Community Forum

This photo was taken in Arches National Park, on a more-or-less unmarked trail somewhere in the Devil's Garden area of the park (I didn't take very good notes, can you tell?). It was getting on in the evening, and I was liking the way the light was striking the rocks and casting shadows over the monoliths. This particular group of formations doesn't have a name (as far as I know, anyway), but they reminded me of a group of people gathering to listen to a speaker. I have a rather vivid imagination, so I started thinking about this group of stones coming to life when no one was around, and gathering to discuss ways to fight Utah's neverending effort to "take back" federal lands they never owned in the first place (long story -- basically, Utah politicians can't stand not being able to mine, drill, or frack wherever they want, so the keep constant lawsuits going against the federal government; none of which they have a chance in hell of winning). I called this shot "community forum", and played around with some texturing and processing techniques I don't normally use.
For those of you in the know, I was being VERY careful not to step on or crush any of the cyanobacterial soil, so critical to this landscape. Although the park's terrain appears rugged and durable, it is the exact opposite. More than 700,000 visitors each year threaten the fragile high desert ecosystem. The problem lies within the soil's crust which is composed of cyanobacteria, algae, fungi, and lichens that grow in the dusty parts of the park. Factors that make Arches National Park sensitive to visitor damage include: semiarid region, and the scarce, unpredictable rainfall, lack of deep freezing, and lack of plant litter which results in soils that have both a low resistance to, and slow recovery from, compressional forces such as foot traffic. Stepping on a patch of this soil ready for plant life (evidenced by a blackened, "crunchy" look) wipes it out, and it can take more than 50 years to recover from a single footprint. So watch your step, folks!! Anyway, I hope you enjoy the photo....
http:--archive.bio.ed.ac.uk-jdeacon-microbes-cyano.htm
http:--www.nps.gov-arch-index.htm
http:--www.nps.gov-arch-learn-nature-geologicformations.htm
Please visit my photography website at: http:--sundershots.smugmug.com- where you will find prints available for purchase in high quality resolution with no watermarks.
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