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We first noticed Jeff T. Alu's mesmerizing photos in File Magazine. The photo we are featuring "Car" is from Elemental Spaces, a selection of Alu's digital photos of the Southern California deserts.
"This shot was taken at Bombay Beach," Alu told us, "on the Salton Sea, in Southern California. Bombay Beach is a location that is fairly often used in movies/commercials/music videos/etc. On this day, with temperatures of about 105 degrees, there was a commercial being shot, and all the props were there behind me (directors chairs, etc.) but not a single person was on the set. They had covered the car, and this, with the addition of various crates and boxes, and even a fishing boat in the water, made for what I felt was a very interesting composition.
"My idea for this shot was to have the soft sky/water contrast with the harsh land. So I was very heavy-handed with the dodge/burn of the land, and much lighter-handed in the sky and water. To better separate the sea and land I burned the shoreline almost totally black."
Alu processes his images (primarily dodging and burning) in Photoshop. You can read a summary of his photographic process that explains his technique. Visit Jeff T. Alu's website for a collection of photo galleries.
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