For this week’s Lens-Artists Photography Challenge, Patti invites us to explore empty spaces in our photography. Empty spaces can draw more attention to our subject, as it does in this wildflower photo.
In wildlife photography, leaving a lot of empty space in front of your subject gives them room to move.
Or empty spaces can be used in landscape photography to evoke a mood or illustrate the vastness or wildness of a place. Possibly my favorite place to capture emptiness in landscape photography is Death Valley National Park.
Empty spaces can accentuate the vastness of a landscape.
Including a lonely road can evoke a mood of solitude and remoteness.
Since many of the most exciting nameless canyons in Death Valley are reached by hiking up an open wash, these wide open spaces create a sense of adventure and exploration in me.
But by far my favorite empty spaces to photograph in Death Valley are the sand dunes.
With five major dune fields contained within the park, there are a lot to choose from.
Emptiness can not only emphasize distance, it can also highlight the sheer massiveness of certain landforms.
Empty spaces don’t need to bring attention to a particular subject. They can also be used to bring attention to something more ephemeral, like color, as shown in the sunset colors of the feature image, captured in White Sands National Park. Empty spaces also make great palettes for abstract photography. Here is my favorite meditation image, a celebration of emptiness.
Death Valley has been on my mind a lot lately. A huge storm in late August dropped over a year’s worth of precipitation in one day. When the park finally reopened 2 months later, the basin was still filled with water,
If there are enough little rain events in the upcoming weeks to keep seedlings moist, that big storm could lead to great things for 2024. It IS an El Nino year. Dare I hope? Could we actually have a superbloom? It’s possible. Stay tuned. I’ll be watching the weather closely. I’m keeping my dance card open, not committing to any housesits for 2024 yet. I’m hoping that instead, maybe this year, I can once again follow the flowers.
Sand dunes are amazing!! Where are you right now?
Tijeras, New Mexico. Happy belated birthday! Give me a call sometime!
Great selections all. STUNNING banner shot!
Thanks, John!
Absolutely stunning, Dianne! Your images are beautifully composed and the colors are vibrant. You evoke such a sense of vastness and joyful solitude. I’m speechless! I hope you’ll consider entering the Sony photo competition next year. I just saw a gallery exhibit of the winners. Once again, fantastic photos.
Thanks, Patti! And thank you for the heads up on the Sony competition. I just checked it out and I’m excited to enter!
Superb set, especially the studies of sand and mud
Thanks! So glad you liked them!
Wow, some beautiful ’empty’ spaces here! I love the Death Valley dunes in particular 😀 We’re planning on a visit there next year (probably not till October) and I can’t wait to photograph those landscapes!
Thanks, Tina! You’re gonna love it when you get to Death Valley. I look forward to checking out some of your images after you get there!
Well Dianne, no one is better suited to respond to this one than you are, and you’ve not let us down. Your images this week are exquisite. The sand dunes are my favorite, especially “all is illusion” but they are all incredible. Marvelous response to the challenge.
Thanks, Tina! All Is Illusion is my favorite, too!
Fantastic landscapes, I can feel the loneliness but also the beauty.
Thanks, Sofia. Glad you liked them!