Image of the Week: Moonrise and Abandoned Trailers, Anza-Borrego Desert, California

I was channeling the spirits of St. Ansel and St. Edward the day I photographed this scene in the Anza-Borrego desert.

After walking around these two abandoned Airstream-like trailers looking for a composition, I noticed the waxing moon rising in the east. I couldn't resist making an image with it in the frame.

I set up my 4x5 field camera low to the ground to pick up some grass in the foreground and fitted a deep red filter over the lens to deepen the tones of the blue sky. The deep red filter blocks blue light and is the secret to getting those black skies we've come to identify with the American West.

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Technical Data

I photographed Moonrise and Abandoned Trailers, Anza-Borrego Desert, California with a Tachihara 4x5 field camera and a Schneider 150mm ƒ/5.6 Symmar-S lens on Kodak TMax 400 film (TMY-2). The exposure was 1/8 sec at ƒ/32 with a deep red filter.

Other Images of the Week