Everyone who is interested in Death Valley has probably seen many times pictures of the amazing salt-encrusted polygons. Most people believe that they can be easily found simply by walking on the salt pan at Badwater Basin. I tried doing that. I parked my car and walked for almost a mile west of the parking lot in the middle of the dried lake where the mud is covered by a thick layer of salt, but I couldn’t see any polygons.
I would like to wish everyone, no matter how you end up reading this page, a merry Christmas, hopefully spent in serenity with your family and a truly fantastic 2012! May your wishes and hopes for the year to come all come true.
There are moments in life in which a photographer feels as if everything just happened for a reason. While I was driving back to the motel after an amazing day spent in the northern part of Death Valley visiting the so-called Racetrack, the sky turned dark and a few drop of water briefly came down while a strong wind started moving from north to south along the valley.
Here is another image from Death Valley, this time taken at the Twenty Mule Team Canyon, located just up the road from Zabriskie Point. This canyon can be experienced right from the driver’s seat. The road leads into and across a picturesque Death Valley landscape of canyons and badlands. The scenery is impressive. This is a fun terrain to cross in your car and an easy side trip for those driving up to Dante’s View.
For me there is no better feeling than waking up at 4:30 AM, taking a quick shower, grabbing the camera bag carefully prepared the night before and then driving to a selected location making sure to get there way before sunrise. This is how I got this shot, taken at 5:50 AM at the famous Zabriskie Point, one of the most photographed spots in the Death Valley NP.
After driving most of the day through the Mojave National Preserve, we finally reached Interstate 15 after sunset at Baker, CA. From there, we drove west to Barstow, CA, to find a hotel for the night. The morning after we drove back to Baker to take Death Valley Road north all the way to the entrance of the National Park. There are two reasons why we ended up visiting this fantastic place, which was not in our plans.
The other day it was misty and I was walking around the fruit and vegetable market by my place, in my home town, and I had my iPhone with me. Perfect occasion to put it to the test, I thought. And, I have to say, the iPhone 4S, with its new 8MP camera and newly designed lens, passed with full marks! In daylight the phone behaves like a decent wideangle camera and is also very discreet, therefore perfect for quick snapshots in crowded places.
S.Caterina’s fair goes on, every year, on the third sunday of November, in the streets of my home town. It has been twelve years since the last time I was at the winter fair. It was cold today, very cold, and a bit after sunset the fog came to town, finally. I didn’t have my camera with me, so I took out my new iPhone 4S and took a couple of snapshots.
Grazing Light: Directional light at an acute angle, which emphasized texture. The sources of grazing light must be close to the surface.