In Death Valley there is a place called the Devil's Golf Course. It is made up of crystallized salt formations left behind by an evaporated lake nearly 2,000 years ago. The area in almost impossible to walk on, and the crystallized salt is very sharp. If you visit this area be certain to wear some good hiking boots if you attempt to walk on this surface. Carrying camera equipment can cause you to lose your balance on the ragged surface and a fall would certainly damage your equipment and scrap you up some. It is best viewed a short distance from the parking area. I chose to make this photograph before the sunrise so the intense sun wouldn't wash out the detail in the salt formations. When I arrived the salt looks like old dirty snow and the overall scene in the early morning light looked very flat without much contrast. I picked a low camera angle to give the feeling of depth and try to make the salt formations loom large in the foreground when compared to the distance mountains. This is not an easy location to make a successful photograph, but it is always fun to take on the challenge of a difficult subject matter.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil's_Golf_Course
This is such a gorgeous picture! Reminds me of a classic by Ansel Adams that you've probably seen. And this one stands well in comparison. Love it.
ReplyDeleteThank you for commenting. Ansel's work certainly influence my photography. He was one of pioneers photographing the landscape in a creative and artistic way. The most important thing I gained from studying his work, is to attempt to pre visualize the scene as the final image before taking the picture. Digital has complicated this process a little, but with a little discipline, I can still work with a digital camera as if I still was using my large format camera equipment.
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