I have photographed in Death Valley National Park for almost three decades. I have heard whispered rumors of this remarkable Blue Playa for years, but no one would share anything definite about it. All I knew was that somewhere in a remote and seldom-visited area of this vast park there was purportedly a small playa featuring astonishingly colorful soil which, in the right lighting conditions, is so blue that it rivals the color of a clear sky. This has been on my mind for years.
Since those who know werent talking, it was clear that Id have to do some sleuthing. All I knew was that the place is remote, surrounded by difficult mountains, and not terribly large. Out of respect for the feature and concern about potential damage should the location become widely known Im going to omit specific details. But heres as much of the story as I can share publicly. (The story of finding this location continues here.)
Cool abstract shot Dan, I really like it and the way you composed it! Almost looks like blue lichen. I also enjoyed reading your blog post about getting there.
Jeffrey wrote:
Wonderful find! Thanks for not sharing. I'm heading out there next week. I'll be on Blue patrol....
Let me know what you find!
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adventure_photo wrote:
Cool abstract shot Dan, I really like it and the way you composed it! Almost looks like blue lichen. I also enjoyed reading your blog post about getting there.
Reading that post is important to understanding this image.
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junglialoh wrote:
Artistic expression is great and beautiful
Thanks.
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Monika C wrote:
What a find! As the I Ching says, "Perseverence furthers"! Well worth the effort and nicely presented.
Perseverance is, uh, part of it. ;-)
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jm10_former wrote:
Nice find Dan! Congratulations! Quite amazing what nature can produce...
jacob
Thanks. And, yes, that too!
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Monika C wrote:
Do you now what creats the blue? Copper?
There are many ways to create that blue, but I'm afraid that my geological knowledge isn't all that great, at least not at that level. :-)
Amazing Dan. Beautiful picture and fun story. I love finding stuff like this so will likely waste hours looking for it
Do you know what causes the blue?
dakel wrote:
Amazing Dan. Beautiful picture and fun story. I love finding stuff like this so will likely waste hours looking for it
Do you know what causes the blue?
Im not certain, not being a geologist, but in this case I think that copper phthalocyanine might end up being a contributor.
That is something very special!! I hope it remains a deep-secret spot for many more years. I imagine finding it was about as good as an explorer finding a gold nugget. Thanks for sharing and keeping it to yourself.
Al Trujillo wrote:
That is something very special!! I hope it remains a deep-secret spot for many more years. I imagine finding it was about as good as an explorer finding a gold nugget. Thanks for sharing and keeping it to yourself.
Thanks. I doubt anyone else is going to stumble on this.
In other news, I'm still working through photographs from our February visit to DEVA, and it looks like I'll have another batch (or two?) to share before long.
