[Leica] Uluru 2

[Howard Ritter]

Jayanand—

These are beautiful in their own right, and I’d guess from the name that they constitute some sort of spiritual expression, but I’m alarmed that the display is on all night. If there’s any spot on Earth where the magnificence of the natural worlds below and above, so vital to the culture and traditions of the Indigenous Australians, should be seen to exist together, it’s at Uluru. I would abhor the defacing of the immaculate dark around Uluru, one of the few places on Earth frequented by tourists where it ought to be possible to look around at night and see no evidence of humanity, and as well hope that some ham-handed and misguided application of modern technology isn’t destroying the visibility of the stunning but delicate timeless celestial vista. I captured this view of it three years ago from a different place in Australia, and hope to re-capture it arching over Uluru next month. It shows the Great Emu, a night-sky figure iconic to the Indigenous Peoples, and was published as a two-page spread in Sky and Telescope Magazine in October 2017:

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/hlritter/Gallery_001/The+Emu+leaping+over+the+Clouds.jpg.html <http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/hlritter/Gallery_001/The+Emu+leaping+over+the+Clouds.jpg.html>

This implementation of an undoubtedly well intentioned idea seems shockingly insensitive and intrusive to me. What did you make of the night sky from Uluru?

—howard

> On Feb2, 2020, at 0756, Jayanand Govindaraj via LUG <lug at leica-users.org> wrote:
> 
> The second installment of Uluru photographs comes from a gigantic art
> installation called the Field of Dreams, which is acres of open land
> densely packed with LED bulbs of various colours. It switched on at dusk,
> and switched off at dawn. Unfortunately, no tripods are allowed into the
> area, or in the viewing galleries. Because of this, and the fact that
> descending darkness forced high exposure times, I decided to experiment by
> moving the camera around during exposure. I am a fan of the Abstract
> Expressionist school of painting, and this method, to me, seemed to
> duplicate the spontaneity in creation that the group believed in.
> 
> Before I start, another point. I had always believed that IBIS would not be
> of much use to me. I was totally wrong. The IBIS on the Nikon Z7 is akin to
> magic. Here are three examples, all hand held:
> 
> 1/6s @ f4 at 70mm:
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/auatralia/sydney/Australia-20200114-571.jpg.html
> 
> 1/2s @ f4 at 70mm:
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/auatralia/uluru/Australia-20200116-753.jpg.html
> 
> 0.8s @ f4 at 24mm:
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/auatralia/uluru/Australia-20200116-766.jpg.html
> 
> Back to the Field of Dreams. This is what the field looked like when we
> reached there, with Uluru looming in the background:
> 
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/auatralia/uluru/Australia-20200116-682.jpg.html
> 
> While we waited for dusk, imbibing bubbly and canapes, a waitress moved
> across - also taken at 1/6s:
> 
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/auatralia/uluru/Australia-20200116-709.jpg.html
> 
> As dusk fell the lights were switched on, and this is the straight shot:
> 
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/auatralia/uluru/Australia-20200116-723.jpg.html
> 
> As it got darker, I started experimenting, moving my camera in various
> directions, laterally and in circular motion, as well as zooming in and out
> during exposure, trying to get pure colour abstractions. I am ambivalent
> about the results, but these are some I liked:
> 
> Tunnel:
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/auatralia/uluru/Australia-20200116-763b.jpg.html
> 
> Zoom 1:
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/auatralia/uluru/Australia-20200116-729.jpg.html
> 
> Zoom 2:
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/auatralia/uluru/Australia-20200116-728.jpg.html
> 
> Lateral 1:
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/auatralia/uluru/Australia-20200116-725b.jpg.html
> 
> Lateral 2:
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/auatralia/uluru/Australia-20200116-737b.jpg.html
> 
> Antenna 1:
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/auatralia/uluru/Australia-20200116-738b.jpg.html
> 
> Antenna 2:
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/auatralia/uluru/Australia-20200116-746.jpg.html
> 
> Wave 1:
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/auatralia/uluru/Australia-20200116-748b.jpg.html
> 
> Wave 2:
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/auatralia/uluru/Australia-20200116-749b.jpg.html
> 
> Please see LARGE
> 
> Comments and criticism, as ever, welcome.
> 
> Cheers
> Jayanand
> 
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