The desert always brings time in to focus when I visit. Desert features are formed at such a slow pace that it is tough to imagine. Some features of the desert take decades, centuries and even millennia to form. With this in mind it’s always a treat to arrive and see something that is fleeting not just in relation to my visit, but to the larger span of geological time. Knowing that the formations I photograph take so long to be created by Mother Nature, it’s a pleasant reminder to slow down to appreciate them let alone photograph them.
When I stumbled across this scene of two rocks nearly intersecting at the Racetrack in Death Valley National Park I couldn’t help but wonder how long it took for them to reach this point and how much longer it will take for them to intersect. For now their rendezvous will have to wait, but for how long?
Rendezvous - Death Valley National Park
Photo Details:
Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24mm f/1.4L II USM (courtesy of Borrowlenses.com)
Singh-ray 5-stop Graduated Neutral Density Filter (soft step)
f/13, 1/13 sec at ISO 160
If it wasn’t such a long drive out there, it’d be cool to return at least annually to check up on racers shot in prior years. I like how these two are going in opposite directions.
Really interesting to see the two about to cross paths — and love the light across the peak in the background. I wonder what the probability of two rocks colliding is…
Death Valley is such an otherworldly place. My father once said that Death Valley could not be known easily and that a photographer must visit more than once to get her to give up her secrets. I like the clean simplicity of your image. It seems to defy logic for the two rocks to go in opposite directions. I wonder how it would be explained…
Realy admirable and thinkable about the water scarcity, It the same problem we are facing in our country during summer.
Thanks for provoking a nobel cause to every one.
Such a simple image, yet so powerful. The details and contrasts are stunning.
I love Death Valley! Awesome shots:-)