Artist's Palette Lit Up At Sunset
“So, where are you going for vacation?” Joyce was preparing for a week off from work as a nurse case manager at Duke University Hospital and a lot of folks were curious as to where we were going. “Death Valley”, she said. She was left with wide-eyed stares… “Say what?” “Come again?” “You’re going where?” I need to explain something here for my friends outside the U.S. as well as some here in the states. In August of 2017, our vacation was to a much different destination. Early on the morning of Joyce’s birthday, we were standing in a long queue to U.K. Customs after a flight over to Heathrow Airport in London. Finally, reaching the attention of a U.K. Customs agent, he asked for the reason for our visit. I usually let Joyce answer these things for us. Here’s what I remember her answer was: “Blah, blah, blah… vacation.” I perked up immediately with the realization that we were no longer standing on American soil, “No, no, no, Joyce! We’re not on vacation. We’re on holiday!” The agent cracked a big grin, stamped our passports, and sent us on our way.
Apparently, some folks can’t seem to wrap their minds around the aspect of a “holiday” and “death” in the same sentence. Too bad! We live in subtropical North Carolina. Death Valley is nearly 2,500 miles away across the country, but for as different as it is from here in Durham, it may as well be another planet… although a wondrously beautiful planet.
As I’ve explained in previous images, I’ve been going through some older images and wondering why I never posted them. This is from that vacation of March of 2015, the aptly named Artist’s Palette in Death Valley. I went back and forth along the road to this point looking for good light on this face of the Black Mountains there. I remember on this day hoping for enough clouds in the sky beyond the mountains to light up at sunset. After looking at this image, I realize that light from the “Golden Hour” is exactly as it should be to highlight this extraordinary scene in Death Valley.
Death Valley is known for many things, not least of which is being arid and blisteringly hot in the summer. Just a short way down the road from this spot is also the lowest point of elevation in North America at -282 feet (-86 meters) below sea level. For as arid as it is, it is also a geological treasure trove because of eons of erosion, moisture, and volcanic activity. The Artist’s Palette Formation provides evidence for one of the Death Valley area's most violently explosive volcanic periods. The Miocene-aged (the Miocene Epoch occurred between 23.03 to 5.3 million years ago… on a Thursday) formation is made up of cemented gravel, playa deposits, and volcanic debris, perhaps 5,000 feet (1,500 m) thick. Chemical weathering and hydrothermal alteration cause the oxidation and other chemical reactions that produce the variety of colors displayed here along Artist's Drive and nearby exposures of the Furnace Creek Formation.
During the day here, the colors are quite muted. The golden light of sunset draws them out through contrast, however… it pays to know your subject. The reds, pinks, and yellows of Artist’s Palette were created by the oxidation of iron, the greens came from the decomposition of tuff-derived mica, the purples stem from the oxidation of manganese, and turquoise from copper ore and salts... it truly seems a rainbow palette of hues. Contrary to its name, there is much alive throughout Death Valley, yet the barren aspect here truly emphasizes how incredible nature can be, even in lifelessness. By the way, another photographer is standing on one of the lower slopes... I left him in there for a sense of scale. Can you find him? Other images from Death Valley are jumping out at me... stay tuned!
Artist's Palette Lit Up At Sunset
“So, where are you going for vacation?” Joyce was preparing for a week off from work as a nurse case manager at Duke University Hospital and a lot of folks were curious as to where we were going. “Death Valley”, she said. She was left with wide-eyed stares… “Say what?” “Come again?” “You’re going where?” I need to explain something here for my friends outside the U.S. as well as some here in the states. In August of 2017, our vacation was to a much different destination. Early on the morning of Joyce’s birthday, we were standing in a long queue to U.K. Customs after a flight over to Heathrow Airport in London. Finally, reaching the attention of a U.K. Customs agent, he asked for the reason for our visit. I usually let Joyce answer these things for us. Here’s what I remember her answer was: “Blah, blah, blah… vacation.” I perked up immediately with the realization that we were no longer standing on American soil, “No, no, no, Joyce! We’re not on vacation. We’re on holiday!” The agent cracked a big grin, stamped our passports, and sent us on our way.
Apparently, some folks can’t seem to wrap their minds around the aspect of a “holiday” and “death” in the same sentence. Too bad! We live in subtropical North Carolina. Death Valley is nearly 2,500 miles away across the country, but for as different as it is from here in Durham, it may as well be another planet… although a wondrously beautiful planet.
As I’ve explained in previous images, I’ve been going through some older images and wondering why I never posted them. This is from that vacation of March of 2015, the aptly named Artist’s Palette in Death Valley. I went back and forth along the road to this point looking for good light on this face of the Black Mountains there. I remember on this day hoping for enough clouds in the sky beyond the mountains to light up at sunset. After looking at this image, I realize that light from the “Golden Hour” is exactly as it should be to highlight this extraordinary scene in Death Valley.
Death Valley is known for many things, not least of which is being arid and blisteringly hot in the summer. Just a short way down the road from this spot is also the lowest point of elevation in North America at -282 feet (-86 meters) below sea level. For as arid as it is, it is also a geological treasure trove because of eons of erosion, moisture, and volcanic activity. The Artist’s Palette Formation provides evidence for one of the Death Valley area's most violently explosive volcanic periods. The Miocene-aged (the Miocene Epoch occurred between 23.03 to 5.3 million years ago… on a Thursday) formation is made up of cemented gravel, playa deposits, and volcanic debris, perhaps 5,000 feet (1,500 m) thick. Chemical weathering and hydrothermal alteration cause the oxidation and other chemical reactions that produce the variety of colors displayed here along Artist's Drive and nearby exposures of the Furnace Creek Formation.
During the day here, the colors are quite muted. The golden light of sunset draws them out through contrast, however… it pays to know your subject. The reds, pinks, and yellows of Artist’s Palette were created by the oxidation of iron, the greens came from the decomposition of tuff-derived mica, the purples stem from the oxidation of manganese, and turquoise from copper ore and salts... it truly seems a rainbow palette of hues. Contrary to its name, there is much alive throughout Death Valley, yet the barren aspect here truly emphasizes how incredible nature can be, even in lifelessness. By the way, another photographer is standing on one of the lower slopes... I left him in there for a sense of scale. Can you find him? Other images from Death Valley are jumping out at me... stay tuned!