Wadi Rum — Martian Landscape at Sunset

Description

 Wadi Rum’s Precambrian sandstone and granite landscape — 600 million years old and the most geologically ancient rock accessible by road in the Middle East — photographs at maximum colour saturation in the final 15 minutes before sunset when the horizontal light illuminates the iron-oxide surface pigment at maximum angle. This image was made from a raised position on a sandstone massif above the valley floor during that window: the cliff face behind fills two-thirds of the frame in deep crimson and orange, the camp fire at its base providing the human scale reference and a warm point of light that anticipates the star field beginning to appear in the dark blue upper sky. Shot at f/8 on a 24-70mm zoom, the fire required a 1/30-second exposure that slightly blurs the flickering flame while retaining sharp cliff detail at the still-bright ambient level.