home, the bonneville salt flats just north of I 80 in Wendover Utah afford similar opportunities. They are so big and "flat" that you can see the curvature of the earth. Bring sunscreen and an umbrella if you go there.
Posted by: hugh crawford | Sunday, 11 October 2015 at 07:54 PM
Yes, such pictures are the norm in salt pans. Here is one from Namibia's Etosha park (not taken by me).
Posted by: SA | Monday, 12 October 2015 at 12:55 PM
In 2009 the photographer Murray Fredericks produced a rather stunning video called "Salt" of a similar location in Australia. Especially after a heavy rain, the scene is almost otherworldly.
Posted by: Doug Howk | Monday, 12 October 2015 at 01:49 PM
Salar de Uyuni makes a repeat appearance on TOP. Recall this print offer: http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/2013/09/the-caponigro-print-offer.html
I appreciate how John Paul's image captures both the flats and their potential to be reflective with water. I now regret not purchasing a print. How did the pairing come across in person?
Posted by: Jonathan Hayes | Monday, 12 October 2015 at 04:24 PM
I never heard of this place, and now it seems like everybody is going there.
https://luminous-landscape.com/the-history-behind-salar-de-uyuni/
Posted by: Clay Olmstead | Monday, 12 October 2015 at 10:55 PM