As those of you who read my new Travel Photography book know, solitude is well expressed by using “negative space”. Like here, in a picture I made today at Zabriskie Point in Death Valley, California:

I am utterly delighted to have driven there. Stark landscape, which I remember well from the eponymous 1970 movie that showed the turmoil of the 1960s so well. In the image above, the landscape plays little role, but its starkness is well shown. In the following image, it’s all landscape–but with a person to give it size:

There were, of course, other tourists. See how a slight change in viewpoint makes for a very different (but still good) image:

And here are the tourists I helped by taking a picture–one of whom is reading this, if she kept my business card, and I bet she did, and I hope she buys my all-new Camera Manual, so she learns all about operating her camera:

Did you notice all those were made with the long lens (70-200 f/2.8)? Sometimes it just works better that way.

Zabriskie Point. Meaningful for me because of that movie. Meaningful for the tourists because they were together there. Photography is such a great gift.