When it comes down to it, we truly do live on a rock in space—in the simplest of terms of course. I’m not sure how often you think of the space you occupy as you move about the Earth, or as it moves in space. Growing up in New York City, I can attest that it didn’t occur to me quite often—if at all.
If you will indulge me, take this moment to consider your place on the planet, as well as where Earth is in space. Don’t think it too complex because it’s not. Use the first photograph below to ignite your thoughts if you need.
Imagine your nightly perspective is an unobstructed view of all the stars you could see in the night sky. I believe one’s life experiences would be drastically different living in a “night-light polluted” city—never being able to see as many stars as you could. If you’ve lived a “starry lifestyle,” I applaud you for understanding what others may not feel or even know.
I’ve always been an over-thinker according to my high school buddies. So, let get on with the story.
Just before sunrise during a cloudless autumnal equinox. The last morning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere. An amazingly detailed view of a crescent moon. A sharpened view of land against sky.
The crescent moon/sunrise photograph was taken on the observation deck shown in this photograph just above. Sunrise was from the right (→). Does the spacial relationship you see, give you a clearer perspective of humanity’s occupancy in the world? It did for me!
On my first trip to Grand Canyon National Park, I wasn’t prepared for what I was about to see. As a city-dweller, I’ve looked at awesome landscape photographs throughout my life—always considered being there—but never getting “there.” On this occasion, I had a job assignment in Arizona. Realizing it would be my only opportunity to get there—I scheduled a few days off of work afterward for travel. This was the second photograph taken upon arrival that first day. The experience of seeing this particular view in person, was life-changing!
This photograph shows the rock formations on the inside of a maar volcanoe. It’s not active, but definitively is a hole in the ground formed by lava heating up underground water deposits. Creating steam explosions on the surface. In this case, it happened over 2000 years ago.
Check out the similarities of the cinder fields surrounding Ubehebe in comparison to the rock formations inside of it. Just as most islands in the seas/oceans are created by volcanic activity, so are some of the land formations on the interiors of continents.
Read more here —> Ubehebe
Standing on the rim of the volcanoe just after sunrise. Preparing the walk down 600ft./182.3m to get to the bottom. There’s thriving vegetation down there!
More than half-way into the crater, the scale and scope of the journey becomes more enlightening. The layering of differing rock formations over the centuries clearly speak to the existential nature of just being. I begin placing myself into the lifespan of Earth. Just a blip in time!
Now at the bottom. Looking in the direction of the morning Sun as the Earth’s rotation allows it to shed light on this intriguing landscape. The curiosity of exploring this crater having been met with this visual record of it. The memory of being there comes back in full recollection.
I “get it” that many are not interested in this type of excursion. With all the time we have of living our lives, I believe taking a moment to reflect on things such as this can be of some value.
When you’re looking at a landscape photograph, what is it that you prefer to see? Is it a snow-capped mountain peak? Or the valley that leads up to that snow-capped peak? It’s interesting how accustomed we can be in the aesthetics we place on landscape photographs. Do you have a favorite calendar on your wall showing landscape photographs? Which aspect of landscape photography do they focus on? The “beautiful?” The “everyday?”
For me, this photograph is of a wonderful landscape because it shows an expansive view of a desert. It envelopes you with a grand sense of scale and visual interest.
I figure to title this photograph “rock cloud sky.” The stark contrast of what Earth is like compared to the softness of wind, clouds and sky.
Title this photograph “rock water sky!” The intensity in color of the red landscape is in every respect—memorable! The Colorado River traversing the canyon landscape.
As you may have noticed, the experiences I wanted to convey in this article are about scale. The scale of humanity in the environment. You could easily compare human scale to buildings when living in a city, but that would be a perspective from a human-created view. I prefer to show human scale in comparison to a nature-created perspective.
With this last photograph on “scale,” can you identify where the seven people are in it? One of which is sitting down with legs and feet dangling over the edge.
For more about scale, take a look at this video exploring Earth’s movement through the galaxy and Universe.
I’ll leave it here. Hoping this article was of some benefit and/or insight for you. My primary motivation in sharing these photographs, is to bring amazing, thought-provoking landscape visuals to the enjoyment of your mind’s eye. Going forward—whenever you look at a landscape photograph, consider that it’s not just a landscape—it’s The Earth!
As always, I appreciate that you’ve taken the time to read it through.
Til next time…
Kenneth