The Curves of Existence

The Curves of Existence by Hougaard Malan

The Curves of Existence

This Really Isn’t one of those photos you can just take a quick glance at and think you’ve seen everything there is to see….you have to look at it slowly, take in the lines of the road, how the straight and steep upward road has been twisted and distorted by the cylindrical merging, the curve of the horizon that seems to mirror the edge of the road, the curves of the tidal swell in the bay…. and then the sky and the land far down…

I took [link] this photo from the same location, but there was no indication of scale, which ruined it. But in this one you can get an idea… Look on the right, at the coastline, on the land you see the combined town’s of Somerset West, Strand and Gordon’s Bay. Now where the land meets the water, can you see the 40 storey tall apartment buildings? (these buildings? [link] )

NO? well good, then you start to realize the magnitude of the sky and the clouds in this photo…

This is a panorama of 6 shots, merged in PSCS3, i boosted the vibrance and contrast, And another really nice thing i’ve come to discover is the blacks, a function of the RAW tool. I boosted that, saved them as PSD’s. merged the PSD’s. levels, curves, saturation.

This was taken close to the top of the road leading up to the Steenbras dam water purification plant above Gordon’s bay, South Africa….

sorry about broken links….pasted this from da and rb’s link tag is too much trouble

  • Zigga

    Zigga, 8 months ago

    Really beautiful image & one of my favourite drives!!!

  • Lisa  Kenny

    Lisa Kenny, 8 months ago

    Magnificent !!

  • Christophe Testi

    Christophe Testi, 8 months ago

    Breathtaking capture! Amazing work.

  • Nicole Goggins

    Nicole Goggins, 8 months ago

    incredible image!

  • Deborah Fuller

    Deborah Fuller, 8 months ago

    awesome shot.

  • Lachlan Kent

    Lachlan Kent, 8 months ago

    Brilliant work… your treatment is perfect for this image… one of my favourites

  • Grahame Clark

    Grahame Clark, 8 months ago

    Wow – what a magnificent shot!!! Well done!

  • hinting

    hinting, 8 months ago

    very nice!

  • Devika Fernando

    Devika Fernando, 8 months ago

    brilliant composition!

  • coffeetea

    coffeetea, 8 months ago

    awesome photography, it’s so dramatic.! great great lighting, the angle bring me into a running car to view this. well done!

  • Paul Vanzella

    Paul Vanzellaworks here, 8 months ago

    Love this image! Superb colour palette and amazing sense of space!

  • Alan Findlater

    Alan Findlater, 8 months ago

    brilliant colours fantastic images

  • TanaKatawana

    TanaKatawana, 8 months ago

    Absorbing

  • Jeff  Burns

    Jeff Burns, 8 months ago

    Gorgeous work

  • wellman

    wellman, 8 months ago

    it all just works! The effort and process have produced a rare treat

  • Jodi Tweed

    Jodi Tweed, 8 months ago

    YOUR ARE THE KING, THIS IS THE BOMB, THANKS FOR THE WRITE UP AS IT MADE IT MORE FUN TO EXPERIENCE AND ENJOY.

  • Nicholas Averre

    Nicholas Averre, 8 months ago

    Wow.. superb image, a real cracker!!

  • emapearl

    emapearl, 8 months ago

    amazing :)

  • Kate Towers IPA

    Kate Towers IPA, 8 months ago

    awesome work !

  • DesignbySolo

    DesignbySolo, 8 months ago

    The curves and the motion really bring this one to life

  • Albert1000

    Albert1000, 8 months ago

    Very nice indeed.

  • clarkey

    clarkey, 8 months ago

    You put a lot of work into and the result is spectacular. Extremely well done.

  • Heather  Rivet  IPA

    Heather Rivet..., 8 months ago

    fantastic

  • ferndesign

    ferndesign, 8 months ago

    this is amazing wow

  • helene ruiz

    helene ruiz, 8 months ago

    wow…one hell of a shot here…..brilliant!

  • Anne Vis

    Anne Vis, 8 months ago

    Awesome work!

  • nikspix

    nikspix, 8 months ago

    Now this is a trip! Wow!!!

  • Christian von Schleicher

    Christian von ..., 8 months ago

    i love wide angle lenses and i love bright colors… you have both. gorgeous work

  • sasha

    sasha, 8 months ago

    Fab

  • Sharon Perrett

    Sharon Perrett, 8 months ago

    OMG amazing image, I love the curves and the beautiful sky

  • Mundy Hackett

    Mundy Hackett, 8 months ago

    Really excellent, and I bet as a huge print it is even better!

  • shayne2011

    shayne2011, 8 months ago

    just beautiful

  • Kalena Hill

    Kalena Hill, 8 months ago

    Gorgeous!!!

  • Heather Meadows

    Heather Meadows, 8 months ago

    absolutely stunning image

  • sir411

    sir411, 8 months ago

    awsome !!!!!!!!!!

  • pinkarmy25

    pinkarmy25, 8 months ago

    Wow…....................

  • midzing

    midzing, 8 months ago

    stunning image,,,

  • Dan Cahill

    Dan Cahill, 8 months ago

    Really nice perspective. Beautiful work

  • ELENNE BOOTHE

    ELENNE BOOTHE, 8 months ago

    THE SKY ON THIS IS SOOOOO BEAUTIFUL. GREAT WORK

  • leahjane76

    leahjane76, 8 months ago

    seriously gorgeous

  • Helene Kippert

    Helene Kippert, 8 months ago

    Truly astonishing!

  • Sara Lamond

    Sara Lamond, 8 months ago

    Really feeling drawn down that road – great job.

  • Holly Werner

    Holly Werner, 8 months ago

    Stunning.

  • R Hansford Butler

    R Hansford Butler, 8 months ago

    incredible image!

  • Michael Lane

    Michael Lane, 8 months ago

    Cool shot! The colours are fantastic.

  • Alexia  Wardell

    Alexia Wardell, 8 months ago

    Gorgeous image, great color, and wonderful composition. Well done.

  • aum7

    aum7, 8 months ago

    amazing photo and colors

  • gaylene

    gaylene, 8 months ago

    spectacular – nearly goes around and around in a spiral into the water

  • martinilogic

    martinilogic, 8 months ago

    very curvey, great color, like the wide angle effect

  • Frank Lindsey

    Frank Lindsey, 8 months ago

    Hi Hougaard, another great capture from you. I thought you had used a “fisheye” lens with this one, however you did it, it has a marvelous panoramic composition. I suppose you used the Adobe RAW editor? I use Nikon Capture NX raw editor it has similar features I’ve yet to expore. After seeing this, I might just dive into it! Great Job again..

  • Luka Skracic

    Luka Skracic, 8 months ago

    Stunning perspective, the colours and treatment are amazing!

  • Luuezz

    Luuezz, 8 months ago

    What a fabulous shot Congratulations!

  • Craig Mitchell

    Craig Mitchell, 8 months ago

    Awesome composition. Wonderful contrast and range of tones at the same time. Some terrific vision and work has gone into this. Top stuff.

  • Damien Woods

    Damien Woods, 8 months ago

    Great wide composition and lighting effect through the clouds.

  • Leah Highland

    Leah Highland, 8 months ago

    fantastic editing!

  • justlinda

    justlinda, 7 months ago

    Great work!.

  • bigbizarre

    bigbizarre, 7 months ago

    great curvature, it all comes together in one great swirl of beauty!

  • Rebs O

    Rebs O, 7 months ago

    this is amazintg, its almost like there is a whole another worls just beyond the edge of the road. Fab photo

  • Michelle Dry

    Michelle Dry, 7 months ago

    You ave certainly had some feedback… Have you self published a book at all. Take a look at Lulu.com Might be worth your while who knows…

  • bigbizarre

    bigbizarre, 7 months ago

    Have a Very Merry Christmas And a Happy New Productive, Artistic, Inspired New Year!!! Great Work!!

  • Liz  Wohlrab

    Liz Wohlrab, 7 months ago

    my goal is to become a photographer like you its just amazing, beautiful beyond words well done i’m absolutely in love with everything.
    merry christmas and have a great new year

  • Alyson Pearson

    Alyson Pearson, 6 months ago

    another steller shot!

  • mspiziri

    mspiziri, 6 months ago

    breathtaking!

  • Rosina  Lamberti

    Rosina Lamberti, 4 months ago

    Breathtaking capture! Amazing work.

  • Andrew Ness

    Andrew Ness, 4 months ago

    This really is a great capture. I like what you’ve done with it. fantastic work.

  • Caroline Bland

    Caroline Bland, 4 months ago

    What a stunning piece of work!!

  • Mariaan Krog

    Mariaan Krog, 3 months ago

    My goodness, you did an amazing job! Well done, I love it.
    My sister stayed in Gordon’s Bay not so long ago. My brother stayed in Paarl, but both he & she moved to Mpumalanga where the salaries are much higher. Used to go down there every year. But Gansbaai is where we go for the holidays!
    You are so lucky to stay so near these places – I envy you!

  • Jonicool

    Jonicool, 2 months ago

    simply awesome work!

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Tags:

sunset and panorama