Liquid Light • Salt Creek, Death Valley National Park, California
Liquid Light • Salt Creek, Death Valley National Park, Ca.
Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. This will be my last post for about a week or so. I am heading out to the Grand Canyon for a combination work and shooting trip. I will be at the South Rim for a few days and then heading up to Page for a trip into Canyon X and some photo exploration with Tony Kuyper. The 10-day weather forecast looks promising to finally get into Canyon X. I was thwarted on my last attempt when a large front moved over the Page area killing off all the light. Tony and I are planning a little exploration of the Painted Desert and a jaunt through Cathedral Wash down to the Colorado River.
Today’s image is affectionately named “Liquid Light”. This was shot on my recent trip to Death Valley with my pals Alec Johnson and Travis Bechtel. As you may have noticed from recent posts we were blessed with incredible shooting conditions, amazing light, and clouds. Epic clouds to be more exact. This image, shot at Salt Creek, was made in the late afternoon as the sun was setting over the Panamint Range, just behind my camera position. The sky event was happening on both sides and it was difficult to choose where to shoot. There were just so many options. The three of us must have looked like ants after a picnic basket as we scurried about framing compositions. The clouds sent long tendrils over the salt flats. Driven by upper level winds the clouds resembled a liquid spill in the sky. As the sun moved lower reflected light illuminated the clouds and carried their reflection in the water below. Sky and earth seemed to meld into one. We continued to shoot well into Civil Twilight just enjoying the light show.
Technical Details: This image is a blend of two bracketed exposures. One for the foreground and one for the sky. Each image was processed in Adobe Lightroom and opened as layers in Photoshop for final work. I created a Channel Mask to seamlessly blend the two exposures before applying my final curves and color adjustments.
Thanks for stopping by. I’ll see you back here soon.
Bob
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I just love the subtle glow on the mountain tops in the distance. This one really grabs me.
Super gorgeous image, Robert. I really like the subtle post production. It was messy all around that location and I think you found about as good a spot for that moment as there was. That area was challenging to shoot. I want to go back. It was challenging to find the right balance of strong foreground, calm middle ground, and over the top sky. Good luck in the GC this week.
Thanks so much Nick! I have processed this image twice adding some more subtle maneuvers to increase contrast and color tone. This version, over the G+ version I like better. Hope you guys are well.
Bob
Thanks Alec. I have been really running our simplicity discussion through my head since our return. I have quite a few “messy” ones that I will just sit on for a bit. This I really do like and also the “The Thin Line of Light” from the previous post. I want a trip back as well. What is it about that place? So much there. GC should be fun. Looking forward to some canyon work and photography and a little shooting with Tony Kuyper.
Bob