Sunrise on the Salt Flats
Salt Creek tributary surfaces on the salt flats, reflecting the sunrise light on the Panamints
Salt Creek tributary surfaces on the salt flats, reflecting the sunrise light on the Panamints
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Mar, 2021Views
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Awards
Action Award
Curator's Selection
Spring 21 Award
Superb Composition
Outstanding Creativity
Top Choice
Absolute Masterpiece
Magnificent Capture
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This was taken fairly far out on the salt flats north of Furnace Creek, Death Valley, California. The water actually runs under the hillsides, and surfaces on the flats.Time
Around 5:30am, walking out into the salt flats. The rising sun backlit the mountains to the west. I found a pool and a fork that captured the reflections well.Lighting
Natural pre-dawn lighting, and initial golden hour magicEquipment
Canon 5Dm4 with a 24-70mm f2.8L lens at 45mm, tripod to minimize shakeInspiration
We were exploring lower Death Valley in the early spring, looking for mud tiles, salt tiles. I wanted to get a photo with mountains reflecting off water (in Death Valley, there ain't much water), plus the salt rine adds to the harshness of the environment. The theme is beauty in stark, unforgiving conditions. Which is why I love wildflower blooms in the desert)Editing
I think all I did was raise the shadows a small amount in Lightroom. I used a linear gradient to mask out the mountains, then adjusted exposure, whites, and shadows on the salt flats.In my camera bag
Canon 5dm4, normally I carry two lenses: 24-70mm f2.8L, and a longer zoom, sometimes 70-300, sometimes 100-400. For night skies, I have a sigma 14mm f1.8, which is fantastic at f2. I have a 16-35mm f2.8, but I'm in a phase where I'm not shooting much ultra wide angle, and I like the 24-70 better.Feedback
Don't go in the summer) This past year, at least one person died when walking out on to the flats at Badwater, and stayed out past 9am. Dawn, pre-dawn, sunset, post-sunset you get much more color gradation.
