Friday, January 24, 2014

Chasing the Light at Badwater Basin


These photos were taken in Badwater Basin, Death Valley National Park. We walked about a mile from the parking lot into the polygonal salt flats to find a place that hasn't been trampled by the visitors. Once we were there, we scouted the area, searched for the interesting patterns, setting up the camera and tripod and wait for the best light.

These 2 photos were taken just about 30 minutes interval. The first photos were taken about 10 minutes before sunset - the golden hour. We often refer the first and last hour of sunlight during the day as golden hour or magic hour. At this time, the contrast is significantly reduced so the shadow and highlight are less likely to be underexposed and overexposed, respectively. In addition, the warm color of low angle sun heavily enhance the color and vibrancy of the scene. In this particular shot, the low angle sun cast a rim of warm light at the edge of protruded salt formations and also on the background mountain. The quality of light at this time is amazing although it doesn't last long.


The second photo were taken about 20 minutes after sunset - the blue hour. We often refer the period of twilight in the morning and evening as blue hour, where there is neither full daylight nor complete darkness. We also call it sweet light because the quality of light is a gift for photographers. As a result, the bluish ambiance evokes a sense of peace and serenity.

Happy Friday and have a great weekend!

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