Badwater.
The name says all you need to know about the place, Badwater. According to the GPS on this image, the elevation here is -275.6 feet. That's 275 feet below sea level! The lowest point in north america is about 10 miles behind my right shoulder, a whole 6.4 feet lower still.
Being the lowest point, any water that does fall in this part of the desert runs into death valley. The only way out is evaporation and that's what leaves this salt crust on the valley floor. As the water rushes down the sides of the valley it dissolves minerals and salts from the rock. As the water evaporates, these minerals and salts are deposited out of the solution. Any liquid left is a pretty strong brine though a small bluish fish, the desert Valley Pupfish, has evolved to survive here.
The strange polygonal shapes of salt on the surface are created by the oozing and drying of the underlying mud layers.
Where's the Best spot to photograph Badwater Basin?
Most people will stop at the designated parking spot and either walk out on the boardwalk or venture out onto the salt. The challenge here is that everybody does it so the polygon shapes are all beaten down into an ice-rink like smoothness. To see the polygons from here you have to walk a long way out and the distance can be deceiving. On the flip side, on the walk back in you can see the ‘Sea Level' sign high on the rock face above you.
I think the best spot to photography Badwater Basin is about 10 miles to the North West where the Salt Creek crosses the West Side Road. The salt crust is not as expansive here but the access by car is good and the polygons are just a few feet from the road. The salt surface is very rough. Make sure you are wearing good, closed-toe, shoes. You may also want to consider knee-pads and gloves to in order to get low to the ground as getting low to the ground emphasizes the roughness of the surface that an eye-level shot fails to do justice to.
Badwater at Dawn Photo Recipe
I took the photo above about an hour before the sun crested the Armagosa Range to my right and illuminated the spot where I was standing.
- Exposure: ISO 100: 0.5 sec at f/16
- Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark III
- Lens: Canon EF 17-35mm f/2.8L USM at 17mm
- Tripod: Gitzo GT3531 6X Carbon Fiber Tripod Legs – Supports 39.6 lbs (18kg) (B&H)
- Ball Head: BH-55 LR: Full-sized ballhead with LR (Really Right Stuff)
Multiple layers processed through Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC
