“Stick in the Mud” — Dead branches on a bed of dried and fractured mud, Death Valley.
As always, cracked desert mud turns out to be an irresistible subject. I photographed this little patch in the northern portion of Death Valley. We arrived as broken clouds were developing, and that gave us varied light as shadows moved across the landscape. I made this photograph in the “in between” light — not full sun, but strong enough to be directional. The mud patterns are interrupted by the pieces of old wood, but that’s not all to notice in this little scene. Look closely and you’ll see a variety of spring plants beginning to grow in this seemingly-barren terrain.
“Corkscrew Peak and Desert Hills” — Corkscrew Peak and rugged, eroded desert hills at sunser.
This is not the first time that I have photographed this same subject, more or less, in evening light. Corkscrew Peak stands out in this scene of rugged, furrowed desert mountains. Because the location is on the eastern side of Death Valley, late light angles across the landscape just before the sun drops behinds mountains far to the west, and this light emphasizes the textures of the eroded landscape.
“Desert Star Bouquet” — A bouquet of tiny desert star (monoptilon bellioides) flowers, Death Valley.
We stopped in southern Death Valley to photograph big fields of desert gold flowers along with pink/purple sand verbena. Because they are large plants, the colors from both of those were visible from a distance, especially so in the case of desert gold. As we looked for good photo opportunities for those flowers we started to notice the myriad other small plants and flowers underfoot, including the desert stars.
“Mud And Stones” — Dark stones embedded in dry, cracked mud, Death Valley.
This little geological vignette intrigued me. While exploring an area in Death Valley featuring very dark, fine gravel that almost has the appearance of shallow dunes, I came across low flat areas where water has obviously collected in the past. Now there was a surface of old mud, cracked into separate pieces as it dried, a familiar desert sight. But here this surface was pockmarked with small black stones.
Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.
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