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The Earthship: a Self-Sustaining Home
The Earthship: a Self-Sustaining Home
Sammie


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Green* (Advanced Editing VII*)
Camera: Canon EOS-40D
Lens: Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS
Location: Taos, New Mexico
Date: Jun 28, 2008
Aperture: F5.0
ISO: 400
Shutter: 1/500
Galleries: Architecture, Science and Technology
Date Uploaded: Jun 29, 2008

 This is a picture of an Earthship home near Taos, New Mexico. There are quite a few of these kind of homes in an area north of Taos near the Rio Grande Gorge.

An Earthship is the quintessential essence of "Green". They are built of mostly recycled materials like old tires, old cans and bottles and mud. All electricity used by the home is self-generated with wind and solar and all water used by the home is gathered from rain fall and stored in a cistern. The water is recycled within the home - it is used first for drinking and bathing, then is recycled by watering the plants grown in front of the windows; then it is used to flush the toilet and lastly is put through some sort of natural filtration process in an outside septic system. Earthships face south to collect as much solar energy as possible, the slanted windows are at a certain angle to cut down on heat in summer and maximize heat in winter. An indoor garden is grown in front of the windows which provides food, filters water, and uses the carbon dioxide from the residents and releases oxygen.

I wish there had been better lighting for this photo - it was really a gray, dull day. However, at least I didn't have to worry about shadows and glare!

Editing: Crop and rotate, levels, curves, selective color, noise removal after masking house; midtone contrast, small amount of diffuse glow, some dodging on the highlights on the foreground grasses and sagebrush, resize, smart sharpen only on building, sharpen tool on little things on roof, save for web.

Statistics
Place: 50 out of 110
Avg (all users): 5.6053
Avg (commenters): 5.8889
Avg (participants): 5.6429
Avg (non-participants): 5.5909
Views since voting: 7669
Views during voting: 261
Votes: 152
Comments: 10
Favorites: 0

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AuthorThread
 Comments Made During the Challenge
Canon EOS-60D
Tamron AF 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di LD Aspherical IF for Canon
 07/06/2008 09:35:20 PM
Nice capture. The subject blends well with it's surroundings.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark II
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0 L IS
 07/06/2008 04:15:16 PM
Crazy house!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D7000
Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
 07/05/2008 10:25:27 AM
Where is that? I'd love to see inside.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Pentax K-1
Pentax FA 50mm f/1.4 AF
 07/04/2008 10:01:56 AM
Interesting subject, and well taken, but sorta boringly composed. Still... Among the better entries of this challenge. - 6
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-7D
Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
 07/03/2008 10:02:21 PM
light seems to harsh, perhaps a shot at dusk or dawn would have been better
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi
Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
 07/02/2008 06:30:19 PM
A little dull IMO but a great take on the challenge. 6
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-550D Rebel T2i
Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon
 07/02/2008 03:24:07 PM
These things are cool. I've driven past a couple of 'em out in the boonies. Interesting subject and well photographed.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark IV
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L II
 07/02/2008 03:07:32 PM
This is a very interesting shot. The muted colors are very nice. I can't tell if it looks a touch tilted to the left or not. Maybe I'm crooked!
This is a great entry.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon Z8
Nikon NIKKOR Z 24-120 f/4 S
 06/30/2008 04:19:36 PM
what a great use of nature and technology, color and shape, old and new

I wonder about the tight crop around the house - it seems as if a bit on the left is cut off
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D5100
Tamron AF 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 Aspherical for Nikon
 06/30/2008 12:54:09 PM
New Mexico Special?
  Photographer found comment helpful.
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