"Desolate Wonder"

"Desolate Wonder"
©David A. Ziser

I captured this image on Saturday while driving from Las Vegas to Palm Springs through the Mohave Desert. The variety of vistas we saw for the three hour drive was amazing.

The vegetation (several cactus variations) at the different desert elevations was surprising to see. Our drive took us from desert floor and 114 degrees to about 3500 feet and a "chilly" 95 degrees ;~)

One of the more interesting sights, we actually flew by it and then backed up to to see what we missed, what we eventually discovered were the salt evaporators operated by the National Chloride Company of America [link].

This salt pond had not completely evaporated yet, and seeing the water surrounded by the salt sludge was other-worldly to say the least. I grabbed a few record shots not knowing if I had anything at all. A trip to Lightroom, a little slippin' and slidin' with the LR3 sliders and I had my alien landscape.

Camera specs: Canon 7D fitted with 18-200mm lens at 180mm, F16 @ 1/1000 second, ISO 1000 (because I had set it for a different shot earlier that day and forgot to reset it - yes, it happens to all of us, doesn't it?). Anyway, Enjoy! -David