one of the things i love about photography is going slow, looking for items to photograph that many would merely pass by on their way to something else. on this particular afternoon and night, i spent about three or four hours walking around an area in death valley national park with a good friend, that was maybe 100 - 200 yards square. in thinking back on it, that may have been the most productive photographic session i’ve ever had, which is amazing when you consider it was an area nearly devoid of life. it was a big area of dirt, salt and a stream that bottomed out at perhaps three inches.

in that area, i found this salt-encrusted plant, lying dead on the dirt. i photographed it perhaps five or six times to get the proper angle to show off the beautiful lines and curves.