This photo is not in Australia it's actually 7,000 miles away in Utah's southern high desert country. I brought this photo out to show to science writer and author Karen McGhee. A couple of weeks ago Karen and I were
in the outback of New South Wales working on a magazine story for Australian Geographic. After a few days of one epic drive followed by another, I tried to explain to Karen the visual similarities and differences between the landscape of southwestern US and the Outback of New South Wales.The two places have completely different flora, fauna, and geology, but when you are out in either of these locations you really get the same sense of expansive space. And it's not simply the big sky and the flatness of the earth it has more to do with the contrast of the blue sky, the visual clarity caused by the dry air and the fact that you often have no reference points around you so your eyes start to play tricks on you. After an hour of driving on a straight unwavering road across the outback the visual effect is like moving through a landscape where the ground and sky appear infinite. At least that is what I saw and why I am looking forward to my next trip to the outback. The photo above is a hack job at a stitched panoramic photo, but I think it captures that sense of an infinite horizon. The Outback story I shot for Australian Geographic will be coming out in the February issue.
I just love that space - being a city girl i crave and fear vast open spaces. I remember spending several weeks in the Australian outback and feeling so liberated but also strangely claustrophobic.
Posted by: alicegunner10 | December 10, 2010 at 03:24 AM
I have a friend in Australia, but he seems not to go outside his house ever ... not a picture of the country sent at all.
Posted by: dietas para adelgazar rapido | March 22, 2011 at 09:05 AM