KATA TJUTA once known as The OLGAS ,located some 30 km to the west of Uluru is a cluster of soft rounded domes,made up of basically a pudding like mix of pebbles and boulders cemented within sandstone.Well weathered over millions of years from a single monolithic slab of rock,nearly 35 km square kilometers in size.The weathering has worn the the rock along vertical lines to produce 36 Domes.....The largest is some 550 meters high and this place is particularly sacred to the Aboriginals as much as Uluru.It is a particularly impressive,mystical place,particularly when on occassions the winds blow and create a whistling like effect in the many ravines.
In many ways Kata Tjuta i find far more enchanting and challenging to the "eye" and travelling mindset..as catching the first sight of Kata Tjuta leads to a different sight vision each time..the domes can be seen from many,many angles and with the changing light as the day evolves,create a series of images that can leave you on occassions, breathless...On this particular day,i was searching for a primary image to sight a shot for the front vista...of the main or primary domes of Kata Tjuta ..and like all landscape photographers.. ..POSITION, POSITION.... is so important...and at that stage ,..as can happen in many field trips..not much was happening..despite my extensive sand dune meanderings and me occupying the color window time frame of opportunity ,which is mostly(though not always) late afternoon..to maximize color saturation and see what the lengthening shadow lines were telling me...i mean the trouble taking creative shots of singular entities like Uluru/Kata Tjuta is that ,to a camera ,they are essentially big pebbles on a dirt floor..so it how you frame them that creates the majic...and as i trodded back home to the car some miles away,as i had been trekking in the distant dunes (always watch where you put your foot..snakes..heaps of them.!!).. then,the gust driven wind flow around the vegetation awoke a tiring me to an event unwinding around me.. something was happening..a rapidly moving squall line was sweeping in from behind me..and the environment became alive,vibrant ,over the domes the air was clear and crisp and the domes were turning red..as the front passed over me..i ran to a postion to frame the moment and set the tripod..In the end i had just enough time to take 2 shots before it all faded..and sometimes that is all there is ..a few seconds and barely time to breathe..and sometimes you miss the opportunity .and that's when it hurts.....
Motto..sometimes being in the right place at the right time is what it is all about..and understanding the environment,sensing its mood is the way it seems to work for me..and somehow..with a little luck ..i can snap the odd surreal shot ..something that says something..a picture that makes the ordinary look extra-ordinary..and transforms the extra-ordinary into something that touches the heart..all great shots touch the human heart...and remind us of our inner humanity..and in this case,the overpowering and ever present spiritual nature of this place ..this place called Kata Tjuta .... |
