Terrestrial Alchemy Project

[Antonio Correia]

Terrestrial Alchemy explores Chile's geothermal landscapes, capturing Earth's raw transformation through steam, minerals, and volcanic forces in striking detail.

 

[Bill Brown]

Several of these images could almost be mistaken for macro work. I am fascinated with work that creates visual conflict. Images lacking in ways to judge scale, the third image especially. Is that steam rising or are those clouds? Nice work.

 

[Gary R. Smith]

Beautiful! What are you shooting with?

 

[Gianluca Drago]

An interesting subject, evoking alchemy as the title suggests: the first is a play of textures, the second a play of details, the third a play of colours, the fourth a play of light. But of course all four pictures share the same ingredients.
The choice of the 2:1 format is unusual but not without interest. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Gary Ayala]

Very very interesting. There is an unearthliness quality to/in each and every photo. To my eye, a caption stating Mars ... would have been as believable as a geothermal landscape in Chile. Good stuff Antonio. I keep returning to your images for more and more looks. Thank you for sharing.

 

[Antonio Correia]

Beautiful! What are you shooting with?

Thank you! I've been using equipment from three major brands over the years, but I'm currently focusing mainly on Sony, which has become my favourite:

Canon 5D + Canon 16-35 L + Canon 24-70 L + Canon 70-200 LOlympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II + Olympus, Panasonic and Leica lensesSony A7 III + 24-70 GM + 135 GM + Sony Zeiss 55mm + Zeiss Batis 18mm + Zeiss Batis 85mm + Zeiss Batis 135mm
No more purchases ever !

 

[Antonio Correia]

An interesting subject, evoking alchemy as the title suggests: the first is a play of textures, the second a play of details, the third a play of colours, the fourth a play of light. But of course all four pictures share the same ingredients.
The choice of the 2:1 format is unusual but not without interest. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you very much for your insightful comment, Drago. I'm pleased you noticed the visual continuity throughout the series - that cohesion was precisely what I was aiming to create.

The panoramic 2:1 format seemed the most suitable choice to capture the breadth and expansive character of this geothermal landscape. I am not sure if it is 2:1 BTW !

 

[Antonio Correia]

Several of these images could almost be mistaken for macro work. I am fascinated with work that creates visual conflict. Images lacking in ways to judge scale, the third image especially. Is that steam rising or are those clouds? Nice work.

That's a very interesting observation about visual conflict - that perspective hadn't occurred to me, but you're absolutely right. The absence of scale references does create that fascinating ambiguity. As I mentioned earlier, all the photographs were taken at El Tatio in Chile, always at ground level, taking advantage of the morning vapours from the geysers.
Thank you for your perceptive analysis!

 

[Antonio Correia]

Very very interesting. There is an unearthliness quality to/in each and every photo. To my eye, a caption stating Mars ... would have been as believable as a geothermal landscape in Chile. Good stuff Antonio. I keep returning to your images for more and more looks. Thank you for sharing.

What a fantastic observation, Gary! You're absolutely right - these geothermal landscapes do have an almost extraterrestrial quality. The photographs were taken at El Tatio in Chile in the early morning hours, when steam rises dramatically from the geysers.

The only downside was the presence of too many tourists... I'm delighted that the images captivate you enough to keep returning to them.

Thank you for the feedback!

 

[Bill Brown]

No more purchases ever !

That's what we all say!

 

[Antonio Correia]

That's what we all say!

I do have other priorities !
I will be travelling again by the end of the year. Money is not elastic !