Fractured Earth
You go to Death Valley expecting these huge, sweeping vistas, and you get them. But sometimes, the most compelling things are right at your feet. These cracks weren't the usual jagged, chaotic patterns. These were smooth, with deep, curved edges that felt almost sculpted. The low sun cut across them, throwing the cracks into pure blackness and making the smooth mud surfaces glow. It felt like looking at a blueprint of the desert, the very bones of the landscape exposed. I spent a long time just composing this small section of the ground, lost in its simple, powerful geometry.
You may notice my images are beginning to look a little less “perfect” than they have in the past. Lately I’ve been embracing the idea of wabi-sabi, that imperfection can make an image more meaningful and alive.
In nature, perfection doesn’t really exist. So rather than spending hours cloning away every small blemish, I’m trying to let the landscape speak for itself. I’ll still remove things that feel truly distracting, but elements like these are part of the story. They reveal the rough edges, the weathering, and the harsh beauty of the desert.