Weird Places, Weird Edits

Brain Auer's photo of some "famous dead oaks" near Red Hill and his edit (where he mimicks the effect of cross-processed Velvia100 film, he describes the steps in his blog) opened my eyes and mind to an idea that was new to me: apply weird edits to photos of weird places - and the Salton Sea surely is one such weird place. :-)

I tried a strong black and white edit in one of my photos when I visited the Salton Sea, but it can't compete with Brian's rendition, which is simply "far out".


Alien Shores (FinePix S5Pro, 1/35s @ ISO 200; f/16, 16 mm DX)

Recently, I found a weird place nearby - the re-naturation zone in the Schönramer Filz. It's a moor area that was drained in the early 20th century to "mine" the turf. Later, when people found out what a unique eco-system a moor really is, they blocked the channels that drained the moor, the water level rose, and the trees began to die - making place for the natural plants of the moor.

The trunks of the dead trees are a really weird appearance, especially with the perspective compression of long focal length's:


Haunted (FinePix S5Pro, 1s @ ISO 100; f/8, 300 mm DX)

The edit is mostly toning the highlights in a cold blue and the shadows in a warm brown (mildly), plus a strong boost in contrast (it was actually very hazy that day, so not much contrast).