Photo: Fire & Ice

I've decided to add a new Gallery section to my blog where I'll feature my own photography or drawings along with some extra background info. I have been uploading my latest photos to either Flickr or 500px, but thought it would be a good idea to consolidate some of my favorites here as well. And this way, anyone can comment without having to setup a special account.

And now, onto the first image!

Fire & Ice

Copyright Laura A Knauth, All rights reserved.

Please contact me for licensing options. This image is listed with Getty

"One Does Not Simply Walk into Mordor"
  -- Someone left me this comment on 500px which I thought was awesome: ;p

This image is actually a real life sunrise at the Badwater Salt Flats in Death Valley National Park, California.

This was my favorite location in Death Valley - so surreal. Something about the extreme temperature fluctuations combined with evaporation of the rainwater on these salt flats causes these amazing hexagonal salt formations: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badwater_Basin

This location is a few miles north of the standard Badwater site (where the formations were inverted at the time).

It's been so inspiring visiting sites I have admired for so long from my Flickr heroes. The first time I saw an image of Badwater, I immediately thought of 'fire and ice'. I was hoping to see one of those incredible fiery sunrises for myself, and wow - here it was on the day we all visited Badwater. I didn't expect the vivid yellows too, but there they are. ;p Hope I did the location some justice; it was an amazing experience. Thanks for looking!

Location:
Badwater Basin Salt Flats at Sunrise
Death Valley National Park, CA

Technical Details:
Canon 50d
Tokina Lens 11-16mm, 11mm
f/13, 1/3s, ISO 100
Filters: 3-stop Rev ND Grad (I think also combined with a 2-stop ND Grad for the fg)


Additional Links for My Photography:

• My Photostream Slideshow in Lightbox
• My Most 'Interesting' Images on Flickriver.