Quebrada de las Conchas
Early morning shot of an area in the Conchas Gorge. The hills here had the appearance of being wrinkled with age.
This formation, shot during sunset, is known as El Obelisco (The Obelisk).
Another view of El Obelisco, this time after the sun had set. The feature was quite prominent and could be easily seen from the road.
Panoramic shot of an area in the Conchas Gorge that we hiked back into. It is a short distance from Cafayate which is in Argentina's high-altitude wine region.
Pumice Stone Field
In an area known as Campo de Piedra Poméz there is a huge labyrinth of pumice stone formations. We shot here over two days and it quickly became my favoirte place to shoot. So many interesting and beautiful compositions!
I love the stark contrast of black volcanic sand against the light pumice rock in this image.
Volcanic formations can be seen at the edge of this composition. The pumice field is around 11,000' in elevation and appeared to stretch for miles.
Clouds floating by on our first afternoon and evening added a nice dimension to the scenery.
As evening approached this leaning rock caught my eye.
After the sun set it didn't take long for the stars to come out. I would love to have stayed here well into the morning but alas we just had time for a couple quick shots before starting our one-hour rocky ride back to the hosteria.
Day two in the pumice fields brought nice soft filtered light and interesting clouds in the early morning hours.
Laguna Grande
This is a large lagoon at 14,000' elevation where many flamingos feed. Alas, they were shy and stayed to the far side of the lagoon.
A lucky break in the clouds right as the sun was setting gave us a beautiful, brilliant send off. The foreground here is largely salt-encrusted flamngo feathers.
Sand Dunes
Near the pumice rock fields in Campo de Piedra Poméz we also visited this area of sand dunes in ther early morning.
Near the pumice rock fields in Campo de Piedra Poméz we also visited this area of sand dunes in the early morning.
Campo de Piedra Poméz
Small cluster of hills near the pumice fields and sand dunes.
Tolar Grande Salt Flats
Deep in the Puna de Atacama is a very small town called Tolar Grande. Not far away we visited an interesting salt flat with geothermal pools.
Salinas Grande
Salinas Grande is another salt flat we viisited. It emcompasses an area of 2300 sq. miles. The strip pools in these shots are actually used to produce salt commercially.
Hornocal Mountains
The mountain valley of Quebrada de Humahuaca is relqtively unknown by tourists because it is more difficult to reach than other famous attractions in the area such as the Hill-of-Seven-Colors. This shot was taken after sunset in order to capture the full range of colors without any direct light.
