White Sands Yucca

Location:  White Sands National Monument, New Mexico. About 20 miles southwest of Alamogordo, NM on Highway 70.

Find the location: Copy the coordinates below. Open Google Earth, paste the coordinates into "Fly To" and click on the magnifying glass.

32° 47' 53.35" N
106° 15' 50.65" W

Equipment:  Hasselblad C501 with 50 mm lens and polarizing filter.  Velvia transparency film, ISO 50.

Digital imaging/manipulation:  Image scanned with Minolta Dimage Scan Multi PRO at 4800 dpi.  Emulsion artifact removed. Distant bush on the left was "greened up." (digitally watered)

Notes: If you are shooting film, BRACKET. It generally requires about a 2-stop overexposure to avoid very dark pictures. Your camera will overcompensate for the brilliant white of the sand. Digital cameras show you this so you can avoid it. This is really a "target-rich environment" especially if the sky darkens. OK, this is just a Y-chromosome thing, but the other attraction was standing in the parking lot at Walmart's watching F-117As out of Holloman Air Force Base fluttering in the twilight like bats. It was so romantic. Well I thought so, anyway. Esther was unimpressed. (Ref: White Sands 2)