“Lake Manly and Telescope Peak, Dawn” — Dawn light on Telescope Peak above Hanaupah Canyon and the reflective waters of Lake Manly.
This photograph includes a short list of superlative features. Telescope Peak, at just over 11,000′, is the highest point in Death Valley National park. From the peak one can see the highest point in California, Mt. Whitney (in the Sierra Nevada) and the lowest point (Badwater Basin). In the photograph Badwater Basin is submerged beneath Lake Manly, which forms only in very wet years and generally evaporates quickly. Snow on Telescope Peak and the Panamint Range is not unusual in winter, but in this photograph it has reached a rather low elevation.
“Stream and Sandstone Cliff” — Sandstone cliffs at the bend in the canyon of a remote Utah river.
This is a photograph from over a decade ago. (More on how it ended up here today below.) A small group of us spent time photographing in Utah, often in remote places. One day we dropped into a canyon and followed this stream. As so often happens in these narrow, winding canyons, “one good turn led to another,” and we kept going as each bend revealed another interesting section. We finally stopped very close to this scene, made some final photographs, and headed back upstream.
“Fractured Surface” — Fractured dry mud, Death Valley.
Yes, more dried mud! As I have written before, for reasons that still mystify me, this is an irresistible subject for many landscape photographers… and I’m no exception. What explains it? The colors? The contrast with surroundings? The fractal shapes?
“Desert Gold Flowers, Panamint Range Mountains” — The snow-capped Panamint Range rises beyond a field of desert gold wildflowers, Death Valley.
What is the popular image of Death Valley National Park? I’d say that it is some combination of the following: desert, sand dunes, arid, empty. There can be some truth to that though it is not quite so uniform. This photograph is an example — it is not empty and there are no sand dunes. Instead we see flowers stretching off into the far distance.
Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.
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