I’m back! Again haha. It has been TOO long, I know, but it was a period of much-needed respite after a year of isolation, loss, and uncertainty. Creativity can be draining in such circumstances, and I just didn’t have the motivation or inspiration at the time… That all makes this photo so fitting to start with now. I was up there looking for the right composition with my 100-400mm telephoto lens, almost in a state of trance, taking in the otherworldly beauty of those badlands, and as the light was hitting the scene just right, there he was in the perfect spot. A solo hiker standing still, reflecting on this breathtaking landscape in Death Valley…
It is also a photo from my last trip right before the pandemic hit, literally one week before all the worldwide lockdowns started. As a result, I was stuck in the US for almost two months waiting for travel restrictions to be lifted so I could return home. During that lockdown time in the US, because I didn’t have my laptop with me there, I decided to try editing on my iPad for the first time. I posted the result on my Instagram and I wrote a blog post about it here as well. It wasn’t a bad result, and I was happy with it at the time, but it wasn’t the result I had in mind.
Fast forward to now, more than a year later, I decided to give it another go on my laptop, properly this time. And man, it is a joy to have the creative juices flowing once again! The power of selective editing using luminosity masks in Photoshop allows for endless possibilities, which is still unmatched on the iPad. I know the iPad will get there eventually, and I’m excited for that, but we’re not there yet. Until then, I’ll keep editing on my laptop…