this photo was taken on the first day of the year, January 1, 2009, on the way home from a Christmas trip to Utah. Can't say whether it is my best for the year, but it certainly was the most "visible". After its publication on 1x.com it was linked on stumbledupon.com and happened to stay near the top of their list of "popular" photos for at least a couple of weeks, so it garnered more than 160,000 (!) views. I am not sure if that was warranted, but it was fun to watch.
[Jan. 28th, 2010 03:43:16 AM]
just wanted to add in response to some comments: this was not posed. I don't know this guy, I think he was also taking a photo, like me, only in a hat :). So I did not really have a choice of moving him and myself to the middle of the road for more symmetry. On the other hand, I am not even sure that I would like a completely symmetric image better...
This image looked awfully familiar when I voted, but could remember where and when I saw it. Now I can say I loved it back then and love it now. Great powerful image.
I can certainly see why it got such accolades and attention! And seeing DPC awarding a 49th place spot tells me all I need to know about the credibility of the voting here :) This is freaking FABULOUS! How does it get any better than this!
This would only be a better shot if the road was not in it. Imagine a Cowboy looking at this scene 150 years ago and you will see what my perfect version of this shot would be. As it is, it's a very good pic.
Very cool photo. Not to be snarky, but the photo lost some impact for me when I imagined he was actually crouching down to take a photo. Nevertheless the cowboy hat is the crowning (no pun intended) touch. A high vote from me.
Yo yo yo. What a scene and love the modern day cowboy. Horseless and carless - left to walk off into the sunset. I like. Saying that I would have liked him to walk and not sit there
what a location - i have always wanted to go - the light is amazing, the refections fantastic. i can't decide if I like the person present or not - but it still gets an 8
Hi Lev, wonder how this one is going for you. It's not a typical Monument valley photo. I like the image--feels like the cowboy is kneeling down in awe of the scene. The high contrast is nice.
Like the concept, love the execution. Nice tonal range. I found myself wanting just a *little* more definition in the edges of the distant spires, and judging by the fact that the mid-distance is sharper, I suspect that it just wasn't there in the original, either due to focusing a touch inside of the hyperfocal distance, or because of atmospheric turbulence.
Wow, awe is the right word for this! Love the leading lines of the road that my eye can literally travel on as it ventures off into the distance to see the impressive mountain structures and those wispy white rolling clouds. And those clouds are mesmerizing too! I also love the addition of the person in the composition. As always it is the details that can add an extra dimension to the shot - he is wearing a cowboy or cowboy shaped hat. I see this as an emotive/conceptual photo that speaks of the cowboy taking the long road home. The great wide west spreads out before this lone cowboy - the road is his direction - as long as he stays on the path he can never get lost. I would love to see the color version but I suspect the colors and details on the 'cowboy' would be more evident and thus destroy the cowboy imagery. The B&W presentation is just wonderful - bumping up to 9.
A good shot, but I wonder what someone who's never stopped right here thinks of it......8>).....this is one of the most beautiful views on the planet......that's what I did in '85.....just crouched right there, and stared ahead in complete and utter womnder......8
I like all the layers of this - the swirly clouded sky, the silhouettes of the mountain range, the sparkly of the ground reflecting the sun. Not sure what your cowboy is doing there - photography, maybe? - but he does add scale which is always nice in a shot like this. The B&W renders the layers more apparent than would be in color, I suspect - good choice.
The idea behind this is pretty good. I like the silhouette and the hat. The clouds are really neat. The photo looks tilted to the left though and I think it would be much stronger if the road were centered in the composition. The light is a bit too harsh as well.
That is something to sit and stare in awe at, though maybe not in the middle of the road or some large truck might just come thundering up and flatten you! Of course with you lot driving on the wrong side of the road I suppose in that lane you would see it coming :)
As for the shot, I really like it. I love the way the road runs off into the distance until it's almost just a line, yet you can tell it's still nowhere near reaching the horizon. The person on the foreground breaks up the bleakness of the road very well and I think is a very nice inclusion.
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