Jeff Stamer (Firefallphotography.com)
"Tower of Terror"
The full arc of the Milky Way is punctured by the tip of this white monolith rising from the desert floor in a desolate corner of southern Utah.
I had hiked nearly 5 miles on a warm and moonless May night specifically to photograph the famous "Towers of Silence" (aka Waheap Hoodoos). But when I got there, I happened to notice an odd-shaped 'headless' hoodoo standing forlornly in the wash about 100 yards (90 meters) to the east.
Over the next couple of hours while I was shooting the 'Towers of Silence,' I felt this nagging urge to keep glancing over at it. Misshapen and 'lumpy'...it wasn't particularly attractive but something about it kept tugging at the back of my brain.
Finally, I couldn't stand it anymore and walked over to check it out.
Glad I did.
As it turns out, when I got to the northern side of it, the malformed shape transformed into this near-perfect spear-point profile. Combined with the full spread of the Milky Way arching over it, the composition was just breathtaking.
Even better was that I've never seen a Milky Way shot of this spot before...which I find amazing since it is hidden in plain sight.
This image is a 12-frame pano. Five shots of the sky were taken at ISO 6400 for 13 seconds each. Seven shots of the foreground were taken at ISO 800 for 300 seconds each. Foreground illuminated by a Lume Cube on a 7' light stand. Stitched together in Photoshop. Milky Way processing via Astro Panel 5.1. Noise reduction via Topaz DeNoise AI. The glow of lights on the horizon is from Page, Arizona about 25 miles to the southwest.
As far as the name, well, I've never seen a name attached to this particular hoodoo, perhaps because everyone (myself included) fixates on the adjacent "Towers of Silence". So for my purposes (arrogant as they might be), I thought a good name would be the 'Tower of Terror.'
Like most seasoned photographers, I’m always looking to find a unique shot, rather than take the same one captured by thousands of folks before me. This image fulfills that need superbly. I am quite tickled that I found it.
Cheers!
Jeff
My Website ¦ My Blog ¦ Facebook
You can see more of my images from the American Southwest at: www.firefallphotography.com/southwest-2021/
Featured in Explore! #48 on 15 June, 2022
"Tower of Terror"
The full arc of the Milky Way is punctured by the tip of this white monolith rising from the desert floor in a desolate corner of southern Utah.
I had hiked nearly 5 miles on a warm and moonless May night specifically to photograph the famous "Towers of Silence" (aka Waheap Hoodoos). But when I got there, I happened to notice an odd-shaped 'headless' hoodoo standing forlornly in the wash about 100 yards (90 meters) to the east.
Over the next couple of hours while I was shooting the 'Towers of Silence,' I felt this nagging urge to keep glancing over at it. Misshapen and 'lumpy'...it wasn't particularly attractive but something about it kept tugging at the back of my brain.
Finally, I couldn't stand it anymore and walked over to check it out.
Glad I did.
As it turns out, when I got to the northern side of it, the malformed shape transformed into this near-perfect spear-point profile. Combined with the full spread of the Milky Way arching over it, the composition was just breathtaking.
Even better was that I've never seen a Milky Way shot of this spot before...which I find amazing since it is hidden in plain sight.
This image is a 12-frame pano. Five shots of the sky were taken at ISO 6400 for 13 seconds each. Seven shots of the foreground were taken at ISO 800 for 300 seconds each. Foreground illuminated by a Lume Cube on a 7' light stand. Stitched together in Photoshop. Milky Way processing via Astro Panel 5.1. Noise reduction via Topaz DeNoise AI. The glow of lights on the horizon is from Page, Arizona about 25 miles to the southwest.
As far as the name, well, I've never seen a name attached to this particular hoodoo, perhaps because everyone (myself included) fixates on the adjacent "Towers of Silence". So for my purposes (arrogant as they might be), I thought a good name would be the 'Tower of Terror.'
Like most seasoned photographers, I’m always looking to find a unique shot, rather than take the same one captured by thousands of folks before me. This image fulfills that need superbly. I am quite tickled that I found it.
Cheers!
Jeff
My Website ¦ My Blog ¦ Facebook
You can see more of my images from the American Southwest at: www.firefallphotography.com/southwest-2021/
Featured in Explore! #48 on 15 June, 2022