Badwater Sunrise

[Travis Rhoads]

The thread yesterday about sunset at Badwater had me thinking about the salt polygons in Badwater. So I went back to my images from my trip and finally edited one from sunrise in Badwater Basin. I had marked this one to edit, but had not really come up with a result I liked. I had to change my mindset on the edit, and then it sorta went from there and became something I was happy with.

While I didn't get the wild light that Brandon had in his image, we had the conditions we had, and we needed to work with them. Almost all of our sunrises were clear skies. Given the lackluster skies, I focused on the salt polygons. I found the ones I liked the most and then setup and waited for that first light to hit Telescope Peak in the distance.

Had it not been for the husband and wife photogs that showed up late...it would have been an absolutely silent morning, the only sounds from our group were the footsteps on the salt...and the wind in our ears. I am already planning my return to DV...what a wonderful place.

 

[Sunny Sra]

Travis,
I really like this one, the pinkish hue on the polygon and the blueness....everything works well here

 

[Travis Rhoads]

Travis,
I really like this one, the pinkish hue on the polygon and the blueness....everything works well here

Thanks Sunny! That light on the foreground was the part that I was not getting right in my original edits, it was not coming through and the image lacked interest from it...gotta remember to edit locally and not just globally!

 

[AlanLichty]

I like the polygons - best game in town if the skies are naked.

 

[Travis Rhoads]

I like the polygons - best game in town if the skies are naked.

They certainly are the best thing to focus on when the skies are empty...but I think I might be tempted to focus on them anyway! They are such cool formations. I want to spend more time exploring out there.

 

[JimFox]

Very cool Travis! As I mentioned elsewhere, finding the "perfect" polygon is no easy task. There is so many variations out there, it can almost be confusing or mentally overloading to find one that fits the photo. I like on this how the ridges really stretch out nicely from the central polygon.

I am glad you went to local edits instead of global edits. I have found that I almost never do simple global edits anymore. My first step after the raw conversion is to use a layer mask to separate the sky from the ground, and sometimes the ground into separate layer masks. Often the adjustments I do can be very similar between the various layers, but they almost always have some small difference. It doesn't really take but a few seconds longer, and I like having that higher level of control over the outcome of the photo.

One small nit on this awesome photo, there is a spec of white on the horizon on the right side that I would clone or crop out.

 

[Travis Rhoads]

Very cool Travis! As I mentioned elsewhere, finding the "perfect" polygon is no easy task. There is so many variations out there, it can almost be confusing or mentally overloading to find one that fits the photo. I like on this how the ridges really stretch out nicely from the central polygon.

I am glad you went to local edits instead of global edits. I have found that I almost never do simple global edits anymore. My first step after the raw conversion is to use a layer mask to separate the sky from the ground, and sometimes the ground into separate layer masks. Often the adjustments I do can be very similar between the various layers, but they almost always have some small difference. It doesn't really take but a few seconds longer, and I like having that higher level of control over the outcome of the photo.

One small nit on this awesome photo, there is a spec of white on the horizon on the right side that I would clone or crop out.

Yes, finding the perfect ones is hard...we had scouted the day before and I had dropped some pins on my phone on spots I liked...but some of them got damaged by idiots during the day, and others just didn't work out as I thought...it was fun to look for them.

I typically use a lot of local editing, but for some reason didn't think that way on this, but the ground was just not coming together right...

That little whiteish blob...its the moon....I thought to get rid of it, and maybe should since it isn't recognizable...

 

[JimFox]

Yes, finding the perfect ones is hard...we had scouted the day before and I had dropped some pins on my phone on spots I liked...but some of them got damaged by idiots during the day, and others just didn't work out as I thought...it was fun to look for them.

I typically use a lot of local editing, but for some reason didn't think that way on this, but the ground was just not coming together right...

That little whiteish blob...its the moon....I thought to get rid of it, and maybe should since it isn't recognizable...

Oh okay, now I see it's the moon.

Yeah, if it wasn't exactly on the edge I would keep it because moons are cool. But it feels cut off on the edge, so I think that takes away from it and makes it harder to recognize.

 

[Travis Rhoads]

Oh okay, now I see it's the moon.

Yeah, if it wasn't exactly on the edge I would keep it because moons are cool. But it feels cut off on the edge, so I think that takes away from it and makes it harder to recognize.

I needed 15, maybe 14mm...LOL...16 just couldn't quite get it while keeping the main polygon where I wanted it! And 12 was too wide.

 

[JimFox]

I needed 15, maybe 14mm...LOL...16 just couldn't quite get it while keeping the main polygon where I wanted it! And 12 was too wide.

Ha ha, I know that feeling!

 

[Bob Denton]

Very nice

 

[Ben Egbert]

Travis how did I miss this one it’s an outstanding image

 

[Bart Carrig]

It is a sweet image, Travis. Well done.

Bart

 

[Travis Rhoads]

Very nice

Thank you Bob.

Travis how did I miss this one it’s an outstanding image

Thanks Ben, no worries, I posted it yesterday! Its a busy place here!

It is a sweet image, Travis. Well done.

Bart

Thank you very much Bart.

 

[Douglas Sherman]

The thread yesterday about sunset at Badwater had me thinking about the salt polygons in Badwater. So I went back to my images from my trip and finally edited one from sunrise in Badwater Basin. I had marked this one to edit, but had not really come up with a result I liked. I had to change my mindset on the edit, and then it sorta went from there and became something I was happy with.

While I didn't get the wild light that Brandon had in his image, we had the conditions we had, and we needed to work with them. Almost all of our sunrises were clear skies. Given the lackluster skies, I focused on the salt polygons. I found the ones I liked the most and then setup and waited for that first light to hit Telescope Peak in the distance.

Had it not been for the husband and wife photogs that showed up late...it would have been an absolutely silent morning, the only sounds from our group were the footsteps on the salt...and the wind in our ears. I am already planning my return to DV...what a wonderful place.

View attachment 19751

Great composition, Travis and the light on Panamint Peak is delightful.

 

[Travis Rhoads]

Great composition, Travis and the light on Panamint Peak is delightful.

Thank you Douglas. I spent so much of the trip waiting on the light on those peaks...