Badwater is the lowest point in Death Valley National Park, at 282 feet below sea level. Indeed, it is the lowest point in the entire western hemisphere. The Badwater Basin is the catch point for 9000 square miles of drainage, however, there is typically little water here except following winter rains, since the water evaporates quickly. When it does, it leaves behind a saline, crusty, flat white playa made up of almost pure table salt and stretching for miles — a bizarre place. Evaporation is most extreme in Death Valley: a 1.9 inch annual rainfall is exceeded by evaporation potential of 150 inches per year, enough to scorch a 12 foot deep lake to dust in just 12 months. The water that does manage to persist here is the motivation for the place’s name, for it is a salty, warm, nasty swill which you are advised not to drink. A small, specialized species of fish, the Death Valley pupfish, somehow manages to eke out an existence in these waters. Rising above the parking area are some of the oldest rocks in Death Valley, 1.7 billion (with a b) year old Precambrian volcanic and sedimentary rock layers that have metamorphosed into gneiss. Perched 282 feet up the cliff face is a sign marking sea level. If you visit, be sure to walk out onto the playa, not just a hundred yards or so but far enough that the other visitors and their cars become specks. Admire the sheer white horizon stretching in all directions, the Panamint Mountain and Black Mountain ranges the form the walls of the valley, and the blue sky. Hear the silence as your feet crackle and crunch the salt upon which you walk. Feel the air wick the sweat off your skin. Feel your throat become dry. Squint. Nice. Now back to the car and air conditioning.
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Badwater, California. Badwater, at 282 feet below sea level, is the lowest point in North America. 9000 square miles of watershed drain into the Badwater basin, to dry and form huge white salt flats. Badwater, Death Valley National Park, California, USA.
Image: 15595
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Badwater, California. Badwater, at 282 feet below sea level, is the lowest point in North America. 9000 square miles of watershed drain into the Badwater basin, to dry and form huge white salt flats. Badwater, Death Valley National Park, California, USA.
Image: 15579
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Badwater, California. Badwater, at 282 feet below sea level, is the lowest point in North America. 9000 square miles of watershed drain into the Badwater basin, to dry and form huge white salt flats. Badwater, Death Valley National Park, California, USA.
Image: 15580
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Self portrait on salt pan. Death Valley National Park, California, USA.
Image: 15621
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Check out this crazed seagull. Until today I had no idea that birds actually had tongues. Learn something new (and useful) every day it seems. Larus psychobirdus.
Testing out some gear, got a nice snap of the full moon:
While shooting the 2006 Mavericks Surf Contest I had the pleasure of meeting Tom Cozad, the man behind NewportSurfShots.com. I first saw him in September 2005 when I returned to the Wedge, a break I enjoyed as a teenager and in my early 20’s, to shoot some September swell that was happening. Tom was running up and down the beach, at the edge of the waterline, photographing the bodyboarders from the lowest angle he could get rather than from the angle atop the sand bluff where everyone else was at. He had his NewportSurfShots.com t-shirt on so that we all could dial in his website that night and check out his snaps. Smart. A few months later I noticed that he got some fine shots of a huge January swell that hit Todos Santos big time, these are seriously impressive images, you should check out his site and see for yourself. Not only is Tom a skilled surf photographer both in and out of the water, he is also a nice guy who just happened to grow up just on the other side of Newport Harbor from me, so we compared notes on the peninusula and high school friends we knew. If you are looking for photo coverage of Newport surf, Tom Cozad’s NewportSurfShots.com is the first site to check.
The Mavericks Surf Contest 2006 photos are now online. I shot the 2006 running of the Mavericks Surf Contest, held February 7, 2006 at Half Moon Bay, California. The event went off very well, with great organization, beautiful weather and near perfect waves. The Mavericks Surf Contest is about big wave paddle-in surfing, in which contestants are required to paddle in to huge, thick waves under their own power (jetskies are on hand only for safety purposes, no tow-in surfing is allowed during the contest). 24 of the world’s most skilled big wave experts were invited to compete, and surfed four heats, two semifinals and one final from 8am until 2pm. South African Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker, who had a nearly flawless day winning his heat, his semifinal and the finals, was crowned champion and took home $30,000 and a gold watch. Tyler Smith of Santa Cruz took second and Brock Little of Hawaii third. Thousands watched the event from the shore, many scrambling up the cliffs of Pillar Point, while hundreds boated and jetskied out to the break to watch from the water. Mavericks Surf Ventures presented the contest live over the internet on streaming video, and NBC was on hand to capture the contest for broadcast on May 13 at 2pm EST. We selected 71 photos of the contest to place among our stock photos, here are just a few, click any one to see it larger:
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Brock Little, final round, Mavericks surf contest (third place), February 7, 2006. Mavericks, Half Moon Bay, California, USA.
Image: 15300
Session: Mavericks, Half Moon Bay, California, February 7, 2006
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The wave. Mavericks surf contest, February 7, 2006. Mavericks, Half Moon Bay, California, USA.
Image: 15308
Session: Mavericks, Half Moon Bay, California, February 7, 2006
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Tyler Smith, final round, Mavericks surf contest (second place), February 7, 2006. Mavericks, Half Moon Bay, California, USA.
Image: 15301
Session: Mavericks, Half Moon Bay, California, February 7, 2006
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More 2006 Mavericks Surf Contest photos.
See our Guide to Photographing Pelicans in La Jolla.
Here are a few photos of California brown pelicans performing the pelican head throw, also known as the pelican bill throw. It looks painful. The brown pelican lifts its large bill up, arches its neck back until the throat gular pouch is stretched and taut, holds this position for a moment, and lowers its bill again. Sometimes it will open its jaw during the head throw, other times it will precede or follow the bill throw by bending its neck such that the throat pouch is turned inside out. Strange. Check out this bird, it is one of my favorite species and truly bizarre. I’ve seen one bird photo specialist refer to the head throw behaviour as “elusive”, however in my experience the head throw is quite easy to capture on film provided you are reasonably observant and can put your lens on the subject in a timely manner.
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Brown pelican head throw. During a bill throw, the pelican arches its neck back, lifting its large bill upward and stretching its throat pouch. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 15124
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
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Brown pelican head throw. During a bill throw, the pelican arches its neck back, lifting its large bill upward and stretching its throat pouch. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 15131
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
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Brown pelican head throw. During a bill throw, the pelican arches its neck back, lifting its large bill upward and stretching its throat pouch. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 15163
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
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Brown pelican head throw. During a bill throw, the pelican arches its neck back, lifting its large bill upward and stretching its throat pouch. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 15146
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
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Brown pelican head throw. During a bill throw, the pelican arches its neck back, lifting its large bill upward and stretching its throat pouch. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 15179
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
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Brown pelican head throw. During a bill throw, the pelican arches its neck back, lifting its large bill upward and stretching its throat pouch. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 15180
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
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See more photos of brown pelicans.
Keywords: pelican, brown pelican, California brown pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus, pelican head throw, bill throw, La Jolla.
