Salt Ponds

Made by man, as water is drained from the Bay, these salt ponds form as the draining water leaves behind salt for harvesting. Amazing formations and shapes are also brought out and are wonderfully captured from my drone.

Sweet 'n' Salty
Photography is a progression, both in terms of skill as well as style, eye, taste, and interest. The photos I'm taking in 2019 are different from the photos when I first got *really* into photography in 2011. Some of it's just plain boredom - the scenes that interested me 8 years ago have been photographed so many times that I have no interest in them. Some of it is just that my tastes have changed. Social Media is also to blame - I've seen so many photos of places that they lose their appeal to go visit. "I can just pull it up on Google Earth - why do I need to go there?", Sammi once said to me. Lately I've had fun doing drone photography. The new DJI drones have made some huge leaps and bounds allowing some amazing drone photos and photographers like David Thompson, Miles Morgan and Ryan Dyar had inspired me to pick up a drone last Black Friday. Some of the places in the Bay Area that I've photographed a bazillion times with my dSLR are now interesting again. One thing I love about drone photography is that the entire shape and texture of the landscape can come alive when you get above it. What might have just been a boring stream, ebbs and flows with shape and interest when you get a few hundred feet in the air. This particular sunset was predicted to be nice (thanks Escaype) and it didn't disappoint. In fact, the little drone sensor couldn't handle the color and had to be toned down to bring detail back. Willie and I flew the drones above these salt flats as small streams picked up the sunset colors. The shapes just suck me in and the reflected light warmed the soul. DJI Mavic Pro 2 w/Hasselblad L1D-20c: 10.26mm, f/5, 1/30 sec, ISO 250

Brain Recharging
Google Earth has always been a valuable tool to taking photography to the next level. But as I've spent more time flying the drone I'm finding I spend *even more* time within Google Earth. With the drone you're often getting a similar angle, looking down at the world, and it helps visualize a scene before we head there. Of course you still need to imagine how it might look under the right lighting conditions, which Google can't help you predict. This particular stretch of Salt Pond fascinated us because of this big "U" bend in the river. To me, I see a brain in the center of the U, and the yellow river is the skull that holds the brain in. There's a few cords plugged into the brain, recharging it. Do you see what I'm seeing or am I just too tired and my own brain needs a recharge? A foggy morning provided some soft lighting but I loved the way it allowed the textures and shapes and patterns to come out without any extra elements to it. DJI Mavic Pro 2 w/Hasselblad L1D-20c: 10.26mm, f/5, 1/30 sec, ISO 160

Creeping into the Flats
As I've been spending more and more time working *on* photography at SmugMug, I've found less and less motivation to photograph the same places and things I had previously enjoyed photographing. The city, which was once a constant source of inspiration and focus for my camera, has become too much of an effort to go photograph. Seascapes, which I still love for the motion and power and color, lost interest as most non-photographers continued to lack interest in them. I needed something new to inspire me. I've seen some amazing drone photos from a number of photographers lately. Originally these drones could take great videos but lacked great sensors for still photography; DJI now has a number of well-priced drones that also do great still photos! I picked up a DJI Mavic Pro 2 in November and I've been having a lot of fun flying and taking photos. It's provided a renewed sense of purpose and excitement with my photography. I love getting above the land and seeing its shapes from the sky. It's amazing what just a hundred feet can show you that you would never see from the ground. And when the sun hits it at the right (low) angles, some magic can happen. On this particular night the sunset went blood red and orange in the sky and the streams of water managed to pick up the color beautiful! DJI Mavic Pro 2 w/Hasselblad L1D-20c: 10.26mm, f/5, 1/15 sec, ISO 640

Salt Monster
A coworker asked me the other day how often I go take pictures. Lately I've been out photographing quite a bit, but it hit me that I haven't used my big camera in quite a while. It's been all drone photography lately. Flying the drone has added a new element to photography. Not only is flying fun, but it's so different from what I've been doing before. All of a sudden I have energy to stay up late editing photos again. Something to be excited about! The more we fly the drone, the more we've looked to maximize our flight time. That means trying to find launch zones that are close to what we want to photograph. It minimizes time flying to the scene, and flying home so that we can spend more time taking pictures. This spot we found by accident as we were looking for a closer spot to photograph a giant "U" shaped bend in a salt-river. I loved this area because the salt streams created what looked like a little monster with legs. Perhaps it's a critter? Some kind of salt bug? The first morning we flew here was foggy but I came back again to photograph it on a clear day when the sun caused the ground to glow with warmth. The vegetation, with its different colors, and especially the *reds* excited me because it meant some different colors could be added to this Salt Pond gallery. Hope you enjoy. DJI Mavic Pro 2 w/Hasselblad L1D-20c: 10.26mm, f/5.6, 1/30 sec, ISO 100

Smokestack
Willie and I have been photographing these particular salt ponds for over a month now and I love some of the abstract scenes that we've been able to capture. One spot I kept seeing but couldn't get a photo I liked was this edge of the river where th circular shapes seemed interesting but also made us struggle to find something we thought looked pleasing. On my last flight at the pond I came flew the drone low and tried to capture the circular patterns in a way that almost looked like smokestacks -- with the smoke coming out of the stacks in little buffs. The ground caught the setting sun and cast a glow, as if there was a fire above the stacks. DJI Mavic Pro 2 w/Hasselblad L1D-20c: 10.26mm, f/2.8, 1/80 sec, ISO 100

Bigfoot Comes
One of the things that captured my eye in these salt ponds was the way the streams and rivers curved and bended. It sucks the eye in and provides great compositional elements to move the eye around the scene. But one thing I hadn't done was focus on some of the more hexagonal shapes. On this particular evening I waited for the sun to start glowing on the salt pond floor and then hunted some of the white salt hexagons that are common at salt flats. I loved the curving nature and the way it almost looks like a giant monsters foot in the salt. DJI Mavic Pro 2 w/Hasselblad L1D-20c: 10.26mm, f/5, 1/60 sec, ISO 100

Wormy Worm
One great thing about being so close to beautiful landscapes is that I can photograph them as they change over time. These salt ponds are a great example -- as time goes on, more of the pond dries up, leaving new things exposed. The salinity of the water changes and different algae is able to survive, giving off different colors to the streams. When we first started visiting this salt pond, this particular spot of the pond had clear water (it appeared "dark"). But as the weeks progressed and the salinity changed, the stream became yellow. Hexagonal patterns in the salt started to form as the salt water dried up and left salty shores behind. And of course the white salt came out as the water levels dropped and left behind the salt. This particular evening had clear skies, which allowed the edges of the salt streams to glow orange from the setting sun. Just before we lost the sun behind the mountains, there was a nice balance of light and shadow that brought this particular curve in the pond out. I loved how it looked like a little worm, slinking through the mud. DJI Mavic Pro 2 w/Hasselblad L1D-20c: 10.26mm, f/5.6, 1/30 sec, ISO 200

Birthday Balloons
Willie and I have spent the last month and a half exploring the salt ponds in the Bay Area. These man-made ponds are used by sea-salt companies where they harvest the salt and then sell it. As the water drains, amazing shapes and formations are exposed and we've loved flying the drones above it to capture the various patterns that come out. We came back to this particular spot because sunset was supposed to be colorful and had hoped we could reflect the red sky back down int other streams and on the surface of the salt formations. As these ponds have dried up, there's also been more hexagonal salt formations created. When we first flew here I saw these circular patterns at the edge of the water and was intrigued if I could make a good photo out of it. It's been tough but on this particular evening I couldn't get "birthday balloons" out of my head when I saw these. It just looked like a string attached to a balloon with lots of confetti pouring out as it popped. Can you see it, even though it's kinda upside-down? DJI Mavic Pro 2 w/Hasselblad L1D-20c: 10.26mm, f/4.5, 1/50 sec, ISO 100

Brain Drain
The latest round of drone technology has opened up a whole new world for still photography -- and I jumped right onto the bandwagon. I've seen some amazing photos from the skies and decided to take advantage of Black Friday deals and pickup a DJI Mavic Pro 2. It's amazing what a few hundred feet can do to change the way we see the world. What we take for granted as particular objects look totally different when you look down on them and can really see how they connect and meander through the earth. Willie and I took the drones out on this particular evening because the sky was predicted to have a nice sunset. We knew that a colorful sunset would reflect in the water and would add a nice red or orange pop to all of the photos. We arrived early and launched the drones, scouting the skies for scenes we might want to photograph later when the sky became all colorful. Eventually we landed the drones, swapped out the batteries, waited for sunset, and then flew again while the sky was filled with orange and red. This particular photo was taken during the first flight, before the sun had set and created an intense sunset. I loved the scene here because it looks *so different*. In fact, the U-shaped river here reminds me of a brain, with its blood vessels and veins streaking out from it. I thought it made a perfect scene for a very abstract photo. DJI Mavic Pro 2 w/Hasselblad L1D-20c: 10.26mm, f/5.6, 1/30 sec, ISO 120

Love Prevails
As Willie and I flew the drones over these spots we started to see the environment change. Rivers dried out, salinity changed, aglae survived (or died) and plants started to pop out. This flight occurred almost 2 months after our first flight and I gravitated to the red and yellow colors of the vegetation. It reminds me a little of red hearts dotting the entire scene. DJI Mavic Pro 2 w/Hasselblad L1D-20c: 10.26mm, f/2.8, 1/80 sec, ISO 100

Salt Licker
I've written way too much about these salt flats. If you don't know the story by now, hop on over to my site and look over at my Salt Ponds gallery and you'll see lots of boring stories about why I took these photos. Interestingly, I learned that "salt flats" are natural creations while "Salt Ponds" are man-made. These particular ones are salt-ponds because they're made by a sea-salt company controlling the water flow. The salt is then harvested for sale. This particular night we had hoped would have a colorful sunset. We got a little color but it was quite isolated and mostly just a thin band. I'll have to go back again at some point! DJI Mavic Pro 2 w/Hasselblad L1D-20c: 10.26mm, f/4.5, 1/30 sec, ISO 100

Brain Erasor
Flying the drone above a landscape and pointing the camera down affords the ability to take some fairly abstract photographs. The scenes look different when there's no frame of reference, no skyline, no buildings, no sun. Instead we just see shapes and lines and the textures of mother earth. I loved pointing the camera straight down right at sunset to capture one of the salt rivers. The setting sun cast a warm glow on the ground, which was contrasted by the stark-white salt river. The low angle of the sun also cast a beautiful orange glow on the edge of the river, creating even more of a mystical feel. I imagine that the salt pond is a brain, and someone took an eraser and just erased this portion! DJI Mavic Pro 2 w/Hasselblad L1D-20c: 10.26mm, f/2.8, 1/80 sec, ISO 100

Worm Hunting
I love using photography as a tool to observe how the earth changes over time. These salt ponds are man-made ... a series of levees controls whether the ponds are filled with water or empty. When empty, a company harvests the salt to sell for sea-salt. As the water level drops, the salinity levels increase and different kinds of algae can survive. When we first started photographing this particular salt pond this stretch of the river was more of a clear or dark brown color. The yellow glow of the river existed in other parts of the pond but not here. However, when I returned a few weeks later, this part of the pond was now glowing yellow while the original spots had faded. I loved this little stretch of the pond because the 2 rivers come together, almost as if worms are kissing. I imagined the drone as a bird looking down, hunting for these worms so it can have its dinner. Lastly, I loved in the top of the photo how the setting sun caught a little bit of light on the hexagonal salt creations. DJI Mavic Pro 2 w/Hasselblad L1D-20c: 10.26mm, f/4.5, 1/50 sec, ISO 100

Gold Rush Pond
I've always loved photographing salt flats because of the hexagonal shapes the salt creates as it dries. Apparently these spots, though are called "salt ponds" because they're man made by a sea salt company who drains the bay to get at the salt below. From the ground you see the salt hexagons in a plane that disappears as you look forward. But from above, thanks to the drone, you can look directly down on the plane of salt, seeing its entire shape and patterns. I liked this particular spot because it had the most hexagonal shapes I could find in the area. Throw in a few dots of red vegetation and we had a pretty scene on our hands. The edges of the salt caught the golden setting sun, making what appears to be a field of gold waiting to be harvested. DJI Mavic Pro 2 w/Hasselblad L1D-20c: 10.26mm, f/2.8, 1/80 sec, ISO 100

The Eagle Watches Us
Every time I fly the drone I'm still amazed how different scenes look from above than when you're on land. From the sky you can see new shapes and colors and how the land connects together. From the ground you see what's most close to you and so much can be hidden. As a photographer we look for the lines and shapes closest in front of us and how it plays into the things behind it. From the sky the plane becomes flatter and you look for shapes to come out. When we first launched the drone from here I flew it straight up and spun the drone in a circle, looking for anything that might create interesting shapes. I had spotted this scene, which was a medium flight away and made sure to get the drone there before the sun went behind clouds and was lost. I came back to this spot several times as the light changed. Whenever I see this scene I see the shape of a bird, with its flat beak sitting just to the right of center; its eye watching over us, and its open mouth streaking to the left of the scene. Can you see the bird to? From the ground you'd have no clue this existed but from the air I saw different animals coming out of the scene (oh, and in the bottom right corner you can see a flock of birds hanging around in the pond). DJI Mavic Pro 2 w/Hasselblad L1D-20c: 10.26mm, f/4.5, 1/30 sec, ISO 320

Cut through the Heart
Recently I learned the difference between a "Salt Flat" and a "Salt Pond". Both are the same, except that a Pond is man-made and is usually created to harvest sea-salt for food production. As the water level drops, the salinity rises and different kinds of algae can survive in the water. These differing algae create the various colors we see in the salt ponds. Willie and I were flying our drones for the first time in this particular area when I spotted all the lines and patterns out here. Willie didn't particularly like all the intersecting lines but I found something calming about them, so I flew my drone over there anyways and captured it. DJI Mavic Pro 2 w/Hasselblad L1D-20c: 10.26mm, f/3.5, 1/25 sec, ISO 400

High Vein
When I first got my drone most people assumed I wanted to use it to create video -- after all, drone video footage is probably the most popular thing that people share. But the latest drones have made it possible to do some amazing still photography from the air. I love how it's opened up so many new possibilities for seeing the same scenes but from a different perspective. Willie and I had photographed these salt flats before but always from the ground. Once the flats were dry enough we could carefully walk out, take photos from the ground, and return home. We'd look for lines in the salt formations that drew the eye towards the rivers and always needed a colorful sunset to make the photo interesting. But lately we've been exploring these salt flats from a different angle: the air. The first thing I love about exploring with the drone is that the abstract scenes we can capture don't require epic sunset burns. It means I can take more photographs, more frequently. For these scenes to work, like this, clear skies can be fine, as it creates that amazing glow around the edges of the riverbeds. From the air you can see the shapes and bends and curves of the landscape. Here you can see how the rivers create what looks like veins throughout the earth. DJI Mavic Pro 2 w/Hasselblad L1D-20c: 10.26mm, f/2.8, 1/80 sec, ISO 100

Oasis Hunting
One of the things I love about drone photography is how its view is a completely different perspective from what we normally see. When you look down on a scene from above it brings out things you wouldn't notice -- it's an entirely different plane. When Willie and I first started photographing the salt ponds with our drones we flew high and looked out far. Next we started pointing the camera straight down, removing the sky and looking for interesting shapes. Then we started to look for different colors that we hadn't seen before. Finally we started flying low, giving yet again a different perspective. I loved this particular spot because of the shape of the salt here. It just zigged and zagged like tentacles. And I loved the dichotomy between the vegetation and the drying salt flat. I waited for a cloudless night so I could capture the setting sun glowing off the edges of the stream. DJI Mavic Pro 2 w/Hasselblad L1D-20c: 10.26mm, f/4.5, 1/120 sec, ISO 100

Salt Shrimp
I love looking down at the world from the drone because you see a totally new perspective. If we were down at ground-level here, you'd see a giant yellow stream in front of you. You'd sink into the mud as you tried to take a step. You might notice some crunchy bits of muddy salt sticking up, but you wouldn't appreciate its shape, texture, or patterns. You might notice the grey and whites of the ground, or the yellow of the river, but you wouldn't see the rust colored patches of land, or how the colors play together. Willie's been giving me a hard time because all the shapes I see in the salt ponds reminds me of animals. For example, this photo I keep seeing a shrimp! Do you see the shrimp? It's as if it's swimming through the ocean, with its hind-leg curled up, and its arms reaching out for some sweet morsel. I loved how the shape and the colors come together and contrast here. DJI Mavic Pro 2 w/Hasselblad L1D-20c: 10.26mm, f/5.6, 1/50 sec, ISO 100

Edward Silver Fingers
I do most of my photography with Willie. His wife jokes that I'm his second significant other -- we've spent so much time together, in some amazing places, and we know each other quite well as a result of it. That also means I get to see some of the compositions that he sees that I hadn't seen. This is one of those examples. I had flown the drone around this particular stretch of the salt pond a number of times but I always photographed it from a different angle. Willie, though, saw this scene the first time and came back a few times to keep trying to refine the photo. I just couldn't see it. Finally, on my last visit I was able to capture a similar scene to his. This one is entirely copied from him - so he gets all the credit for seeing this! I loved how the salt river creates these fingers that extend out like Edward Scissor Hands DJI Mavic Pro 2 w/Hasselblad L1D-20c: 10.26mm, f/4.5, 1/50 sec, ISO 100

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