This past weekend I explored a variety of spots along the Eastern Sierra and Death Valley, enjoying the warm sunny and starry desert skies. After spending some time in Owens Valley I headed to Death Valley to meet up with some friends. On my way to camp I decided to explore a quiet section of sand in Death Valley and found myself fascinated by the variety of mud forms. The heavy rains over the past few weeks had left pools of standing water throughout the desert floor. As the water slowly disappeared into the earth and evaporated into the air, it left the mud in a variety of states – from still saturated sandy streams to cracked and curled tiles and everything in between. Typically the desert mud is dried out, broken, bleached, and bland; so finding these beautifully pristine and colorfully glazed works of art was quite a treat. I thought this series, while not initially intended to be a cohesive collection, told a nice story of the evolution of drying mud. I considered processing each as a black and white to connect them more to one another, though in the end I preferred letting each image lead me where it did, rather than forcing a consistent theme.
For each of these images I made good use of Tony Kuyper’s luminosity masks – a rightfully popular tool amongst many photographers. These masks allow refined control over contrasts with the curves adjustment tool. I rarely use them in my other work, but for these kinds of mud and sandstone abstract images there’s no better tool. The abstract nature of these led me to take them in a higher contrast direction than I usually do, I hope you enjoy them.
“Oozing” ~ Death Valley National Park, CA
The Tech: Canon 5D2, 24-105mm, polarizer, tripod
Exposure: iso 100, f/16, 1/8th
“Raku” ~ Death Valley National Park, CA
The Tech: Canon 5D2, 24-105mm, tripod, backpack to create shade
Exposure: iso 100, f/16, 1/4th
“Mudflow” ~ Death Valley National Park, CA
The Tech: Canon 5D2, 24-105mm, tripod
Exposure: iso 100, f/16, 0.4
“Pottery” ~ Death Valley National Park, CA
The Tech: Canon 5D2, 24-105mm, tripod
Exposure: iso 100, f/16, 0.4
Tags: death valley, desert
Yes, Floris, I was there two weeks ago and I also was fascinated by the mud. I was with a group and on a schedule, got some wonderful images (I think!) with the wolf moon setting in Death Valley and at Mt. Whitney. Your work makes me want to get back and wander about some more. It was truly amazing! Thanks for sharing.
These are all very unique but that first one is really special. Reading yours and Steve’s stories about Death Valley really amkes me want to get out there. Hopefully sometime this year I’ll be able to.
Cheers!
Aleks
Impressive, nature patterns always fascinate, but what impresses more is capturing them in such a way that they appear not boring to the eye!
Once again wonderfully captured Floris!
I like how all are uniquely different but I find Raku to be the most appealling for me.
Beautiful studies Floris. I love this.