Luminous Landscape Forum
Equipment & Techniques => Landscape & Nature Photography => Topic started by: Matt Tilghman on December 11, 2012, 06:22:04 pm
-
Hey all. This photo is a few years old, but I've never shown it here... so I hope you don't mind. The Very Large Array (or VLA) was on my must-see list during my stay in New Mexico. It had made an impression on me ever since I saw it in the movie Contact, where they use these satellite dishes to communicate with aliens However, unlike the movie implies, the VLA is not used to search for extraterrestrial life forms. It's used to observe the cosmos, just like more traditional telescopes are. But unlike most telescopes, which observe visible light waves, the VLA observes radio waves. The 27 giant satellite dishes are all mounted on rails, and can be moved independently. The result is that the array can behave like a single antenna whose diameter is that of the array – up to 22 miles!
(http://matttilghman.com/images/Very-Large-Array-NM-L.jpg) (http://matttilghman.com/VLA-at-Sunset.html?Southwest)
-
Great shot.
Can you walk right up to them or are they fenced off?
-
Very nice shot of the compact configuration. You got the spaciousness of the place just right. The VLA is one of my favorite spots! Was out there on location on "Contact" with a motion controlled camera system.
Hey those Sandia shots on your website are practically in my back yard! Wish I had been outside for that supercell shot.
-
You were filming for Contact, Bill? Awesome!!
Cool to hear that the Sandia shots are right by your house. I spent 4 months in Albuquerque interning at Sandia Nat'l Labs, and really thought it was going to be a barren, boring summer, photography-wise (clearly I'd never been there). As soon as I arrived on the interstate, I immediately knew I was wrong. I think my photography progressed more during that time than during any other 4 month span. The Sandia Mountains are just amazing, and so are the summer skies. I've got a lot more New Mexico shots, but unfortunately I'm busy and the transition to the new website is going slowly.
-
Aaand now I see that you've won three Oscars! Amazing!! I'm in the midst of a genius!
-
Nice shot Matt with a good perspective.
Interesting dialog with Bill too.
Tony Jay
-
Very nice shot.
-
Aaand now I see that you've won three Oscars! Amazing!! I'm in the midst of a genius!
Really, Bill??? C'mon!! Let's see the Oscars!! Seriously, congrats!! Seriously... let's see them!!!
-
Like it....such an interesting scene good work.
Shaun
-
Well, it's three Academy Awards, but only the last one is the coveted Oscar. The other two were a plaque and a certificate, no amount of either of those adds up to an Oscar. But it's not a "shared" Oscar, it's all mine.
The smug looking guy (http://unit16.net/oscar.htm) is me (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0867140/awards).
But all this was almost a decade ago, it doesn't count fer nuthin' any more.
So here ya' go, framah. This is an allegory for my life. It is somehow significant that I am almost out of Photo Magenta.
-
Wow! Fantastic place! Thank you for sharing! :)
-
That is SOO cool, Bill!!!
I see you also got the coveted "Duster" award as well!!