The magical wonder of the Eastern Sierras. These natural hot springs warms the Owens River to over 100 degrees through this valley, which I have dubbed, the valley of Eden.
As I hiked through the snow along the rim in freezing air temperatures, I was mesmerized by the micro climate of this area. It was only steps to go from a frigid snow patch to tropical warm sands along the river’s banks. The air slowly warmed as I got closer to the river, but what amazed me the most was the wild grass that was a vibrant green surrounding the springs. To be among this natural wonder inspired the idea behind this photograph.
I wanted to some how portray the unique beauty of this area. Bring forth the almost biblical feeling of this magical place. Light to dark, above and below, and cold to warm all in one photograph.
My vision was achieved by a sunrise to late evening capture. To capture each part of the landscape at its most brilliance, images needed to be shot at different times of the day. The valley was captured at sunrise, the mountains, clouds and upper river where captured at sunset and the Milky Way night sky and lower river reflection was captured at 11pm. Using specials camera techniques and on camera filters to help allow for image fusing. These 3 images were then layered atop each other to give you one powerful image and hopefully portray my final vision, a valley of Eden.
