Sunday, August 14, 2011

The Beauty of Atacama, Chile

The Atacama Desert in Chile has the highest altitude geyser field on earth. We went high into the mountains to get there at sunrise, It was November and the morning temperature was -8 C, or about 15 F. The contrast of the steam against cold air, catching the morning light, was a dramatic effect to capture.
The Atacama desert has vast expanses of scrubby brush clinging to life, supporting groups of guanaco, a member of the llama family.
Some of the lakes have salt and mineral deposits lining their shores, like a border to highlight the dividing line between the lake and the shore.
I bought a fisheye lens before our trip to Chile last November. Only a fisheye or stitching photos together could capture the expanse of this vast landscape.
It is remarkable that animals can survive in this harsh desert, which is one of the driest places on earth. This is a rhea, a member of the ostrich family.

4 comments:

Memphis MOJO said...

The guanaco look like they were posing for you! Nice series.

FilipBlog said...

wauw, Chili looks really impressive.

Greetings,
Filip

glenda said...

It does look sparse, but also very beautiful!

Unknown said...

Gorgeous! I don't know if we visited the same places there, but the lagoons in the Andes were some of the most breathtaking sceneries I've seen.

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