I took the above photo in Death Valley National park this past fall, in November of 2019.  A good friend and mentor of mine, Gerald Hardage took a trip to this famed National Treasure to do some scouting.

I have been to this park on three different occasions, however, have yet to make it there in the fall.  I wanted to prepare and see what the lighting would be like in the fall as I prepare for our photography workshops.

In these workshops, one concept I will help my attendees understand is that of Negative Space in a photo.

The above shot of Gerald is one of the best examples of negative space I have in a photo.

In this shot, I purposely framed it with Gerald in the very lower left corner as the sky looms behind, above, and in front of him.  Just a hint of ground in the foreground.  The line in the hill leads the eyes across the photo, along the bottom of the sky toward Gerald, and his forward facing stance directs the eye back across the shot.

In using negative space, the idea, the thought, is to really isolate the subject, and in so doing keep the extra "noise" if you will, out of the photo entirely.  The angle of this shot and the stark nature of the pre-dawn sky help to create tremendous emptiness around Gerald, the subject of the photo.

To further add emphasis, I was lucky enough to capture just a little bit of pink cloud illumination due to the sun beginning to make it's way around earth to rise in the east.

If you'd like to learn more and how to photograph like this, please be sure to join one of my upcoming photography workshops for 2020 in Death Valley or in Joshua Tree.  I'd love to see you there!