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. There were some faint traces of them, but I couldn’t find those perfect salt ridges forming the beautiful polygons I used to see in other photographers’ pictures. I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed and I blamed it on the season. It was early March and it had rained a bit just the day before, so I assumed that because of the rain the ridges had “melted”.

A couple of days later, while I was at the Racetrack, another famous location within Death Valley Nation Park, I met a Canadian photographer and, while talking to him, the polygons came up in the conversation. He shared with me his disappointment for not being able to spot them at Badwater Basin but then he revealed to me that another photographer had told him about the perfect location to find them. To find them, one must drive about ten miles north of Badwater and then take West Side Road, which is on the left when driving north. After the turn, simply drive for about a mile and then, on the right, you will find the perfect location to photograph the polygons. Leave the car on the side of the road and walk a few hundred feet north until you are where the mud has cracked and all the cracks are perfectly covered with salt, creating the ridges that make up these beautiful polygons. So I went there a bit after sunset to inspect the location and, the morning after, I woke up early in the morning and, before breakfast, I drove to the location waiting for the sun to rise over the Panamint Range.

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. In particular I would like to make a special wish for all the people, especially the children and the elderly, who were affected by the terrible earthquake that hit Japan last March. I sincerely hope they will soon find serenity and be able to live a normal life again.

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. I could see in the distance the sand being blown around, while above me the clouds started moving really fast.

I stopped the car, grabbed one of my cameras and the widest lens I had with me and started shooting like crazy. Every few minutes I would go back to the car and drive down the road for half a mile or so. Meanwhile the clouds would change in shape, density, color and direction… time to stop again and shoot more pictures. I have at least 4-5 shots that I can’t wait to see printed big. That afternoon was probably one of the best photographic opportunities that I will ever have in my life and this is one of the best pictures I have taken.

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.

The route meanders through mudstone buttes, past clay lined gullies and across sandy washes. Although the name of the canyon conjures up images of the famous twenty-mule-team wagons, originally introduced by William Tell Coleman to transport borax ore to the Harmony Borax works, this trail was not actually part of the original 165 mile twenty-mule-team Borax freight route.

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. Nobody was there yet, just me, the moon and plenty of strong wind. It was hard to keep the tripod from flying away, and I even had to hook up my heavy camera bag to the center pole of the tripod! Few minutes later a whole bunch of other photographers and even a full running workshop showed up at the same location. I might publish more pictures from that morning, but this will certainly remain my favorite shot because of the memory I have of this special moment.

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. First, the name of the exit on the highway: “Zzyzx”. I had never heard of such an original name and I simply had to take a quick detour! Secondly, the previous day we had noticed, right before sunset, while driving in the desert in that direction, what seemed to be, with the reflection of the sunset, a big lake in the distance and I wanted to go take a look.

Zzyzx Road is a 5-mile long, part paved and part dirt, road in the Mojave Desert. It runs from Interstate 15 south to the Zzyzx settlement, formerly Camp Soda and Soda Springs. Soda Springs, a natural spring, has long seen human activity. The area was a prehistoric quarry site, and projectile points and rock art can be found in the area. The Mojave Road ran past the spring, as did the Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad. Remnants of a wagon road stop and railroad artifacts are readily seen. Evaporative salt mining and mill sites can be found here as well.

The name Zzyzx was given to the area in 1944 by Curtis Howe Springer, claiming it to be the last word in the English language. Springer made up the word’s pronunciation “zy-zicks”. He established the Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Spa in 1944 at the spot, which was federal land, after filing mining claims for 12,000 acres surrounding the springs. He used the springs to bottle his water and provide drinks for travelers through the hot desert. Springer also imported animals from around the country to attract more families to visit his ranch. He used Zzyzx until 1974, when he was arrested by the United States Marshals for misuse of the land as well as alleged violations of food and drug laws and the land was reclaimed by the government. Since 1976, the Bureau of Land Management has allowed California State University to manage the land in and around Zzyzx. A consortium of CSU campuses use it as their Desert Studies Center.

I have always found Italian street markets to be a particularly interesting place to visit. The colors and scents of the produce, the vendors yelling to attract more customers, the geometries of the big umbrellas covering the stands. I have always wanted to take pictures there, but never had the guts to go around with my DSLR. I don’t feel comfortable to have anyone asking questions about what I am doing and why am I taking pictures.

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. I love how, finally, the quality of some cellphone cameras has finally reached the point in which we are able to take some decent shots. I feel a bit like ten years ago when I was wandering in the streets of my town at night, taking random pictures with my first digital camera (a Sony F505). Somehow having a decent camera always with me, always in my pocket, makes me feel free again, like a child…

Grazing Light: Directional light at an acute angle, which emphasized texture. The sources of grazing light must be close to the surface.

At sunset, in the middle of a desert, when the sun gets really low at the horizon, the light is almost perfectly horizontal and the rough textures naturally present in a desert landscape are enhanced to perfection. Also all the clouds in the sky get illuminated in a way that gives them more volume and highlights their natural shapes.