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Panamint Valley Lake, 6 image panorama, Leica M11, 180mm Apo-Telyt
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Last year, after Hurricane Hillary passed over Death Valley, a lake not often seen reformed in Badwater Basin - Lake Manly. Over the course of one weekend, the area received more rain than it typically sees all year. Being a pretty rare event, I was kicking myself for not being able to make it out there before it was likely to disappear,
but it also caused pretty extensive damage. |
| My camp, at dawn, iPhone |
Extra rare (though, perhaps typical now with climate change), it stayed longer than expected, formed again this year, and made
headlines for being deep enough to kayak in. Set on making sure I didn't miss the opportunity again, I came up with a last minute plan to be certain I would see it - even ahead of my half conceived attempt to see the eclipse next month. Already an hour out of town, I saw the news that they closed the lake to boating. Strong winds
BLEW THE LAKE two miles north, spreading out the water too shallow to safely float on. I wasn't necessarily going to get on the water, so it didn't faze me much. My main interest was just the experience and potential images with reflections.
I slept outside the park in Panamint Valley - where it turns out another lake has reappeared. Nobody is talking about this one, but I think it's just as remarkable to see. I spent the morning watching the sun climb the sky over this quickly drying lake. I don't anticipate this one lasting much longer.
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| Panamint Valley Lake, looking towards the Argus Range. Hasselblad X1DII, 35-75mm |
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The northern end of Panamint Valley Lake, already drying to a crisp.
Leica M10, 18mm Super-Elmar |
In the past, I've used tiny puddles to make reflections on landscapes more interesting. You really don't need much water. In fact, sometimes, less is better. When I arrived to the Manly, the wind wasn't terrible, but enough to chop up the surface of the lake and ruin any reflections. It's impressively large and beautiful, and the boating restrictions didn't stop at least one paddle boarder I later found in my photos from heading out. It was a sight to see. But I got antsy.
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| Lake Manly, Leica M11, 180mm Apo-Telyt |
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| A crop from the image above, where I spotted a rogue paddle boarder |
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Badwater Basin, iPhone
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I had hiked Mosaic Canyon already on my way in and it was noon or so when I made it to Badwater. I was going to have to wait at least 5 hours for the light to get decent and the winds to die down allow mirrored reflections. The number of people there certainly wasn't anywhere near what I've come across in the past, but it was still more than I wanted to be around. I stayed for about 15 minutes and decided to leave.
I ended up taking a trip further out in the area to places I've wanted to visit for a very long time. I plan to go back to Manly before it disappears completely again, and plan to arrive at a better time for shooting. Over the next few posts, I'll be documenting this little adventure.
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Telescope Peak presiding over Lake Manly
Leica M11, 180mm Apo-Telyt |
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I'm not disappointed in my decision. At the end of this short trip, I was able to check off two bucket list locations from the menu, saw so many more beautiful things and had the majority of it to myself.
