A Special Canyon and Salt Non-flats
An early start saw us getting into our cars by 5:30 for the ride to our first location for the day, a canyon that Arnie and I love.
We talked about the various twilights and the reason for our early starts, and on the way, I saw a magnificent shooting star streak way down the Milky Way. What a treat!
Once we arrived in a place where we could all park, we scattered. Up this hill. Up that. Down this wash. Up that one. The light changed quickly.
A hill was graced by low light, and it seemed in the next minute, it was in full sun, albeit the early-morning variety.
“Look over there,” I’d say.
“Look behind you,” Arnie would call.
The light was beautiful.
I found these layers that provided a view I had done yet done.
Our participants had a great time as they scrambled up steep slopes to get a higher view across the amazing contours of this land.
Eventually, we had to tear ourselves away, head for breakfast, and settle down to imaging.
The first-day critique was successful. People were honest but tactful, and everyone came up with some great shots. The hard part for most was making their selections. For some, they agonize.
“You can change your mind later,” Arnie and I reminded them.
It was time to leave for our afternoon location, so we all loaded up, carpooling as usual.
We walked out on the flats, and it was soon evident that unprecedented quantity of recent rains completely changed the patterns of the salt. Normally pristine white out on the flats, it was brown and convoluted. Big ridges replaces normally low ones. It was fascinating, but we had to take a different approach from the one we had all anticipated.
Be that as it may, people got wonderful variations on this moonscape. The skies were magnificent and cast an other-worldly glow on the salt, a color we have never before seen there.
After helping our participants and making sure they were all set, Arnie and I had a chance go get a few shots of our own. This was my favorite for the evening.
We stayed well after dark to get some night skies, but the clouds, while gorgeous after sunset, were not cooperating as far as allowing a lot of stars to shine through.
We will do more another night.
Back to the hotel for supper, imaging, and critiques. It was fun to see how everyone treated the same location, and no two were even remotely alike. They did, indeed, seek their own vision.
Next: Day 3, A Crater and ???
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We just returned from Death Valley. It is a gorgeous place!!
Yes, indeed, it is. We love it, and it is why we keep bringing people back. The images our participants have produced are amazing!
Thanks for writing, and take care,
TBC